Jason Statham is an actor that doesn’t seem to have any trouble getting work nowadays. Since his early films Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch he gradually progressed into the action genre starring in The Transporter films and Crank, to just recently being involved in the sleeper hit, The Bank Job. With the summer movie rush coming to a close soon Statham and director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil, AVP) bring a different style car racing to the big screen with their latest film Death Race. Inspired by the 1975 film Death Race 2000 and Ib Melchior’s short story The Racer, it’s the best film adaptation of a video game that hasn’t been created yet.
In the distant Industrialized future, former racing champion Jenson Ames (Statham) is framed for the murder of his wife and locked in one of the dangerous penitentiaries in the USA he feels he may never see his daughter again. Lucky for him though the warden Hennessey (Joan Allen) offers him the chance of early release if he agrees to partake in world’s most popular sport Death Race, assuming the role of the famous masked racer, Frankenstein. With the help of his pit crew, led by Coach (Ian McShane) and his navigator Case (Natalie Martinez), Jenson with have to use all his skills to outlast the other convicts, mainly Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson).
From the trailer it’s very obvious what you’re going to get. For the most part, the acting is definitely the film’s weakest characteristic with many of the performances being mediocre, especially Joan Allen who tries her best to be the arrogant evil presence but doesn’t quite achieve it and comes off as being silly at times. Fortunately, Statham, McShane and Gibson are able to bring some talent to the screen so at least some of characters don’t seem flat.
Usually the acting is a very important factor and could make-or-break a film, but in action films like this one I feel people aren’t watching for the acting so it tends to not as matter as much and is almost insignificant. I myself like many others, wants to see who’s going to be left standing at the end after all the gunfire, explosions, light humor, swearing and high speed action sequences, and Death Race is certainly full of those attributes which inevitably leads to a good time at the theater. Even the fact that rules and conduct of Death Race are similar to that of video games like Twisted Metal just adds something extra to the fun.
I’ll be the first to admit that the film isn’t perfect or innovative and doesn’t require much thought, but said a film has to be those things I order to be entertaining. Most action films don’t have those credentials and have gotten by with a simple plot, decent characters and good action sequences; if seen any of the Mummy films you’ll understand, though Death Race is a much than any of those films. So if you’re into movies where cars drive fast, stuff blows up, people die and the good guy wins in the end, then this is probably the film for you.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Cast: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Ian McShane, Tyrese Gibson, Natalie Martinez
Rating: 4.5/5
Popularity: 22% [?]
August 18th, 2008 at 11:49 am
I still have my reservations about this one… Might be a DVD movie for me… maybe even cable..