What would happen if you gave Mario Kart characters real weapons? (Death Race (DVD))

Member Name: dididave

Product:	Death Race (DVD)
Date:	21/04/09 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast pace, exciting racing, entertainment.

Disadvantages: Stereotypical and misogynistic and a rubbish cop out ending.

In the year 2012, Jensen Ames is incarcerated in Terminal Island prison. When the economy collapsed, prisons became privately owned and run for profit. Terminal Island is the most successful of these as it runs the popular "Death Race". Framed for murdering his wife, Ames is given one chance of revenge and release from prison, but to do this he must wear the iron mask of fan favourite "Frankenstein" and do whatever it takes to win.

The plot to "Death Race" is functional at best but its release is strangely apt in the current economic climate. The advent of youtube and programmes like "Jackass" make the concept of a "Death Race" not quite as ridiculous as you might think. This makes this an action film that is relevant despite being gloriously over the top.

The action starts very early as the filmmakers clearly realise that when you call a film "Death Race", this is what we want to see. Ames's plight is illustrated for us in swift fashion and we are also quickly introduced to him as a hard man as he takes out riot police with a sledgehammer and decimated his three new cellmates. The action within the prison is all quite amusing and the cast of characters are quite comical despite being the split into stereotypical Mexican, Chinese, Black and American sections.

The racing itself is absolutely brilliant. All the characters competing in the race have hilarious names like 14k, The Grim Reaper and Machine Gun Joe. The races view more like a computer game than a film as each character gets crossed off the leader board while they get killed in increasingly extravagant fashion. The track is imaginative as are the heavily armoured and armed cars. The activation of their weapons as they drive over swords and shields is ingenious if once again, a little Mario Kart. However, the track is grim with lots of shortcuts and ways to kill or be killed and this makes for some gruesome deaths.

The pace of the whole thing makes what is a surprisingly long film at over an hour and half fly by. Race sections are constantly exciting and full of surprises (watch out for the surprise halfway through) and even when the film reluctantly goes back to the prison it is merely for characters to posture, plot or engage in a bit of sabotage.

Of course the acting is not very important but everyone seems to be enjoying their hyped up roles. Jensen Ames is played by the grunting Jason Statham with the right level of arrogance, anger and ridiculous levels of testosterone. Ian "Lovejoy" Mc Shane is also surprisingly good as his "Coach" and Joan Allen seems to love playing the heartless Warden.

However, this is all irrelevant as the film is really about the cars, six packs and girls. Lots of flesh to appeal to everybody here as scantily dressed girls navigate for the drivers who seem to be covered in olive oil for some reason! It is all misogynistic rubbish but it is also entertainment at its most basic and simple. The perfect action movie in so many ways, "Death Race" is only spoiled by a totally rubbish and contrived cop-out of an ending.

Summary: Very entertaining rubbish!