One to watch before you die! (Death Race (DVD))

Member Name: mummy2harry

Product:	Death Race (DVD)
Date:	14/09/09 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great action flick, Jason Statham, great soundtracj

Disadvantages: None for me!

Jensen Ames is trying to get his life back on the straight and narrow, and is happy with his life with wife Suzy and daughter Piper. But things take a really bad turn when his wife is murdered and Jensen is framed for it and thrown into Terminal Island prison. Things become even stranger when he's offered a chance at taking part in the prison's Death Race - he has to take the place of deceased driver Frankingstein and win just 1 race to gain his freedom and life with his daughter back. With the help of his team and navigator Case, he has to negotiate the 3 stages and try his best to win. But is Ames willing to risk his life against the other Death Racers for his freedom?

I admit to being a massive Jason Statham fan and I'll pretty much watch anything with him in it because usually it's great entertainment and never fails to make me laugh. Sure, he's never going to win an Oscar for his acting but they're good enough to waste a few hours! My fiance and I are working our way through a long list of films we've wanted to watch for ages and Death Race was one of these. We've read mixed reviews about it, but we decided we were going to decide for ourselves whether it was any good or not... we didn't expect to love it as much as we did!

The film is actually a remake of a 1975 movie called Death Race 2000. I've never seen it, or even heard of it before I'd seen this so I have nothing to compare this to in that respect. This version differs to first movie as the main driver of the original film, Frankinstein, has died and Statham's character Ames has to replace him without the other prisoners knowing. Ames is a new character written for this film and he was brilliant - exactly what you'd expect from a Jason Statham character! Other drivers are created for the film, as is the female warden Hennessey, so things aren't identical to Death Race 2000.

Statham actually does a really good job with this film. It isn't the best script but this is a film that relies on the action keeping the viewer watching, not the dialogue! He pulls off the wronged man brilliantly, vowing revenge and driving his way to freedom and his baby daughter. Statham is very charismatic on-screen and you can care about Ames character gaining his freedom because of the somewhat emotional side plot of his daughter. Statham rather muscular form is flashed about quite a bit (which is fine by me!) and I really enjoyed his overall performance.

The other main characters are rather good too. Ian McShane, best known to me for his role as LoveJoy pops up as Coach, an elderly prisoner scared to leave because of the changes in the world. He's actually very good in the role and I liked his part opposite Statham as both are opposites yet equally likeable. Tyrese Gibson was good as fellow Death Racer Joe Mason. He's rude, obnoxious and consequently very great to watch and a good character in the film. My other favourite role was Joan Allen as the horrid warden Hennessey, an evil character played to perfection - you couldn't help but hate her! Honourable mention also goes to Natalie Martinez who was Ames' navigator Case, she's a bit of eye candy for the men watching but very good on screen with Statham.

This film is most definitely not for the faint hearted. There is a lot of violence right from the beginning and it doesn't stop until the credits roll either! There is wide spread use of guns, cars as weapons, bombs, fire... the list goes on. There were a few occasions where it was quite graphic but for the most part, it was okay and not too stomach churning. The idea of a literal "race to the death" isn't nice, but it's done in an almost comical way, you can't believe it would ever happen, let alone if people had to pay to watch it! It's very dark and gloomy but it suits the mood of the film, and there are a few surprises along the way that keep a viewer hooked, it was just brilliant!

The pumping soundtrack, good cast and awesome special effects all add up to making one superb film. I expected to like it but I didn't expect to want to give it 5 stars once the credits rolled! It had both my fiance and I jumping out of our seats in shock, shouting at the TV and grimacing with the gun fights but it was just superb viewing. It's totally escapist and unbelievable but that's why it works. I can't see anyone other than Statham in this sort of role and it really does suit him perfectly. It's very exciting and entertaining, and the 98 minutes really flies by. I recommend it if you're a fan of Statham's action movies, you're guaranteed a great watch, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Highly recommended!!


Written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson
Running Time: 98 minutes
Certificate: 15

Main Cast:
Jason Statham ... Jensen Ames
Joan Allen ... Warden Hennessey
Ian McShane ... Coach
Tyrese Gibson ... Machine Gun Joe Mason
Natalie Martinez ... Elizabeth Case
Max Ryan ... Pachenko

Thank you for reading.

Summary: A fantastic "race to the death" movie