Rating: 3 Pulses
Cast: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson
Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson
Rated R
In the last issue of The Pulse I bashed Tropic Thunder, a comedy with lofty aspirations of satirizing Hollywood that was surprisingly (at least to me) well-received by both critics and audiences alike. As I review Death Race, I ponder the justification of giving this intentionally crappy and campy film two whole pulses more than a film I felt failed because it tried to shoot the moon. Is it better to aim for mediocrity and succeed, or aim for greatness and fail?
All philosophizing aside, I’m inclined toward the former in this specific instance. Besides, Death Race isn’t the type of film that tries to make you think, nor does it try to be anything it isn’t.
And this flick is pureblood B-movie. The 1975 trash picture Death Race 2000 gets a 2008 overhaul from Paul W. S. Anderson, the director of such craptastic classics as Event Horizon and Resident Evil. This auteur for adolescents knows how to deliver the goods. Cheesy one-liners? Check. Fast armored cars with guns? Check. Gory fatalities? Check. Scantily clad female inmates jiggling in slow-motion for the sole purpose of teenage masturbatory fantasy? Check and check (to make sure the door is locked and the volume’s turned to low, sinner).
First and foremost though, Death Race is an action movie. If you go see this movie, I’m assuming you’re going for two things: racing and death. Jason Statham has been a staple in films dealing with both of these since The Transporter, and he’s one of the few in Hollywood who can still pull it off without becoming a mockery of himself.
Statham plays Jensen Ames, a crook gone straight in a totalitarian future where overflowing prisons provide the most popular sport in the world. Framed for the murder of his wife, Ames finds himself back in the slammer and in the driver’s seat assuming the identity of the world’s most beloved masked driver: Frankenstein. Joan Allen plays the ice queen behind the scenes with Tyrese Gibson as Frank’s surly rival Machine Gun Joe.
This movie borrows generously from the videogame Twisted Metal Black. There is a cast of crazy characters, all stereotypes, all fodder, and all presented as demented sports heroes. If this movie sounds a little ridiculous, well, it is, and in a couple years when it airs on FX or TNT every other day, I’ll probably watch it again.
