Death Race

When it comes to Jason Statham movies, I only need two things: Statham driving fast and Statham beating the crap out of people. I do not need story, character development, good dialogue or anything that is truly important in film. I just want to sit back and enjoy the ride. So far Statham has succeeded far more than he has failed, but I still have a the bitter taste from War in my mouth from last year at this time. However, Death Race seemed like the perfect example of a Jason Statham movie. It was the perfect movie to wet my appetite for The Transporter 3 and Crank.

In the year 2012 The United States is a mess. The economy is shot to hell and crime takes over. Prisons were overcrowded and corporations will come in, take over and make prisons a profit driven industry. First, prisoner cage fights are broadcast on the Internet for those willing to pay, but the audience grows tired of it and then Death Race is created. The game is simple; if you win five races you get your freedom. Each race starts with 9 racers and each race is 9 laps over 3 days. The goal is to win, yes, but it is also to kill the other racers. The cars are laced with machine guns, napalm, smoke and oil as well as a protective shield over the cars. You have to drive over specific parts of the track to turn on the weapons. It is a big business for the warden of the prison, Hennessey (Joan Allen), but things are starting to look bad. The crowd favorite, Frankenstein has died but no one knows that. She frames Jensen(Statham) for murdering his wife and tells him he can have his freedom if he races as Frankenstein. Frankenstein only has one race left to win. Machine gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson) is Frankenstein's nemesis. Jensen agrees to race and the race begins!

Don't worry about the story because the script sure doesn't. Jensen was some kind of race car driver as some point in his life, we think, we don't really know. What matters here is the race and what a glorious exploitation good time is to be had by the final 45 minutes of Death Race. We get to see people killed in all kinds of fun ways and we get to see a few spectacular crashes including one glorious slow motion accident that is DOPE! Throw in 3 fist fights with Statham and you have a rollicking good ass time. Death Race is a loud visually crazy movie and you will feel like your eyes and ears have been assaulted but it is that glorious kind of assault. It is that kind of brainless action you want right before the summer ends. It was nice to sit back and tell my brain "Dude, it is cool to take a nap right now, I got this." Nothing in the movie makes particular sense but it is so damn entertaining you forgive all of it.

There isn't really much else that can be said. I mean this is a guy movie and the trailer kind of says it all. If you enjoy these kind of movies, this will not disappoint, but it doesn't appeal to you, just stay away. Jason Statham does his usual stoic tough guy act and Tyrese is his usual flamboyant, tough, but charming self. Also, there is a girl in this named Natalie Martinez who is 100 different kinds of sexy and is totally comfortable being the eye candy in this testosterone fest. It is really the cherry on the awesome sundae created by Paul W.S Anderson (The director). Death Race is not a good movie, but it knows that and it revels in being trash. Very few things are better than movies that are better suited being video games, when they get it right and this does get ti right. It is really worth watching just for the middle race, where Hennessey lets out this big semi truck, with machine guns, flame throwers and rockets attached. It is quite a sight and quite an awesome scene of destruction. I am not a car guy or an adrenaline junkie and this movie allows me to pretend to be both. AWESOME!

Death Race: B