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Death Race (2008 film)

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Death Race
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaul W. S. Anderson
Written byPaul W. S. Anderson
Produced byPaul W. S. Anderson
Jeremy Bolt
Roger Corman
Paula Wagner
StarringJason Statham
Joan Allen
Tyrese Gibson
Ian McShane
Natalie Martinez
Music byPaul Haslinger
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
August 22, 2008
Running time
105 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Death Race is a 2008 action film produced, written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. The film is a remake of the 1975 film Death Race 2000, based on Ib Melchior's short story "The Racer", and stars Jason Statham in the lead role. The remake had been in development since 2002, though production was delayed by disapproval of early screenplays then placed in turnaround following a dispute between Paramount Pictures and the producer duo Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. Death Race was acquired by Universal Studios, and Anderson re-joined the project to write and direct. Filming began in Montreal in August 2007, and the completed project was released on August 22, 2008.

Plot

By 2012 the economy of the United States has fallen into disaster, unemployment, and crime are on the rise, and private corporations run most prisons across the nation for profit. The movie focuses on the Terminal Island Prison, which broadcasts "Death Race" to the world via a popular paysite on the Internet. Death Race is not only a race to the finish line, but a battle pitting driver against driver for survival.

The film begins by showing a race near its end between Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson) and a famous masked driver known as Frankenstein (David Carradine in a voice-over cameo appearance), who is accompanied by a female navigator. During the race, Frankenstein's car's defensive systems stop working and he orders his navigator to "drop the tombstone", a 6 inch steel plate in the rear of the car; dropping it disconnects it from the car, tumbling it towards Joe. Joe's Dodge Ram is heavily damaged but he manages to destroy Frankenstein's car since, with the tombstone gone, the car's fuel tank is exposed. Frankenstein's navigator ejects, leaving him to race alone to the finish line. Joe fires a volley of rocket-propelled grenades toward Frankenstein's car, which is blown over the finish line in a flaming inferno leaving Frankenstein critically wounded, or dead.

Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is framed for his wife's murder on the same day that the steel mill he works at closes; the murderer is actually a masked intruder that points a finger-gun at Ames as he leaves. Ames is sent to prison where he immediately makes enemies by fighting with a white supremacist gang, led by Pachenko (Max Ryan). He is taken to Hennessey (Joan Allen) who tells him that those men will kill him without her help. Thus he is coerced by the warden to become the new driver of Frankenstein's 2005 Ford Mustang. The warden tells Ames that she knows about his baby daughter left in foster care. She also states that prisoners are freed upon winning five Death Races, but since he will take on the mask of the legendary Frankenstein, who had 4 wins at the time of his death, he will only need to win one race.

The races are broken into three stages: Stages 1 and 2 are races in which the driver must merely survive, and Stage 3 the driver must win the race in order for it to count toward his freedom. The track's features [devices that activate either defensive or offensive weapons] are controlled by the prison warden and can be enabled or disabled at her command.

Ames meets his pit crew, Coach (Ian McShane) his crew chief who has been eligible for parole for three years. "Gunner" (Jacob Vargas) the mechanic for his car, and "Lists" (Frederick Koehler), who has background info on all the drivers. Lists tells Ames about the other drivers, including Hector Grimm (Robert LaSardo) AKA "The Grimm Reaper", described as 'a clinical psychopath and mass murderer'; Travis Colt (Justin Mader) an ex-NASCAR driver trying to regain his fame; 14K (Robin Shou) a tenth generation Triad and considered to be the smartest in the prison because he's the only with a degree from MIT. Ames also learns that Pachenko is the driver for the gang he fought with earlier and that no one knows just how many people Pachenko's killed off the track.

Just before the Stage 1 Race, Ames is introduced to his navigator, Case (Natalie Martinez), who was also the previous Frankenstein's navigator. During the race, Ames sees Pachenko make the same hand gesture as the intruder that killed his wife. Driver Siad is killed when his car is impaled on a device known as a 'Deathhead' and exploded as the Deathhead descends back into its slot. Travis Colt is killed when, after Ames' car's defensive systems fail, he uses the navigator's ejector seat to launch a napalm canister toward Colt's Jaguar XJS, after which Case ignites the napalm with a cigarette lighter. Grimm is killed after crawling from his wrecked Chrysler 300 when Machine Gun Joe's Gatling gun decapitates him while Joe is traveling at high speeds. Ames finishes last after taking a hard hit from Machine Gun Joe.

Ames learns he is part of a plot to keep the legend of Frankenstein alive solely for the personal profit of warden Hennessey. He confronts Hennessey about the driver he believes is responsible for his wife's death, but instead of acting on this information she shows him pictures of his daughter living with foster parents, asking him if he thinks he could provide for his child better than they could. Furious, he takes one of the pictures and leaves. The night before Stage 2 of the race he makes a trip to the Pachenko's team's pit to confront him. He is then ambushed by Pachenko but is helped by Lists who stabs Pachenko in the back with a pen, allowing Ames to retaliate, but his revenge is thwarted by head prison guard Ulrich (Jason Clarke) who tells both men to 'save it for the race'.

Ames goes into Stage 2 of the race and immediately questions his navigator Case on her intentions, threatening to eject her into the ceiling of a tunnel if she does not answer truthfully. She tells him she was ordered to sabotage the previous Frankenstein's defense weapons so he would not win his freedom, promised that she would earn her own. Ames realizes he is not meant to survive the Death Race at all, but is meant to die so another "Frankenstein" can be brought into the prison and his purpose is 'just to make it exciting'. He realizes that one way or another Hennessey will sabotage any driver that gets close to winning five races and will allow no one to leave the contest alive. He causes Pachenko's Buick Riviera to crash and roll, allowing him another opportunity for revenge. Pachenko crawls away from the car wreck, pleading with Ames and saying that Hennessey made him kill. Ames replies that "She's next" and snaps Pachenko's neck. Five drivers remain until 14K, Carson, and Riggins are killed by 'the Dreadnought', the warden's secret weapon, (an 18 wheel tank truck filled with assorted weapons) that had been secretly in production for months. Ames and Machine Gun Joe collaborate to destroy the Dreadnought using one of the Deathheads and finish Stage 2. Realizing that Ames knows what's going on, Hennessey orders Ulrich to plant an explosive under Ames' car before Stage 3 of the Death Race to ensure that Ames does not cross the finish line alive. However, Ames devises his own scheme when Coach shows him a video of Grimm's death, highlighting that Grimm's car collided with a particular billboard in the earlier race. Ames then meets with Joe, who now suspects him to be "Frankenstein" and tells Joe that Joe and Frankenstein should talk.

The Stage 3 Race begins with only two drivers remaining: "Frankenstein" and Machine Gun Joe. The race begins, and Ames soon takes the lead but the warden rigs the track to benefit Joe to Ames' disadvantage. Throughout the entire lap, Joe stays on Ames' tail, hammering him with bullets; Ames drops the 'tombstone' again, but Joe dodges it without taking damage. As they near the beginning of the second lap, Joe preps newly added missiles and fires an RPG in Ames' direction, seemingly with the intent to kill him. However, they miss the car and instead hit the billboard at the first turn of the track. It is shown that the Ames saw a pathway to the bridge leading off the island behind the destroyed billboard in the video he and his crew reviewed previously.

Ames and Joe escape onto the bridge, pursued by police cruisers and helicopters. As the police close in on the two cars, Ames releases his exposed fuel tank, causing it to explode and stop the pursuing cars. (Gunner had equipped Ames with an extra half-gallon tank for his escape). Hennessey then orders that the explosive under Ames' car be set off, but nothing happens because Coach had found, removed, and deactivated the bomb prior to the start of the race, proclaiming "nobody fucks with my car." Escaping past the bridge, Joe and Ames separate, and Hennessey orders the helicopters to focus on 'Frankenstein', but he switches seats with Case when she tells him that Hennessey had already signed her release papers, and that she 'owed one' to the old Frankenstein. He bails out of the car without being seen, making the helicopters believe he is still inside. Joe meets up with Ames and they board a train to escape, lamenting on Hennessey's continued existence. Soon, Ames' Mustang is stopped and Case, posing as Frankenstein, is apprehended.

Later, Hennessey exults in the high ratings and revenue and the supposed apprehension of 'Frankenstein'. Ulrich then hands her a present sent to her for the record number of viewers subscribing to the Death Race. However, the explosive that was put on the Frankenstein car is inside the box and Coach detonates it remotely, stating directly into the camera, "I love this game."

Six months later, Ames and Joe are shown working on a car in a junkyard in Mexico, when Case unexpectedly arrives. The two men are happy to see her, and Case hugs Ames, and he shows her his baby daughter. The movie closes with Ames explaining that even though he knows he's far from being the best parent in the world, no one could love his child more than he could.

Cast

  • Jason Statham as Jensen Ames, a prisoner coerced to drive in the arena, becoming known as Frankenstein.[1][2]
  • Tyrese Gibson as "Machine Gun Joe" (Joseph Mason), a sociopathic racer who looks to escape from prison and has a habit of killing his navigators.[2]
  • Joan Allen as Hennessey, the sadistic prison warden.[2]
  • Jason Clarke as Ulrich, Hennesey's right hand man
  • Ian McShane as Coach, Frankenstein's loyal head mechanic.[2]
  • Natalie Martinez as Elizabeth Jayne Case, Frankenstein's navigator.[3]
  • Jacob Vargas as Gunner, Frankenstein's car repairman.
  • Frederick Koehler as Lists, another member of Frankenstein's pit crew and a compulsive data collector
  • Robert LaSardo as Grimm, a certified psychopath driving in the race
  • Justin Mader as Travis Colt, a disgraced ex-NASCAR driver seeking to rebuild his career by winning the race
  • Robin Shou as 14K, another contestant and tenth-generation Triad
  • Max Ryan as Pachenko, a rival driver Ames clashes with several times
  • John Fallon as Neo Nazi, one of the thugs in Pachenko's gang
  • David Carradine as Frankenstein in the beginning of the film (voice over)

Cars

The cars in the movie are real vehicles that have been heavily-modified with armor plating, machine guns and defensive weapons

Production

In March 2002, director Paul W.S. Anderson revealed that he was directing a remake of Death Race 2000 (1975) entitled Death Race 3000 at Paramount Pictures based on a script by J. F. Lawton. The remake would be produced by the producer pair Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. Anderson described the remake as a riff on the first film. "It's not a straight remake at all. The first movie was an across-America race. This will be an around-the-world race. And it's set further in the future, so the cars are even more futuristic. So you've got cars with rockets, machine guns, force fields; cars that can split apart and re-form, a bit like Transformers. Cars that become invisible," the director explained.[4] Two years later, Roger Corman, the producer of Death Race 2000, elaborated that he had an option agreement with producer Tom Cruise, and that Cruise would portray the lead role. The director said that Cruise had not been happy with the first two screenplays and that a third one was underway.[5] In June 2006, producer Jeremy Bolt reported that Anderson would direct the remake of Death Race 2000 after completing Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). The producer described the remake's new tone: "We've basically taken the idea of reality television and extended it twenty years. So it's definitely a comment on society, and particularly reality television, but it is not as much a parody or a satire as the original. It's more straight."[6] The following August, Paramount ended its relationship with Cruise/Wagner Productions, and Death Race was placed in turnaround. According to reports, when the project was discovered available, Universal Studios acquired it. Cruise and Wagner resumed their roles as producers, and Anderson returned to write and direct the film.[7]

In April 2007, actor Jason Statham entered negotiations to star in Death Race, with production slated to begin in late summer or early fall.[7] Anderson described that Death Race would take place in a prison, and that the film would be "super-violent" like its predecessor. "It has little echoes of the original – a lot of people get run down, but rather than having the points system, which had no pay off anyway, it’s a pure race. It’s more like Gladiator, with the last person standing – or driving, winning," explained the director.[8] Filming on Death Race began in Montreal in August 2007.[2]

Release

The film was originally scheduled for release on September 26, 2008, but was moved to August 22.[9]

Critical reaction

The film has received generally negative reviews from critics. It currently holds a 43% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes,[10] and a rating of 41 out of 100 on Metacritic.[11]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film half a star (out of four), calling it "an assault on all the senses, including common."[12] Keith Phipps of The Onion's A.V. Club said the film is "ideal for those who want to watch a bunch of cars blow each other up, without having to think about it all that much."[13] Robert Koehler of Variety called Death Race "as hard as metal and just as dumb" and criticized it for removing the humor of Death Race 2000.[14] Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle called Death Race "one of the most boring drags of all time."[15]

Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "an ill-advised and severely wussified remake."[16] Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News gave the film one and a half stars (out of four), calling it "junk" and saying that "the chases are pretty cool, but there's absolutely nothing else to see."[17] A positive review came from Nathan Lee of The New York Times, who said that "the movie is legitimately greasy, authentically nasty, with a good old-fashioned sense of laying waste to everything in sight."[18] James Berardinelli of ReelViews awarded Death Race a score of two and a half stars (out of four), saying that it's "weak when it comes to things like plot, character, and acting, but it's very good at provoking visceral reactions."[19]

Music

The score to Death Race was composed by Paul Haslinger who recorded the string portion of his score with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage.[20]

The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on August 19th, 2008.[21]

Home video release

The DVD and Blu-Ray was released on December 21, 2008. There was also be an Unrated edition released. The Blu-Ray version of the movie features a Digital Copy of the film.

Similarities to the original

  • Frankenstein wears a mask and black leather jumpsuit. When outside his car he never removes his mask.
  • Machine Gun Joe[22] is a gangster in this version as well.
  • Like Matilda The Hun, there is a character with a fascist theme.[23] Pachenko is leader of a white power skinhead gang who wears a swastika and a Confederate flag.
  • In both films there is an 'all-American' contestant: the cowgirl Calamity Jane and ex-NASCAR racer Travis Colt. Both have names related to the Old West (Jane was named after a gunslinger, Colt was named after the gun) and both are blown up; Jane is destroyed by a landmine and Colt's Jaguar XJS crashes and explodes.[24]
  • All but two of the cars have a female navigator[25] (one contestant drives alone while Joe's navigators are men).
  • Frankenstein's navigator is under orders to stop Frankenstein winning the race in both versions.[26]
  • There is more than one Frankenstein. When the original dies a replacement is trained to take on his role.
  • The death race is used to entertain and divert the populace's attention from the country's dire economic crisis.[27]
  • Joe kills members of his own pit crew.
  • Frankenstein's navigator disguises herself in his costume to deceive the authorities
  • In both films there is an authoritarian tyrant: Mr President (original) and Hennesey (remake) who get killed by Frankenstein at the end.[28] Both their deaths involve a bomb; in the original Frankenstein planned to kill the president with a grenade while in the remake Ames sends Hennesey the explosive she planned to kill him with (which Coach detonates in revenge for tampering with his car).

References

  1. ^ "First Look: Death Race Battle Scene". 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-05-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e Borys Kit (2007-08-08). "Buckle up: Allen joins Uni's 'Race'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-09-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Borys Kit (2007-08-21). "The 'Race' is on for Martinez". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-09-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Patrick Lee (2002-03-18). "Paul W.S. Anderson reanimates a game group of zombies in Resident Evil". Sci Fi Wire. Retrieved 2007-09-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Calum Waddell. "August 17: Roger Corman's DEATH RACE 3000 update". Fangoria. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  6. ^ Stax (2006-06-28). "Castlevania, Death Race Buzz". IGN. Retrieved 2007-09-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b Borys Kit (2007-04-23). "Statham in 'Death Race' driver's seat". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-09-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Paul WS Anderson talks Death Race". Total Film. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2007-09-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Death Race Rescheduled for this Summer". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  10. ^ Death Race, Rotten Tomatoes
  11. ^ Death Race, Metacritic
  12. ^ Death Race review, Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
  13. ^ Death Race review, Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
  14. ^ Death Race review, Robert Koehler, Variety
  15. ^ Death Race review, Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
  16. ^ Death Race review, Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
  17. ^ Death Race review, Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
  18. ^ Death Race review, Nathan Lee, The New York Times
  19. ^ Death Race review, James Berardinelli, ReelViews
  20. ^ Dan Goldwasser (2008-08-01). "Paul Haslinger scores Death Race". ScoringSessions.com. Retrieved 2008-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Death-Race-Paul-Haslinger/dp/B001DWGBYI/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1218504741&sr=8-15
  22. ^ http://www.stomptokyo.com/badmoviereport/reviews/D/deathrace.html
  23. ^ http://www.nickschager.com/nsfp/2008/08/death-race-2000.html
  24. ^ http://uk.cars.ign.com/articles/879/879375p4.html
  25. ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv-entertainment/film/film-reviews/2008/09/26/film-of-the-week-death-race-115875-20752751/
  26. ^ http://www.badmovies.org/movies/deathrace2k/
  27. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072856/
  28. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_race/
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