Death Race - mixing old and new with a kick

I may have missed what will become the underground hit film of the summer season in all my reviews of 2008 movies. Now by no means will this be an Oscar Award winning film (which means someone in America will see it). This is a simple action driven, fast paced, plot as an excuse for explosions kind of film.

The film is called Death Race and it will star Jason Statham. Now obviously the man can drive (or at least look cool acting like he can) as seen in his Transporter films (the 3rd coming out shortly). He’s definitely one of the better action stars able to do his own stunts.

Death Race is a simple movie, the brainchild of someone who grew up in the late-70’s to early-80's. I say this because there are a few things that seem to be the inspiration of this film. And each of them are things that I personally enjoy.

It may be a bit esoteric but Car Wars, by Steve Jackson Games, seems to be one influence. The game is a simple map, with each player selecting a car, motorcycle or truck cardboard piece. On a piece of paper various armaments for the car are written down. The players then proceed to destroy each other until only one is left. Simple and fun.

Another influence is Mad Max. The film that made Mel Gibson a star, its best seen in the original Australian accents (then you will understand why Fifi has his name). Cars are the weapons and speed is a function of exposition. There are no good guys in white, and everything crosses some line at some point.

Lastly is perhaps the biggest influence. Death Race 2000.



The film clip explains it all, almost. It’s a cross-country race, with no rules beyond winning and points for killing people along the way. Devised as a means of population control, you can see why the elderly are the highest points. David Carradine is the star, Dr. Frankenstein, and Sylvester Stallone is in there too. It’s a fun movie.

This film coming out shortly has much of the elements above. But unlike most retreaded ideas (that I hate) where the whole point of the movie is thrown out the window, this one keeps focus, from what I can see. Our hero is a famous NASCAR driver (of course) that gets framed. He’s thrown into a jail where the inmates compete in a race to the death, similar to Running Man now that I think about it. People watch and the winner goes free – supposedly. The cars are souped up, decked out, and raw – much like the various drivers.

Now I don’t know but I guess Jason Statham’s character will win the race and live at the end. No doubt this will be the cause of a Death Race 2, just as there will be a Cranked 2.

But enough of my analysis, here is the video. (If the film gets a wide release I will get a review as soon as possible).