My Rating: 7.2/10Death Race is an action film 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.
Overview
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Writers: Paul W.S. Anderson (screenplay) & Paul W.S. Anderson (screen story)
Release Date: 22 August 2008 (USA) Genre: Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Tagline: Get ready for a killer ride.
Plot: Ex-con Jensen Ames (Statham) is forced by the warden of a notorious prison (Allen) to compete in our post-industrial world's most popular sport: a car race in which inmates must brutalize and kill one another on the road to victory.......
Cast:- Jason Statham as Jensen Ames / Frankenstein:A prisoner coerced to drive in the arena, becoming famously known as Frankenstein.
- Tyrese Gibson as "Machine Gun" Joe Viterbo: A sociopathic racer who looks to escape from prison.
- Joan Allen as Hennessey: The prison warden.
- Ian McShane as Coach.
- Natalie Martinez as Case: Frankenstein's navigator.
Death Race 2000 was a cheesy 1975 action flick starring David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone. Now it’s been remade and stars Jason Statham and …. Joan Allen? Welcome to bizarro world. The budget may be bigger, but the remake, written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (famous, or perhaps infamous, for the Resident Evil film franchise and DOA: Dead or Alive) is just as cheese soaked. No, change that. Even more so.
The story is basically the same. Ex-con Jensen Ames (Statham) is forced by the warden (Joan Allen) of a notorious prison to compete in our post-industrial world’s most popular sport: a car race in which inmates must brutalize and kill one another in order to win. Unfortunately, Anderson films the race/battles with such clutter and criss-crossing that the action is confusing and, ultimately, boring. And the screenplay blows any chance of satire at our media/violence obsessed culture.
As for the cast, well, it’s a mixed bag. Statham is, well, Statham—a limited actor but with good B movie charisma. On the other hand, Allen looks and sounds so terribly out of place that every scene with her is jolting. Or unintentionally funny. The supporting cast ranges from good (Ian McShane, chewing the scenery with relish) to bland (Tyrese Gibson, looking bored) to bad (Natalie Martinez, serving merely as eye candy as Ames’ navigator/love interest).
The best thing that can be be said about Death Race is that it’s short (89 minutes). It just feels longer.............
No comments:
Post a Comment