A Strange And Deadly Sport
Death Race takes place several years in the future at a time when the world economy is in collapse and vehicular combat races are televised and marketed as sporting events. Jason Statham (Transporter, Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels, Crank) stars as Jensen Ames, a steel worker who is out of a job after his plant is shut down. The same night, his wife is murdered and Jensen is made to look like the murderer; he’s arrested and sent to Warden Hennessey’s prison for a very long sentence.
Warden Hennessey, played by Joan Allen, has other plans for him though, and it’s clear that Jensen was brought here for a reason – financial profit. You see, before working in the steel mill, Jensen was an excellent driver. After the Warden’s best and most popular racer, Frankenstein, inadvertently died in a death race, she is eager to find a replacement before the next televised death race event. Fortunately, for her, Frankenstein always wore a full suit and mask, so viewers wouldn’t be able to tell that the original Frankenstein was replaced. The offer is that Jensen take the suit and mask, cooperate with a small team of mechanics, and win seven death races – should he do that, he’s free to go.
Jensen and his team, including Coach, played by Ian McShane, get to work prepping a vehicle for Jensen to drive. Natalie Martinez plays Elizabeth Case, Jensen’s passenger seat driver who helps him control the various weapons on in his car at his command while he drives. I was pleased that the film didn’t try to make a romance story out of the two and instead kept focused on the action.
Much of the film is made up of these seven races that culminate in a final race in which Jensen and Machine Gun Joe Mason square off for the win. Machine Gun Joe Mason, played by Tyrese Gibson, is at first a foe of Jensen’s but what happens at the end of the film during this final race was a cool surprise that I won’t spoil for you.
Overall, Death Race is a great movie for a late night or lazy Sunday. I really don’t think it offers a great deal of replay value though, as it’s a fairly straight-forward film and Statham plays his typical badass know-it-all role that we’ve seen many times over. I think for most people, a one time view is going to suffice.
Powersliding Onto Blu-ray
Death Race on Blu-ray is a superb looking film. The transfer to Blu-ray is crisp and vibrant, and I didn’t notice any significant visual flaws.The 5.1 audio does a great job too in this effects driven flick.
As far as extra features go, there are several. Here’s the breakdown:
-Unrated/Theatrical Version – You can choose to watch the Unrated or Theatrical versions of the film.
-Digital Copy – There is a separate disc included that has a digital copy of the film that you can use to put the film on your computer or other digital device.
-My Scenes – This feature basically lets you create your own bookmarks so that you can quickly get to your favorite scenes.
-Create Your Own Race – You can watch the final race, which includes the intimidating Dreadnought vehicle, from seven different angles. This is pretty neat, in that you can watch the scene and change to a different camera angle at will, but the couple second lag as the disc loads your selection takes away from the enjoyment.
-Start Your Engines: Making of A Death Race – A twenty-minute HD feature with cast and crew interviews and behind the scenes footage.
-Behind the Wheel: Dissecting the Stunts – An eight minute, HD feature where the special effects guys talk shop; more behind the scenes /making of footage is shown.
-Audio Commentary – Director Paul WS Anderson & Producer Jeremy Bolt provide an audio commentary track for your viewing pleasure.
And with that, let’s wrap up…