Death Race (2008)

Death Race is a 2008 dystopian action thriller film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. It stars Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane, and Joan Allen. Though referred to as a remake of the 1975 film Death Race 2000 (which in turn is based on Ib Melchior’s short story “The Racer”) in reviews and marketing materials, director Paul W. S. Anderson stated in the DVD commentary that he thought of the film as something of a prequel. A 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 (the latter was the producer without Cruise in the film).

Plot.

In 2012, the collapse of the US economy and the subsequent increase in crime rates leads to the rise of privatized prisons. One such prison is Terminal Island Penitentiary, whose warden, Claire Hennessey, earns profits from broadcasting “Death Race”, a vehicular combat racing series, on the internet. Throughout the season, Terminal Island inmates battle each other in specially modified cars on a track cut into the grounds, with the goal of winning their freedom. Towards the end of a race, a masked driver nicknamed Frankenstein is nearing the finish line, pursued by his rival Machine Gun Joe. His navigator, Case, reports that all of his defensive equipment has malfunctioned. Against her protests, Frankenstein refuses to let Joe finish first. Case ejects herself out of the car just before Joe destroys it as it crosses the finish line. Industrial worker and ex-con Jensen Ames struggles to support his family. When the steel mill he works at is closed, he returns home to his wife Suzy and their new-born daughter, Piper. A masked assailant knocks him unconscious.

Jensen wakes up with a bloodied knife in his hand, Suzy dead nearby, and policemen storming into his home and arresting him. He is sentenced to life imprisonment, while Piper is placed in foster care. Six months later, Jensen is transferred to Terminal Island Prison. Hennessey’s right-hand man Ulrich calls Jensen to her office. She tells him that Frankenstein had died from the injuries he received at the end of the previous race, and offers to let Jensen go free if he drives Frankenstein’s car to win one more race. Jensen accepts the offer and meets Frankenstein’s maintenance crew consisting of Coach, Gunner, and Lists; they explain to Jensen that Hennessey wants him to become Frankenstein to rebuild the profits and audience of “Death Race”, which has halved since Frankenstein’s “disappearance”. On the first day of the three day race, Jensen meets Case. During the race his vehicle’s defensive equipment again mysteriously malfunctions. Jensen is distracted and blindsided by Joe when he sees Pachenko perform the same hand gesture at him as the masked assailant, causing Jensen to realize it was Pachenko who killed his wife.

Jensen confronts Pachenko and attacks him after the race – prompting Pachenko to admit Hennessey ordered him to frame Jensen, so she can have a replacement for Frankenstein. On the second day, Jensen threatens to eject Case unless she tells the truth about the malfunctions. Case admits she sabotaged Frankenstein’s car to keep him from winning and leaving Death Race, in exchange for her release papers. Jensen then makes Pachenko’s car slam head-on into a concrete barrier, and exits the car to break Pachenko’s neck. He and Joe then collaborate to destroy a multi-weapon tanker truck added to boost ratings. By the end of the second race day, all racers except Jensen and Joe are killed. Hennessey orders Ulrich to plant a bomb underneath Jensen’s car in case he wins, knowing she can always find another person to impersonate Frankenstein. Jensen, who has realized Hennessey never intended to let anyone win their freedom from the start, approaches Joe after the race, suggesting they talk.

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Production.

In March 2005, following the success of Alien vs. Predator (2004), 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. Comingsoon.net reported that “Paul saw his film almost as a prequel if anything; almost the genesis of the Death Race”, though the film is referred to primarily as a remake in reviews and marketing materials.

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. 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.”

Box office, Release, Home media.

The film grossed $75,677,515, of which $36,316,032 was from North America. The film was originally scheduled for release on September 26, 2008, but was moved to August 22, 2008. The DVD and Blu-ray were released in the United States on December 21, 2008. There was also an unrated edition released. The Blu-ray version of the movie features a Digital Copy of the film. In the DVD commentary, Anderson further elaborates on his thought of the movie as a prequel more than a remake.

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Critical response.

The film drew generally mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 42% rating based on reviews from 159 critics, with an average rating of 4.79/10. The website’s critical consensus states, “Mindless, violent, and lightning-paced, Death Race is little more than an empty action romp.” Metacritic reports a rating of 43 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews.” Audiences polled by CinemaScore during opening weekend gave the film an average grade of “B+” on a scale ranging from A+ to F.

Cast:

Jason Statham as Jensen Garner
Joan Allen as Claire Hennessey
Tyrese Gibson as Joseph
Ian McShane as “Coach”,
Natalie Martinez as “Case”,
Max Ryan as Slovo Pachenko
Jason Clarke as Mr. T. Ulrich
Frederick Koehler as “Lists”
Jacob Vargas as Gunner
Justin Mader as Travis Colt
Robert LaSardo as Hector “The Grim Reaper”
Robin Shouas “14K“
David CarradineasNiles York /

Death Race (2008) Biography, Plot, Production, Release, Box office, Home media, Fight.