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). Death Race was acquired by Universal Pictures, 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. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $76 million worldwide.
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. Throughout each event, Terminal Island inmates battle each other in specially modified, weaponized and armored cars on an enclosed track filled with obstacles and traps, with the goal of winning their freedom.
In 2020, in the final round of an event, 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 weapons have malfunctioned. Against her protests, Frankenstein, who is one win away from freedom, refuses to let Joe finish first. Case ejects herself out of the car just before Joe destroys it with a rocket launcher.
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 second in-command Ulrich calls Jensen to her office. She reveals that Frankenstein had died from injuries, and offers Jensen freedom in exchange for standing in for Frankenstein for one event. Jensen accepts the offer and meets Frankenstein's crew consisting of Coach, Gunner, and Lists. They suspect Hennessey wants him to become the new Frankenstein to regain audience and profits, which has dwindled since Frankenstein's absence.
On the first day of the three-day event, Jensen meets his navigator Case. During the race, his vehicle's defensive equipment again mysteriously malfunctions. Jensen sees Pachenko perform the same hand gesture at him as the masked assailant, and realizes Pachenko killed his wife. Distracted, Jensen is blindsided by Joe, causing him to finish last. After the race, Jensen attacks Pachenko, prompting him to admit the truth: 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 explains the truth about the malfunctions. Case admits she was offered release papers in exchange for sabotaging Frankenstein's car to keep him from winning. Jensen catches up to Pachenko and tricks him into slamming his car head-on into a concrete barrier. He then exits the car and snaps Pachenko's neck. Hennessey unleashes the "Dreadnought", a multi-weapon tanker truck, to make the races more exciting. After the Dreadnought massacres most of the racers, Jensen works with Joe to destroy it, enraging Hennessey. The second day ends with Jensen and Joe as the only survivors.
Hennessey orders Ulrich to plant a bomb underneath Jensen's car. She offers Jensen rewards to keep racing as Frankenstein, which he rejects. Jensen approaches Joe and proposes a cooperation.
On the final race, Hennessey manipulates the race track to deprive Jensen of both offensive and defensive abilities, letting Joe freely chip away at his armor. Joe shoots a rocket at Jensen's car and misses, destroying a portion of the wall, which both cars drive through. They get to the bridge towards mainland. Hennessey activates the bomb, but it was already deactivated and removed.
Pursued by helicopter to a railway depot, Jensen jumps out of the car as Case takes his place, donning the Frankenstein mask and outfit. While the pursuer capture Case, Joe and Jensen escape on a freight train. Despite the escapes, Hennessey is happy with the rating. She opens a present, only to find the bomb intended for Jensen. Coach remotely detonates the bomb, killing Hennessey and Ulrich. He then turns to the audience and says "I love this game!"
Six months later, Joe and Jensen work in Mexico as mechanics, with Piper in Jensen's custody. They are soon reunited with Case.
Cast
Jason Statham as Jensen Ames, a falsely-accused convicted prisoner coerced to drive in the arena, taking the name "Frankenstein" from the man who came before him. He kills 2 racers (Travis Colt and Slovo Pachenko) at the race.[4][5]
Ian McShane as Coach, Frankenstein's loyal head mechanic and a voluntary inmate, since he feels that the outside world is not worthy enough.[5]
Tyrese Gibson as Machine Gun Joe, a sociopathic racer who looks to use Death Race as a means to escape from prison. He alone uses male navigators, due to his habit of killing his navigators or them dying during the race. He has won three races, killed 16 racers (including Hector Grimm) and wishes to win so he can leave for Miami.[5]
Natalie Martinez as Case, Frankenstein's navigator. In prison for killing her husband, an abusive cop, she has a few years left to serve and was given release papers in exchange for sabotaging the car of Frankenstein (Niles York).[6]
Max Ryan as Pachenko, a Russian rival driver with whom Ames clashes several times (who also killed Ames' wife and framed him for it). He is the leader of the Aryan Brotherhood in the prison. He has won three races and killed nine racers.
Frederick Koehler as Lists, another member of Frankenstein's pit crew and a compulsive data collector. He is in prison for murdering his abusive mother.
Jacob Vargas as Gunner, Frankenstein's car repairman.
Justin Mader as Travis Colt, a disgraced ex-NASCAR driver seeking to rebuild his career by winning the race. He has won two races and killed five racers.
Robert LaSardo as Grimm, a certified psychopath driving in the race who loves and worships Hennessey (believing her to be the avatar of the Hindu goddess Kali). He has won two races and killed 12 people in the race.
Robin Shou as 14K, a tenth-generation triad member, sent to business school, who holds a degree from MIT. He has won two races and killed seven racers; he killed 14 fighters in the Death Match.
David Carradine as Frankenstein Voice-over, the most popular driver in the history of Death Race. (Cameovoice-over, reprising his role from the original 1975 film Death Race 2000.)
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.[7] Comingsoon.net reported that "Paul saw his film almost as a prequel if anything; almost the genesis of the Death Race",[8] 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.[9] 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."[10] 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.[11]
In April 2007, actor Jason Statham entered negotiations to star in Death Race, with production slated to begin in late summer or early fall.[11] 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.[12] Filming on Death Race began in Montreal in August 2007.[5]
Reception
Critical response
The film drew generally mixed reviews from critics.[13] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 42% rating based on reviews from 160 critics, with an average rating of 5.00/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Mindless, violent, and lightning-paced, Death Race is little more than an empty action romp."[14]Metacritic reports a rating of 43 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[15] Audiences polled by CinemaScore during opening weekend gave the film an average grade of "B+" on a scale ranging from A+ to F.[16]
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.[17]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."[18] Keith Phipps of the 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."[19] Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle called Death Race "one of the most boring drags of all time."[20]
Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "an ill-advised and severely wussified remake."[21] 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."[22] 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."[23]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."[24]
Box office
The film grossed $75,677,515, of which $36,316,032 was from North America.[2]
Release
The film was originally scheduled for release on September 26, 2008, but was moved to August 22, 2008.[25]
Home media
The DVD and Blu-ray were released in the United States on December 21, 2008.[26] 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.
The film is followed by two direct-to-video prequel films Death Race 2 (2010) and Death Race 3: Inferno (2013), both take place before this film and were filmed in South Africa. The films were directed by Roel Reiné, and star Luke Goss, Tanit Phoenix, Danny Trejo and Ving Rhames all appeared in the prequels. Lists and 14K are the only returning characters and are portrayed by Frederick Koehler and Robin Shou, respectively. A fourth film is a direct-to-video sequel to the first film, titled Death Race: Beyond Anarchy (2018), also featuring Lists, making him the only character to appear and be played by the same actor in all four films.
^Magid, Annette M. (2015). Apocalyptic Projections: A Study of Past Predictions, Current Trends and Future Intimations as Related to Film and Literature. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 27. ISBN978-1-4438-7237-9.
