Death Race

By the time I entered to see this movie, I knew what to expect. Jason Statham. A movie called "Death Race". A poster with spiked cars and bazookas on them. Why the hell would I expect a "Deep Sophisticated Movie"?

So, I grabbed 2-3 beers, some chips and started the movie!

Hell I enjoyed it. And I was in Home.

Don't listen to the critics. I love Sophisticated movies, I mean my favourite Director is Guy Ritchie and he tries to make every time a movie with a complicated plot. This is not Batman: Dark Night. It's a classic American Culture - Game-Like movie. Do you want pure Explosions & Guns entertainment to do something with your time? This is what you're looking for and it's good for what it is.

If "Mario Kart" was a movie and it had characters similar to the video game "Twisted Metal" this movie would be it. I really don't see why critics bash this movie so much, yes it isn't a Oscar worthy movie nor is it a very intelligent movie. But it sure is entertaining and was so stupid to the point it got irritating. People that decide to see this movie should know what they are getting into or else they might dislike it. Overall when I saw this movie in theater I really enjoyed it and had a blast with it, sure some of the plot holes are obvious but this is still a solid thrill ride. Personally I had a blast with this movie and Jason Statham was good in this role since he fit in with his tough guy exterior and I bought it. There is good amount of sex appeal and Ian McShane is just right as well while playing the character named Coach. This is a thrill ride that is like watching a actually entertaining video game movie. However if the script was a bit more intelligent it would have been better though although I didn't expect a solid script from Paul W.S. Anderson.

7.4/10

Definitely better than the ridiculous "Righteous Kill", that we had the doubtful honor to view today also, at the same press screening, here in Bucharest, Romania.

"Death Race" is a honest to God action movie, without any bigger-than-life pretensions. The script follows correctly an old tested and tried recipe, everything is at its place, and although you can easily plot out the whole course since the beginning, somewhat even this sounds good - you simply have the guilty pleasure of savoring again a story that you know from dozens of other movies.

The influences from the racing video games are explicit, and well mastered - me, I fully felt as while playing "Death Rally". Even certain aerial shots are obvious quotes from the computer game imagery. The narrative is nervous and thrilling, the effects professional, the violence degree precisely balanced. Maybe the main virtue of the movie is the cinematography, with admirable chromatic and plastic values. All in all, what it promises, it delivers: a cheap show, well done.

I always hate it when all those high class critics from the newspapers and journals bash a film for not being what THEY want it to be and not looking at it for what its SUPPOSED to be.

The title is "Death Race" after all. No-one ever expected it to win any golden trophies in the first place. So what if the acting was a bit bland and the plot was a little weak. That's not was the movie is supposed th be about.

It's not a Martin Scorsese film where you sit back and think "Oh, that is very thought-provoking and I feel that I've truly learned something inspirational today." No. This is a film where you sit back, look at it, and think "Holy ****!! Did you see that ********** explosion?!"

This is a film where you have fun in. Don't worry if you walk away with nothing meaningful to talk about at the end. Go ahead and laugh at its stupidity. I guarantee you you'll still have a much better time that watching something like Capote

2012 the economy has hit bottom, broke through and has kept on descending. Along the way prisons have been handed over to the private sector that have chosen to make a profit by broadcasting gladiatorial style death matches starring the inmates, with the reward to the inmates after 5 victories – FREEDOM Enter Jensen Ames (Jason Stratham) a recently unemployed steel worker and former race car driver who lost his license but no matter how bad things are, he's a happy man as long as he has his family.

That is, until he's set up for the murder of his wife, imprisoned, and forced to compete in Death Race if he ever hopes to see his daughter again.

But enough of the plot! A paragraph blurb at the start and 8 minutes of character development is pushing the limits of this flick and that's not why a person would see a W.S. Anderson/Jason Stratham action flick and besides, a plot would allow "plot holes" and who needs to deal with that headache? The rest of the movie takes place in the 3 days of Death Race. The first 2 days are competition/elimination rounds reminiscent of Mario Kart as if it was designed by some rogue member of GTA on a disgruntled day but who loved the hidden short cuts and power-ups.

Amongst all the adrenaline filled action, Anderson makes sure to toss in the occasional character development or when he's feeling really daring he'll toss in some pseudo-dramatic realization our hero comes across which helps remind the movie-goer that the movie has a plot rather than just a string of explosive action sequence. All of this is done with the utmost use of cliché and designed to inspire the excitable little 12 year old boy in many of us to stay riveted in our seats as we wait for Jensen to strike with angry revenge for all he's been through.

The movie is everything a modern day movie aficionado should not like. It's brainless, sexist, ridiculously violent, and lacks any redeemable qualities. These are also all the reasons why I had so much fun with the movie. I went seeing what I expected and that's exactly what I wanted to see!