Death Race 2

Firstly, this shouldn't have been named "Death Race 2" as it is a prequel (Does this mean the previous entry would now be the 3rd chronologically?).

Surprised to see Luke Goss in the lead, thankfully, he has a good supporting cast around him, who do the best they can with the material given.

At first, I expected this to be terrible. The first 10 minutes were pretty pointless, thankfully, once we get to the prison, the movie picks up.

It's always tough to do a prequel, as you have to show the history of things already established in the series (thanks to George Lucas, prequels have become a popular thing), however, this was actually pretty well done, and thankfully there's no glaring mistakes like not recognising droids!

This movie excels in the action sequences, as did the Statham one, and this is exactly why we watch these types of movies. It's not Shakespeare, it's not cognitive, it's switch your brain off and enjoy the carnage and the attractive women.

I went into this with low expectations. I didn't even know about this until I was in the mood to watch the Statham one, and when I couldn't find it to stream, I decided to buy the bluray and was surprised to find a trilogy box set. I expected 2 and 3 to be utter garbage, but this pleasantly surprised me and now I've got a bit more hope for the 3rd when I watch that next.

Death Race 2, the prequel to the 2008 Death Race, shows how Death Race came to be. The movie for being a straight to DVD release looks likes a high budget Hollywood movie with 1/4 of the budget of the first one. The acting is not top notch but does have a interesting cast with Sean Bean and Dan Trejo. If your a fan of the dark gritty style of the first Death Race then you'll enjoy this film, however, i do feel that they could have been more original and changed a few things to make this film stand apart from the original.

pros- Good action sequences

good cast

very well put together

cons- could have been more original

some of the acting could have been improved

Being a fan of the previous Death Race (2008), I decided to check out Death Race 2 to see how well it is and because of the cast. Death Race 2 is pretty alright but it isn't as great as Death Race. Death Race 2 basically shows the life of Carl "Luke" Lucas (Luke Goss), how is sent to prison, racing in the death races and how he later became known as Frankenstein. The film has some good action sequences that are quite brutal yet funny and entertaining, specifically one scene with Danny Trejo. Death Race 2 follows the same formula within the plot as Death Race but they change a few things. Death Race 2 isn't as good as Death Race because of the story, the action sequence and stunts, and the chemistry between the leads aren't as good as in Death Race. I was expected more. Nonetheless, Death Race 2 is still very entertaining for fans, but don't expect too much. The ending of Death Race 2 is real good and I think ends neatly. In general the film is pretty good but it could have been better.

Be honest, was the 2008 Death Race film (itself a remake of the 1975 B movie Death Race 2000) actually avant garde cinema? No it was not! It was a loud, visceral, simple action movie; all style, little substance in the grand Paul WS Anderson tradition. This cheap direct to video prequel, not a sequel as the "Death Race 2" title might seem to imply, is just more of the same. Heck even the main characters looks the same only with different names.

Now fans of the 2008 crash and burn thrill ride of a movie are in for a treat here. In Death Race 2, we discover the origins of the dangerous game; how it went from a simple prison fight caught on camera to full blown TV ratings dependent gladiatorial combat and then, to boost ratings, the brutal Death Race. Anybody remember the cool sounding masked Driver "Frankenstein" who appeared at the beginning of 2008's Death Race? Well here is his origin story too. Before he became the famous Frankenstein, Carl Lucas (Luke Goss) was a getaway car driver for a crime boss Markus Kane (Sean bean). A heist gone wrong landed Carl a life sentence at Terminal island penitentiary, a prison famous for its broadcasts of "Death Match". With ratings of Death Match plummeting, one of the organizers "September Jones" witnesses Carl's driving skills and decides to revamp the games into "Death Race". Nine cars, three rounds, five wins to freedom. The no holds barred car-nage has just begun. As Carl puts his skills to the test, his former boss is planning his death, and he has someone on the inside to do it.

Sound familiar? To say that the writers were lazy is an understatement. They basically took the exact same character types from the 2008 film and changed their names to be new characters. In other words, we got all the uninspired lines, one dimensional (and slightly racist) characterization, and minimal character development of the original show, but none of the star power the likes of Jason Stratham and Tyrese Gibson. Star power alone was what made the original character bearable and now with that gone, they are not as interesting to watch. Fans would recognize Robin shou and Frederick Koehler reprising their roles of "14K" and "Lists".

The main attraction here has always been the cars and the carnage. Despite having less than one third of the budget of Paul WS Anderson's 2008 film, Death Race 2 does a wonderful job of replicating all the excitement and adrenaline of the races. Perhaps too good a job as some scenes look 100% copied and pasted from that film complete with similar camera angles, same chain of events and even similar lines of dialog. The cars themselves and the sets do not look as well designed as its predecessor but remember, this took place before the 2008 film and as such cars get rebuilt and the place gets upgraded as the days go by.

With the target audience being those who loved the brainless 2008 Death Race, Death Race 2 delivers no more than what they expect. If you thought its predecessor was bad, Death Race 2 would not change that impression. It is fun, it is violent, it is a glorified B movie just like Roger Corman's DeathRace 2000 and Paul WS Anderson's remake, and it is surprisingly well shot for a direct-to-video film. Definitely worth at least a rental but do familiarize yourself with the 2008 movie before jumping into this.

First things first. This is a mid/low budget sequel following a partially successful remake of a classic 70s cult movie. So it is obvious that this film is going to blow!

Well it does, but not that bad. The action is great, the spirit of the uber-powerful uncaring corporation is encapsulated superbly by Lauren Cohan; Tanit Phonex is painfully beautiful and the plot chugs along happily.

You can't take the film too seriously, I mean it appears that barbaric, run-for-profit women's prisons of the future all provide their inmates with extensive make-overs before a riot, but it is good fun.

The main stumbling block is the dialogue, it really is awful. I sincerely mean that, awful.

This film greatly out-stripped by expectations (which were low) but if you like action and gorgeous women then this is definitely for you.