Death Race 2

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.

If there is a straight to DVD movie that is good than this would be your cup of tea. Now i was not a huge fan of the first one it was just a fun action movie with lots of deadly car crashes. This one almost tops it and believe it or not the acting is not horrible for a direct to DVD smash up. If you are bored one night and just want to watch a fresh and fun movie go get this. This movie takes place before the original and how Frankenstein was invented. Don't expect academy awards won here, the action scenes are done very well and the racing was done just as well as the first if not better. If you are looking for popcorn fun than this would be it.

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.

DEATH RACE 2 is a surprisingly entertaining little straight-to-video sequel to the Jason Statham starrer, itself a remake of a Roger Corman cult classic of the 1970s. I'd even go so far as to say this is as much fun as the first film, although it has only a fraction of the budget and only one returning cast member, as far as I can tell. For DEATH RACE 2 captives the vibrant, adrenaline-fuelled spirit of the first film and Dutch director Roel Reine, himself a veteran of a dozen B-movies, proves to be a better director than Paul W. S. Anderson.

To be sure, this is far from a great film and it falls down particularly in regard to the actors, all of whom are ill-serviced by their parts. Luke Goss is nothing more than a dome-headed dunderhead, an obvious stand-in for Statham but one that lacks that actor's trademark intensity and scowl. Lauren Cohan fares little better as an overly-obvious arrogant journalist type, while Danny Trejo has virtually nothing to do in the stock role of car mechanic. The two big names present in the cast, Sean Bean and Ving Rhames, are particularly wasted, given roles which require them to sit around and do absolutely nothing else. Each has about five minutes screen time tops.

Still, the screenplay is packed with violent incident, which is always good, and I like the way the smaller budget is disguised by having combatant vs. combatant fights early on instead of car chases. There's only one real chase here, towards the end, which is pretty decent, although I could have done without the laborious twist in which it turns out that…well, you'll have to watch it for yourself to find out. Even with the many detractions, DEATH RACE 2 is a B-movie done right, with all of the high-octane action you could hope for.

It is set in a near future with testosterona macho men and based on the classic movie by Paul Bartel, but here adding much more action and violence. It deals with a thief called Lucas, Luke Goss, who is assigned by his chief, Sean Bean, to carry out a bank heist, but it goes wrong and then he is locked in a maximum security prison at Terminal island. There is developed a thrilling race in which the skillfull driver Lucas accompanied by a gorgeous copilot, Tanit Phoenix Copley, participate at the exciting and amazing race contending with other heinous and bloody participants. The race is televised by pay per view and presented by a beautiful host, Lauren Cohen, and Luke is given an opportunity, if Lucas wins 5 races, to have a big reward: to be freed. As he attempting to survive the perilous competition by pitting other inmates to get an early release.

This is a run-of-the-mill prequel, a high-octane guilty, grindhouse reboot pleasure. This Death Race follow-up exploring the origin of the violent race called Death Race, it is the ultimate sporting where contestants get score point for running drivers down, a futurist international sport with plenty of violence where the pilots contend for hitting other vehicles, but it is also a predictable fare with familiar scenes and non-sense plot . Not as brilliant but no worse than previous and successive entries. It is made in brainless and rudimentary masculine fashion filled with macho men and sexy, provocative and wonderful girls. It is a tightly packed film with noisy action, fights, car crashes, twists and turns. Stirring and surprising script written by Paul Anderson, who produced too, he formerly directed Death Race with Jason Statham and he also made Resident evil, Soldier, Event horizon , Alien vs Predator and Mortal combat

The picture was professionally directed by Raoul Reine, but it doesnt reach nowhere near he satirical impact and playfulness of the original movie. Followed by other sequels with similar technician and artistic team. Raoul Reine has directed various Tv series as Black sails, Wu assassin, Knighfall, Redball legend, Inhumans and some films, such as : The Admiral, The lost tribe, The bear. Raoul is an expert on sequels such as : Hard taget 2, The condemned 2, The man with the iron fist, 12 rounds 2, Seal team eight, Redbad, The Marine 2.

This film is based on the original Death race 1975 also produced by Rogen Corman directed by Paul Bartel with Sylvester Stallone, David Carradine, Simone Griffith. Followed by Death race 2oo8 by Paul W. S. Anderson with Jason Statham, Tyrese Gybson, Jacob Vargas, Joan Allen, Natalie Martinez. Death race Inferno with Luke Goss, Tanit Phoenix, Dougray Scott, Frederick Koehler, Robin Shou. Death race 4 Beyond anarchy with Lucy Aarden, Nicholas Aaron. There is also another film titled Death Race 73 by David Lowell Rich with Lloyd Bridges, Roy Thinnes, Eric Braeden, but it nothing to do with the saga produced by Roger Corman. Rating 6/10 a really indescribably violent action movie.