DEATH RACE
US, 2008, 103 minutes, Colour.
Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Ian Mc Shane, Tyrese Gibson, Natalie Martinez, Max Ryan.
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.
Bing, bang, bam, boom, bash... And that's just the pre-credits' prologue! Depending on where you see Death Race (that is presuming you want to see it), then you will experience cinematic assault and battery. It is an assault on the eyes with its wide screen format and pounding pacing and editing. And it's loud. Very loud.
Which makes one wonder who is the target audience. Those of us who felt that the 1975 Death Race 2000 on which this film was based (with David Carradine and a pre -Rocky Sylvester Stallone) was a guilty pleasure may just feel guilty without the pleasure. But, in the words of Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon films, we are probably to old for this kind of... Those who are not into cars and violent death races, which means a large percentage of the population, will not want to see it. Which leaves us with those younger macho boys at heart with their testosterone-fuelled sensibilities. It will be adrenalin-pumping. On the other hand, such high octane crash-bam-wallop shenanigans are just numbing.
It is 2012 and we are told that the American economy has collapsed (which makes the film more current than it might have imagined). Unemployment is rife. Our hero, Jason Statham, in a variation of his Transporter driver roles, is let go with not enough money to support his wife and daughter. When his wife is murdered and he is framed, he finds himself in a prison where the warden (Joan Allen of all people) runs drivers and cars in a death race series which the avid public can subscribe to watch on television and on line. Tyrese Gibson is around as a rival driver. Ian Mc Shane is the coach and mechanic.
While the races are loud and fast-paced, with no holds barred brutality, they do not seem to be all that interesting.
Ultimately, this is a battle of wits and the underdogs defying the bosses. The producers must have thought they were on to something when they have Joan Allen mouthe some words that she normally doesn't say in films. They might not, as in the words of My Fair Lady, make a sailor blush, but the sailor might well be shocked to hear Joan Allen saying them. At the end of the final credits, she says them again!
The whole thing is gruelling – which is what director Paul W.S.Anderson (who made Resident Evil and Alien Versus Predator) exactly wants.
1.The impact of the film? Visual? Sound? Editing and pace? Violence and brutality?
2.A remake of the 1975 small-budget classic? Using the same plot and characters? The transfer from 2000 to 2012?
3.The stunt work, the machines, the races, the editing and pace? Explosions? Gunfire? The special effects?
4.The title, society in 2012, the US economy collapsed, the full jails? The nature of the prisons? The wardens? Exploitation? Brutality?
5.Death Race and the internet, the subscribers, the millions watching the races to the death? Hennessy and her exploiting this situation? Her exploiting the drivers?
6.The prologue, Jensen Ames and his skill as a driver, his disqualifications? His working in the factory? His relationship with his wife? Daughter? The redundancy, the payment, the complaints, the police brutality? His finding his wife dead? His being framed for the murder? Imprisoned?
7.Jensen Ames in prison, his meeting up with Coach and his assistance? Their friendship? Machine Gun Joe? The life in prison?
8.Hennessy, her ruthlessness, her assistance? Her discussions with Ames, making the proposal? The issue of Frankenstein, his death? The mask and the death race? Her wanting Ames to take his place? Promising him his freedom? Her manipulation of the murder of his wife, Pachenko and his being the killer? Ames discovering this? Animosity?
9.The preparation for the races? Coach and his team, the preparation of the cars? Their continued support, the explosives?
10.Machine Gun Joe, his sidekicks, his wanting to win, get his freedom? As a character, person?
11.The three races, the way they were filmed? No hold barred? Guns, explosions, the huge lorry tank? The skill in destroying it? The deaths of the various participants? The X on their photos eliminating them? The increased subscribers watching the races?
12.The build-up to the final race? Hennessy and her plans? Giving Ames the documents? Case, her participation in the races, explaining to Ames about the death of Frankenstein? Joe and his not realising that Ames was Frankenstein under the mask?
13.Their plans for the final race? Their outwitting Hennessy? Their escaping across the bridge, the pursuit of the guards, crashing through, the helicopters? Case and her wearing the Frankenstein mask? Her being taken?
14.Joe and Ames, their escape, going to Florida? Case joining them? Ames and his baby? His final comment that this was the only thing that mattered?
15.Coach, his team? The gift to Hennessy after her success with the subscribers? The bomb and her death? (Joan Allen using swearing language – and it being repeated after the credits?)
16.The overall impact of this kind of film? For a majority of audiences? For its niche audiences of young men? The issue of the writer-director’s moral responsibility? Incitement to violence? Adrenalin-pumping or numbing?
