Jensen Ames is a down-on-his-luck factory worker. He’s freshly laid off, with a wife and child to take care of and no prospects on the horizon. Not an unusual situation in America of the near future, where the economy has all but collapsed and a corrupt government is in the pockets of large corporations. Wait, this is fiction? Never mind. 

Suffice to say that Ames’ wife winds up dead and he’s framed for the murder.  Lucky for him his checkered past includes a stint as a promising race-car driver. This brings him to the attention of prison warden Hennessey. She happens to be in need of a skilled driver. Now, what are the odds? Yes, it’s a painfully flimsy plot but really, it’s not about the story in director Paul W. S. Anderson’s action movie remake Death Race.

Loosely based on the 1975 cult classic Death Race 2000, this re-imagining of the original has less lofty goals. Discarding the social commentary and slightly tongue-in-cheek approach of the source material, Anderson’s new Death Race plays as a straight-up thrill ride. Oh, you might infer some cautionary notes about our future society from the sparse setup, but don’t let it distract you from the main course.

And what might that be? Cars, guns, and explosions. In large quantities. With a few shapely females for good measure. All of these are ingredients in a surprisingly logical extension of our current fascination with reality TV and pay-per-view fighting events. Set on a prison island, the race features convicted criminals driving heavily armed and armored vehicles for a chance at gaining their freedom. All while an adoring global audience pays for the privilege of watching live.

I suppose I should mention that Death Race features actors too. Jason Statham is suitably grim as Ames. Joan Allen turns in a somewhat shocking performance as the prison warden Hennessey, and Tyrese Gibson is a little confusing as Ames’ main rival Machine Gun Joe. The best bits of real acting actually go to the pit crew that keeps Ames’ car running—a crew played by Ian McShane, Frederick Koehler, and Jacob Vargas.

Still—like the story—you don’t watch Death Race for the acting. You might have picked up on this already, but the film is mostly about cars. And guns. And lots of explosions. Say what you will about the rest of the movie, but Anderson gets this part right. The action sequences come at you like a runaway freight train. It’s all the sweeter because most of what you see on the screen was filmed the old-fashioned way:  using cameras, skilled stunt performers, and actual vehicles.

I love visual effects as much as the next person, but there is something visceral about a practical stunt that computer wizardry just can’t quite match—especially in a film like this where many of the stunts are so over the top that you can hardly believe your eyes.

To me, Death Race is a sure bet. It’s hard to imagine anyone watching the trailer and being confused about what they’re going to see when the lights go down and the movie starts. In case you weren’t paying attention earlier, that would be cars, guns, and explosions. Either you like this kind of action movie and you plan to see it or you don’t. I don’t think there’s much gray area involved!

Death Race is rated R for “strong violence and language.” Believe it. This is a film involving a violent competition set in a prison and it doesn’t pull many punches.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Michael attended a promotional screening of Death Race.