Death Race: Review By Solar XI

Jason Statham leads as Jensen Ames, a hard working man, father and husband. When he is framed for his wife's murder, Ames is sent to Terminal Island Penitentiary where he is forced to take the mantle of the recently deceased Frankenstein (voice of David Carradine). The warden informs him that he will be freed if he wins five races, being the original Frankenstein already won four.

Paul W.S. Anderson directs the gruesome race film. The race scenes that were filmed were greatly done compared to the direction of Resident Evil. Although I never saw the original film, I may prefer this over it.

The rest of the cast includes Tyrese Gibson as Machine Gun Joe, Frankenstein's archnemesis. Joan Allen, Ian McShane, Jacob Vargas, Natalie Martinez and Robin Shou star in supporting roles. Gibson's portayal as this gritty driver is extremely different in comparison to his roles in Transformers, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Annapolis.

I did enjoy the film but was not interested in it by it's previews and TV Spots. I waited until I saw it on Cinemax and gave it a shot. At first it seemed dull with Jason Statham, never knowing if his character is supposed to be American or British. I highly disliked Joan Allen's character as the Warden. Her portrayal was so stiff and her face had no expression whatsoever.

DEATH RACE is highly entertaining and worth giving a shot. In the likes of The Fast and the Furious, it's pretty good.