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Death Race
Directed By: Paul W.S Anderson
I've never seen Death Race 2000 so this movie was all new to me. I've seen this movie on the tv numerous times lately but I've never given it ago until last night. I dunno, I always got the impression it was a cheap looking movie like one of those straight to dvd movies you see on sale in your local dvd store. The movie stars Jason Statham who I actually quite like. I've enjoyed some of his movies in the past like Snatch, The Transporter, even Crank was entertaining ( but still pretty sh**). He's also one of The Expendables and one of today's big action movie stars...but with a hairy chest and a bald head of course. Damn how our action movie stars have changed over the years. Anyways, he's a pretty good actor so I finally decided to give Death Race a shot. My verdict... It was actually pretty entertaining.
The thing I enjoyed the most about Death Race was it's violence. It doesn't hold back on anything and some scenes are actually very brutal. Don't let that put you off tho, Death Race is a very fun movie with some crazy cars, cool races, and some wacky characters. Characters with names like Frankenstein, Machine Gun Joe, and The Grim Reaper all add to what feels like a movie/video game, which I wanted to take control of and play along with. Death Race does have it's cheap thrills amongst all the glorious action. It's full of bad dialogue and cheesy scenes which you can expect from a movie like this. And it also has some bad performances especially from Tyrese Gibson. But it really doesn't matter because the madness takes over and the fun kicks in.
Overall Death Race was surprisingly good. It's not deserving of any awards but it is what it is, and that's fun. It has loads of cool action, crazy car races, and is a wacky cross between a prison movie, and a fast and furious movie, so what's not to like. Ime currently adding Death Race 2000 to make watch list so I can see what the original was like. It should be interesting to see how I feel about it having watched the remake first. So all that left to say is "Release The Dreadnaught".
Directed By: Paul W.S Anderson
I've never seen Death Race 2000 so this movie was all new to me. I've seen this movie on the tv numerous times lately but I've never given it ago until last night. I dunno, I always got the impression it was a cheap looking movie like one of those straight to dvd movies you see on sale in your local dvd store. The movie stars Jason Statham who I actually quite like. I've enjoyed some of his movies in the past like Snatch, The Transporter, even Crank was entertaining ( but still pretty sh**). He's also one of The Expendables and one of today's big action movie stars...but with a hairy chest and a bald head of course. Damn how our action movie stars have changed over the years. Anyways, he's a pretty good actor so I finally decided to give Death Race a shot. My verdict... It was actually pretty entertaining.
Movie Trivia: Originally written as a sequel to Death Race 2000 (1975) titled Death Race 3000, a race around the world with futuristic hovering, invisible and transformer cars, but had to be rewritten due to production costs.
Joan Allen was the production's first choice to play the female warden. Much to Paul W.S. Anderson's surprise, Allen was just as keen to do the film, wanting to shake up her image.
David Carradine, who starred in the original Death Race 2000 (1975) plays the voice of Frankenstein in the opening scene.
Jason Statham trained so hard for the role that he went from 20% body fat to 6%. It took him 3 months to do so.
That's a real scar on Natalie Martinez's face, the result of a childhood accident.
To get into fighting shape, Jason Statham trained for months with an ex-Navy SEAL, one of the key trainers who built the Spartans of 300 (2006).
Joan Allen was the production's first choice to play the female warden. Much to Paul W.S. Anderson's surprise, Allen was just as keen to do the film, wanting to shake up her image.
David Carradine, who starred in the original Death Race 2000 (1975) plays the voice of Frankenstein in the opening scene.
Jason Statham trained so hard for the role that he went from 20% body fat to 6%. It took him 3 months to do so.
That's a real scar on Natalie Martinez's face, the result of a childhood accident.
To get into fighting shape, Jason Statham trained for months with an ex-Navy SEAL, one of the key trainers who built the Spartans of 300 (2006).
The thing I enjoyed the most about Death Race was it's violence. It doesn't hold back on anything and some scenes are actually very brutal. Don't let that put you off tho, Death Race is a very fun movie with some crazy cars, cool races, and some wacky characters. Characters with names like Frankenstein, Machine Gun Joe, and The Grim Reaper all add to what feels like a movie/video game, which I wanted to take control of and play along with. Death Race does have it's cheap thrills amongst all the glorious action. It's full of bad dialogue and cheesy scenes which you can expect from a movie like this. And it also has some bad performances especially from Tyrese Gibson. But it really doesn't matter because the madness takes over and the fun kicks in.
Overall Death Race was surprisingly good. It's not deserving of any awards but it is what it is, and that's fun. It has loads of cool action, crazy car races, and is a wacky cross between a prison movie, and a fast and furious movie, so what's not to like. Ime currently adding Death Race 2000 to make watch list so I can see what the original was like. It should be interesting to see how I feel about it having watched the remake first. So all that left to say is "Release The Dreadnaught".