Thursday, April 9, 2009

Truth in Advertising

Sometimes a film comes along that tells you exactly what it is in the title, and as bad as that film may be, you can't help but love the film. A good example? Shoot 'Em Up. The film features, well, people shooting. A lot. A bad example? Death Race.

The reason Death Race is so bad is that it takes itself seriously. Shoot 'Em Up, in the first five minutes of the film, gave you its jump the shark moment when Clive Owen jams a carrot through someone's skull. And the film is riddled with puns. Death Race, in the first five minutes, does give you what is clearly a mannequin being ejected from a car. And there are no puns.

What there is, however, is a car race, to the death. The film takes place in the future, when the economy has collapsed to the point where prisons are converted into money-making machines churning out MMA-style fighters as well as the infamous Death Race. So, let's say sometime in the next 6 months, the way things are going now.

It features inmates from the hardest prison in the country, in cars not only souped up to race, but loaded with crazy weapons. Jason Statham stars as Jensen Ames, a former race car driver who is framed for his wife's murder in order to have him imprisoned so he can replace Frankenstein, the prison's best driver who has secretly been killed in a crash. How can he replace the fans' favorite driver? Well, Frank's face is supposedly so disfigured from crashing his car that he drives wearing a mask. The corrupt prison warden (played by Joan Allen) arranges this race, promising that if Ames wins the race he'll be granted his freedom, as it would be Frankenstein's fifth win. But first, Ames has to beat Machine Gun Joe Mason (Tyrese Gibson), and decide whether he can trust his hot-chick navigator on release from the women's prison (Natalie Martinez).

I will tell you, without spoiling the end of the film for anyone who loves movies with a lot of action and no real raison d'etre, that Ames manages to secure his freedom and open the door for a sequel...but not quite the way most people might expect.

1 comment:

  1. "The corrupt prison warden (played by Joan Allen)"...
    That just made my day.

    -Your pals at http://www.24hourstomidnight,wordpress.com

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