Death Race Review

Last weekend, Autumn and I went to check out Death Race, the new Jason Statham (Transporter, The Italian Job, Crank) movie. Despite what others might think, seeing this one was more on Autumn's "To see" list than mine. From the previews it looked pretty shallow. I assumed that the storyline would be weak but the action would be fast paced and frantic. After seeing the movie though, I was pleasantly surprised .


Acting: There were a few more "name brand" actors in this movie than I expected there to be. Jason Statham headlines, but Tyrese Gibson (Transformers, Four Brothers, 2 Fast 2 Furious), Joan Allen (The Bourne Trilogy), and Ian McShane (We Are Marshall) were other familiar faces. Natalie Martinez was the eye-candy and pretty decent eye-candy at that. In general, considering the story the acting was good, but not mind blowing.

Storyline: Here's where this movie surprised me. I fully expected this to be extremely shallow and without many merits. Turns out, the writers put some thought into this one. For an action movie, it had a nice little plot and good character development.

Special Effects: Believable for the most part. Obviously, a lot of this is a bit ridiculous, but they accomplished suspension of disbelief for me. There was lots of fast driving and explosions, so if you're an adrenaline junky, you'll probably enjoy the action/race sequences.

Overall Experience: Overall, it was a pleasant surprise of a movie. I'd recommend it mainly as a rental. If you're a big Jason Statham fan, like my wife, then you may want to see it in the theatre instead. Otherwise, wait for the DVD.

On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest:
Acting: 3
Storyline: 3
Special Effects: 4.5
Overall Experience: 4

In conclusion, Death Race receives 3.75 stars out of 5 and my recommendation for a rental, if you enjoy action films.