When Hollywood finally got around to delivering a modern mainstream remake of Paul Bartel's 1975 cult classic Death Race 2000 in 2008, the result was one of the greatest disappointments of that cinematic year. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Jason Statham, the film jettisoned virtually everything that had made its predecessor so beloved – the satirical edge, the black humour, the dark dystopian vision – and replaced it with glum, one-dimensional characters and banal, poorly staged races. It was a film that should have been a thrilling movie in its own right but instead squandered its promising premise, and it deservedly earned a paltry rating. Yet, such is the strange economics of modern cinema that this fiasco still managed to turn a healthy profit, and its commercial resilience was sufficient to spawn a series of direct-to-video sequels. The first of these, 2010's Death Race 2, thus arrived with an admittedly low bar to clear.
Death Race 2 functions as a prequel to the 2008 film, and it serves as the origin story for the mysterious, faceless character of Frankenstein. The protagonist this time is Carl "Luke" Lucas, played with gruff conviction by Luke Goss, a professional getaway driver who works for his gang boss and close friend, Markus Kane (Sean Bean). When a bank robbery goes disastrously wrong, it is Luke who is caught by the police, and it is Luke who, out of fierce loyalty, refuses to cooperate with the authorities and implicate his employer. His reward is a life sentence to be served at Terminal Island, a high-security prison run by the privately owned Weyland Corporation. It is a solid, old-fashioned setup that gives the film a genuine emotional backbone, something its predecessor conspicuously lacked.
The man pulling the strings at the prison is R. H. Weyland (Ving Rhames), who has discovered a lucrative way of making his penal enterprise even more profitable. His partner in this scheme is September Jones (Lauren Cohan), a disgraced former Miss Universe turned television presenter who hosts Death Match, an enormously popular show in which selected prisoners fight to the death. Luke, who has befriended a number of fellow inmates, is coerced into taking part, and after the last match descends into chaos, Jones hits upon the idea of transforming the fights into elaborate car races, during which participants attempt to eliminate one another using vehicles fitted with machine guns and missile launchers. Luke agrees to compete, lured by the promise of freedom should he win. In the meantime, Markus Kane, learning that Luke is at Terminal Island and fearing that his former friend might yet testify against him, offers a one million dollar bounty to any prisoner who can kill him. Even Katrina Banks (Tanit Phoenix), the female convict who serves as Luke's co-driver, is approached with the offer, adding a further layer of tension to the proceedings.
It must be conceded that Death Race 2 is a much better film than its predecessor, although, given the quality of that film, this was hardly a monumental achievement. The principal reasons for this improvement lie in its modest budget, the use of South African locations and talent, and, crucially, a change of director. Dutch filmmaker Roel Reiné demonstrates a genuine ability to deliver more with fewer resources, and by making a direct-to-video sequel there was far less concern about censorship. Consequently, Death Race 2 features considerably more graphic violence, and even some nudity and sex, returning the franchise to the exploitation territory that made the original so memorably transgressive.
In terms of continuity, Fred Koehler as the autistic prisoner Lists and Robin Shou as his fellow inmate "14K" are the only two cast members who repeat their roles from the earlier film. The rest of the cast, however, is a definite improvement, most notably in the case of Luke Goss, who plays his hardened criminal protagonist with far more realism and depth than the one-dimensional Jason Statham ever managed. Ving Rhames clearly has a field day with the uncharacteristic role of the corporate boss, while Lauren Cohan is equally good as the ruthless and sexually manipulative villainess. Even Danny Trejo manages to transcend the slightly clichéd role of the sympathetic inmate Goldberg.
At the end of the day, Death Race 2 is a solid low-budget action film that can comfortably stand on its own merits and should provide perfectly adequate entertainment to the less discerning aficionados of the genre. It may never approach the cult status of the 1975 original, but it represents a commendable recovery from the debacle of 2008. In 2013, Reiné and much of the cast returned for the next sequel, Death Race 3: Inferno, ensuring that the franchise continued its surprisingly durable run.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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