Death Race

Story: 6
Action: 8
Acting: 7
FX: 8
Durability: 7

The plot for Death Race was simple. There's a racing circuit involving prisoners and over time, it has become the most popular sports program on cable/internet. When one of the stars dies on the track, the warden needs to replace him to keep the myth alive. So she gets Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) in jail by killing his wife and framing him for the murder. I did enjoy the twist in the end though. The hero prevailed in the end, but it's a bit of a surprise how he does it. I won't give that away.

I wasn't actually interested in the movie for the story though. I just wanted to see battle-ready versions of the cars. I love Mustangs. To give you an idea of how much... I watch Knight Rider, which is terrible, just for the nice shots of the GT500KR! Death Race featured the same car too, but it was armored up and fitted with guns. As an artist, I enjoy seeing original interpretations of an already well-designed car. Each car in this movie kept its own defining characteristics, but are customized to fit the theme of the movie.

I thought Death Race was entertaining as the explosions and automotive stunts carried the movie. But the simple storyline makes me think that this would've made a much better video game than a movie. I also wish there were more vehicle shots (like they did in Gone in 60 Seconds.