Edward survives Death Race
He’s been set free.
There’s also a plot hole that will irritate anybody from Detroit. The movie is set in 2012, but they use cars from 2008. For instance, our protag drives a heavily modified current body style Mustang. You’ll also see a 2008 Chrysler 300C and Dodge Ram. The rest of the world probably won’t notice, but being from Motown, it’s hard for me to ignore such a huge plot hole. In fact, if it wasn’t for the opening scene where it says “In 2012” there’s absolutely no way I would’ve known it was the future. Then again, this is just a Statham movie, and I might be wasting my time even thinking about said plot holes.
The acting was, well, exactly what you would expect it to be, rubbish. Statham plays Jensen Ames, the aforementioned driver. I’ve started to think that Statham is not actually acting. What the director actually does it place him in these situations, and film his reaction. Seriously, he doesn’t “act” he “does”, Statham is the same person in EVERY film, regardless of the era, situation, or plot. Ian McShane plays Coach and, you guessed it, he plays Ames’ older, wiser, mentor. Natalie Martinez plays Case, Ames’ co-driver and super hot side kick. There isn’t much to say about Case, besides the fact that she’s hot, and doesn’t wear much in the way of clothes. There are also a handful of other equally shallow characters that aren’t really worth mentioning. Needless to say, the acting was truly unimpressive.
For all of its flaws, and there certainly are a lot. Death Race was exactly what I expected. There was one twist that I didn’t see coming, but it was minor, and in the end it changed nothing. I don’t doubt that this film will come out at the #1 spot, unless Tropic Thunder can continue to hold its position. But, it’s no Dark Knight that’s for sure! Regardless, if you feel like seeing a brain dead action movie, then go see Death Race. Otherwise, wait for it to enter endless re-runs on a cable channel near you!