Reiné’s directorial talents were put to great use here he managed to craft several exhilarating races and slick action sequences throughout (as opposed to The Marine 2, in which Reiné’s competent technique was hampered by a dire script). Working on a scant $14 million budget (less than one third of the budget of 2008’s Death Race), Dutch director Roel Reiné did a fine job of making Death Race 2 look like a far more expensive film than it is. Luke joins the competition, and, in true Death Race fashion, earns himself an attractive female navigator named Katrina (Phoenix).
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The island is transformed into a racetrack to host the multiple-day pay-per-view event, in which nine drivers compete to gain their freedom.
However, the ratings begin to decline, so the ante is raised when Death Match is scrapped in favor of a new game the more epic Death Race. In the search for another source of profit, Weyland (Rhames) and his slutty assistant September Jones (Cohan) organize a show called Death Match in which inmates fight to the death. He ends up on Terminal Island Penitentiary which has been acquired by the profit-seeking Weyland Corporation. Following a bank job gone awry, Carl takes the fall and decides to do the time rather than testify against Kane.
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It would seem we’ve reached the point where direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray no longer means cheap crap.īefore Frankenstein became a legendary star of Death Race, he was Carl “Luke” Lucas (Goss) a getaway driver working for notorious crime lord Marcus Kane (Bean). And it’s all delivered with slick cinematic techniques and absolutely no pretensions. Despite being a low-budgeted direct-to-DVD/Blu-ray sequel, Death Race 2 delivers massive explosions, beautiful gals, bloody violence, exhilarating car carnage, colorful villains, and thrilling race sequences. The title is rather misleading, however, since this is not a sequel but a prequel - it deals with the genesis of Death Race, the beginnings of the legendary Frankenstein, and why Frankenstein has to keep his identity a secret at all times.
Despite its disappointing performance at the box office, 2010’s Death Race 2 eventually moved forward. It’s cinematic junk food, sure, but the big dumb fun aspect and the expert action sequences made it easy to dismiss the cold critical heart in this reviewer’s chest and forget that critics are supposed to hate exploitation films like it. Not everyone may share the same opinion, but this reviewer immensely enjoyed Paul W.S.