DEATH RACE {2008} Film Review - 12/10/08

The original "Death Race 2000" was the sort of film that got whispered about with baited breath usually in connection with other films of the era like "Rollerball". Seeing it many years ago on an old VHS tape made me realise just how good the original compares to the remade version and still stands up today. This obvious labour of love ups the ante immediately with a totally different tack and has all the typical Hollywood cliches all lined up (...and I don't mean that in a derogatory way!) with a total 380 turn incarcerating the drivers in a Prison race, which has been totally set up by the Government and the Warden who become the villains of the piece. Then we burn into the carnage and the visceral punch of bodies flying through the air and destruction and damage on a grand scale becomes Pay-Per-View for the masses. Bullets fly, rockets soar and boom - We get BIG BIG BIG explosions. If you want thrills and spills with lots of action then this is your baby - Totally daft but immensely enjoyable!