Review of Death Race 2 (2010) by Adam F — 28 Jan 2013

While "Death Race 2" isn't a very ambitious or great film, it's entertaining enough and if you're a fan of the franchise it's worth a watch. The film has a lot of problems and those problems are further hindered by the fact that there is no racing in the film for the first hour so the title is actually very deceptive (never mind the fact that this is actually a prequel to "Death Race", not a sequel).

When we do see racing, it is very poorly shot, edited frantically to the point where you'll be struggling to figure out what exactly is going on. As with the first instalment, all of the cars are all painted in greys and metallic colours and are very hard to differentiate but they are based on different, distinct models so it's an improvement in that sense.

The protagonist is generic, the love plot is boring and totally unnecessary but the movie is entertaining when things are exploding and when it is focussed on the side characters. The movie does move more towards the camp factor, with some funny characters and that is definitely an improvement but it feels more like a cash grab than an exploration into the mythology and history of the series.

If you really liked the first one though, as a straight-to-Dvd action flick you'll have some fun. In the end it's mildly entertaining but if your first thoughts are "why would I want to see this?" then you're better off staying away.

(Unrated version on Blu-ray, January 25, 2013).