Review of Death Race 2 (2010) by Patrick E — 28 Jan 2011

2008's Death Race was a surprisingly decent remake of the 1970's original, so much so I feel it was actually a superior film that the original. So it was no surprise that a follow up was given the green light, in this case a prequel that tells the story of how the death race came about, but was surprising was the fact that it ended up being a direct to DVD release when it would been so much better on the big screen.

The plot is very much an origin story of both the death race itself and that of the iconic character Frankenstein. It shows how a TV show evolved into the killer race and how a crime boss who is marked out to be assassinated is reluctantly forced to take on the role if the infamous driver but not before gaining revenge on those who have wronged him.

To give away anymore of the plot would be to take away from the story, suffice to say that there is much more emphasis on actual story in this prequel than in the first film. So much so that it's actually rather light on death race action itself, the titular race only shows up the second half of the film and is actually its major downfall. The cars look far too familiar and it's almost impossible to tell them apart which really takes you out of the action. It's all wonderfully shot and looks great on the screen but more time should have been spent on making the cars unique. The plot itself is surprisingly good and fits into the death race mythos perfectly. The acting is good from the excellent cast and as already stated the effects are top notch. The first 45 minutes are excellent but the death race action is extremely disappointing and really drags the film down.

As on origin story the film is very good but as an action movie featuring a death race it's rather poor on the action front. Great effects and a good story make this worth watching but if you are expecting great car action like the first film then you are in for a disappointing time.