Review of Death Race (2008) by Chads. — 23 Aug 2008
The warden created Death Race. Since this made-for-television spectacle, an amalgamating of NASCAR and attempted manslaughter, is more organized than an intramural sports program for convicts, Hennessey(Joan Allen) wears a second hat at her maximum security penitentary.
She is de facto commissioner of a high-profile sports league, who oversees its daily operations from an office that overlooks the track. The thorny prison superintendent wields power, unchecked power.
This autonomy allows Hennessey to manipulate her latest race by dispatching a personally-sanctioned attack vehicle to eliminate the lesser drivers on her roster, thus paving the way for a Frankenstein(Jason Stratham) versus Machine Gun Joe(Tyrene Gibson) showdown in the final heat, the last of Death Race's three stages.
In essence, she fixes the race. "Death Race" is a coded film about the integrity of professional sports. For years, prior to the major scandal that rocked the basketball world, naysayers of conspiracy theories used to maintain that it would take tremendous chutzpah, with the prevalence of television cameras and a nationwide audience, to predetermine a contest's outcome for the sake of ratings and audience growth.
When the coach(Ian McShane) says, "I love this game," "Death Race" gets specific about its target, although to be fair, all sports are susceptible to a dereliction of honest stewardship.
Like the coach says, "That's entertainment." That's the cynical times we live in. This alleged film, a video game, really, has A.D.D., but it works on the level of revenge fantasy for professional basketball fans, who at one time or another, felt robbed.
This review of Death Race (2008) was written by Chads. on 23 Aug 2008.
Death Race has generally received mixed reviews.
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