Review - Death Race 2 (2010)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, with a second season of Twisted Metal around the corner, I thought it would be fun to dive back into another notable vehicular combat franchise: Death Race. 2008's Death Race, released by Universal Pictures, owed a lot of its visual design to Twisted Metal more than the Roger Corman classic Death Race 2000. Unfortunately, Death Race underperformed at the 2008 box office, so Universal opted to go the direct-to-video route for the next film in the series, which would be a prequel film exploring the backstory of the event known as the Death Race. 

       So, Death Race 2 establishes what we already knew from the 2008 film. In the near future, the U.S. economy collapses, and the criminal justice system reaches a breaking point, leading to federal penitentiaries being run for profit by private corporations, with the Weyland Corporation running the penitentiary known as Terminal Island. And, we open on Terminal Island, which is a powder keg ready to blow due to severe racial tension between the inmates, leading to a riot breaking our in the prison yard, which is showcased on the news by television host and producer September Jones. Thankfully, the riot is quelled thanks to the efforts of Warden Parks. 

        Some time later, we meet career criminal and precision driver Carl "Luke" Lucas, who works for crime boss Markus Kane. Luke is given the task of being the getaway driver for a bank robbery, which goes south when the robbers refuse to abort when two police officers casually walk into the bank. Luke attempts to intervene, one of the robbers dies, and a massive chase through the streets ensues. Luke ditches the robbers to lure the police away, and takes the fall. Refusing to turn evidence against Markus, and vowing never to testify against Markus in exchange for immunity, Luke is sent to Terminal Island on a bus that includes two other new inmates: Hillbilly and Lists. 

        Luke is tasked to the work detail with Goldberg, a Mexican-Jewish inmate, and Rocco. Their job is to strip down cars and convert the metal into weapons and other items that Weyland sells for dirt cheap. Also, Luke witnesses Terminal Island's main revenue source: a pay-per-view gladiatorial fight series called Death Match, where prisoners either fight to the death, or until their opponent submits, and they have access to weapons. The first fight we see is between 14K of the Triads, and Xander Grady of the Aryan Brotherhood. After seeing Luke rescue Lists from a potential assault, September offers to make Luke's stay more comfortable if he fights in Death Match. But, when he refuses, she instead puts Lists in a fight against the intimidating Big Bill. This doesn't go well, and Luke gets involved to save Lists, more inmates get involved, leading to a ratings spike, but Warden Parks shuts down the broadcast, and the riot is quelled. Seeing this on TV, Markus puts a bounty of $1 million on Luke's head. 

        Some days pass, and September meets with Weyland Corporation CEO R.H. Weyland to discuss a new evolution on the original concept of Death Match. In lieu of pit fighting, she proposed a race across the length of Terminal Island, across three days, and reinforce the cars with protection such as roll cages, bulletproof glass, and reinforced plating, and adding a mix of offensive and defensive weapons, with precautions taken so inmates can only shoot at drivers on the track. Weyland, recognizing the need for a hook to draw in viewers, proposes the creation of a prize that every prisoner will be willing to put their lives on the line for: win five races, win your freedom. And, thus, Death Race is born. 

       Among the drivers in the first ever Death Race are the likes of Luke, Big Bill, Hillbilly, Xander Grady, Calin, and 14K. One surprise that each driver gets.when they select their car is a navigator, which is one of the women brought in from the nearby women's penitentiary. And, in Luke's case, his navigator is the lovely Katrina Banks. Also, Luke's pit crew consists of Goldberg, Lists, and Rocco. Despite the massive target on his back because of Markus' bounty, Luke manages to win the first day of Death Race. That night, Luke is taken to the abandoned Death Match pit, where Weyland gives him an evening with Katrina as a gift, and the two are left alone, where they end up having sex. After learning about Markus' bounty, September has Luke placed in solitary confinement for his protection. 

      Day two of Death Race goes pretty badly, with so many after the bounty on Luke's head, and this includes the likes of Big Bill, Calin, and Xander. Also, Katrina reveals that she was approached by Markus to betray Luke. But, the only one in the race not after the bounty is 14K, as Markus doesn't deal with the Triads. So, knowing 14K will owe him one, Luke saves 14K from Xander, before having Katrina eject when Big Bill launches a missile at Luke, causing him to both wreck and be burned alive. Big Bill inadvertently kills his own crew, and is tossed out by his navigator, dying on impact with some metal barriers. Katrina reminds 14K of the "life for a life" thing, as Luke saves his life, and 14K remarks that he knows what to do. 

         As preparations for the next Death Race kick off, September and Weyland discuss Warden Parks' replacement, Warden Hennessy, and the transfer of Death Race from pay-per-view to the Internet, and a new mystery driver: Frankenstein. Luke, it turns out, survived and is badly burned. September offers him a second chance at freedom if he drives as Frankenstein. That night, Lists kills Rocco in the shower for sabotaging Luke's defensive weapons, a Triad breaches Markus' home and shoots him for Luke, and Luke himself mows down September for good measure, and goes on to become the marquee driver of Death Race: Frankenstein. 

        So, I do think that Death Race 2 is a fascinating film in how it dives into the origins of the Death Race as we see it in the 2008 film. Also, seeing all of the cars, including the Dodge Ram and the Mustang, return for this movie were pretty cool. Luke Goss was a really good leading man as Luke, and I absolutely loved Tanit Phoenix as Katrina. The two most notable names in this movie are Ving Rhames as Weyland and Danny Trejo as Goldberg, with the trio of Sean Bean as Markus, DeObia Oparei as Big Bill, and Lauren Cohan as September Jones being interesting villains. None of them felt as ruthless as Joan Allen's Hennessy, but they were still effective in the context of the film. Also, it was great seeing the returns of Frederick Koehler as Lists and Robin Shou as 14K, both of whom were in the 2008 film. 

        The way the movie explores the foundation of the event known as Death Race is also neat. Seeing how it started as extreme pit fighting amongst the inmates of Terminal Island, and how characters like September Jones and Weyland would come up with the concepts that would define the Death Race as it was introduced in the 2008 film was neat, and seeing that it was Weyland that came up with the idea that if a prisoner wins five races, he wins his freedom, as well as the name Death Race, was pretty interesting. 

       Overall, director Roel Reiné made a movie that explores concepts alluded to in the 2008 film and fleshes them out in a film that is much more enjoyable than its 2008 predecessor. I absolutely enjoyed this film, and I definitely suggest checking it out. However, there are a few loose ends and unanswered questions in regards to a couple of  characters from the 2008 film not featured in this one. And, those questions will have to wait for a while when we take a look at the follow-up to this film: Death Race 3: Inferno. 

        Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys in the next review.