I never saw the Jason Statham version of “Death Race.” Sure, I thought about it. I mean, I like watching Statham blow stuff up as much as anyone. Yet, I still haven’t got around to checking it out.
However, the one reason I even thought about watching it was Statham. So now that we have a “Death Race 2,” you can imagine my level of interest once I found out Statham isn’t even in it.
But since I haven’t seen the first one, and the word “Death” is in the title, I figured maybe Statham died in the movie. Turns out it doesn’t matter, as this is a prequel to the first one. Yes, another movie that’s titled like a sequel but is actually a prequel. It’s more confusing than it needs to be really.
In any case, the movie stars Luke Goss, Tanit Phoenix, Sean Bean, Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo, Frederick Koehler and Lauren Cohan. Sure, none of them are A-listers, but each has appeal. So, if you enjoyed “Death Race” and you want (or need) to learn what happened before that, here’s your chance.
The movie’s plot is as follows: In the very near future, the United States economy begins to decline and violent crime starts to spiral out of control. To contain the growing criminal population, a vast network of for-profit, private prisons springs up, creating a lawless subculture ruled by gangs, cold-blooded killers and sociopaths. The worst of these prisons is Terminal Island. Convicted cop-killer Carl Lucas arrives on the Island to serve his life sentence just as ruthlessly ambitious television personality September Jones launches the ultimate reality show, Death Race. A brutal prison yard demolition derby that pits prisoners against each other in steel reinforced, heavily armed vehicles, Death Race offers the winner the ultimate prize: freedom — if he can survive to enjoy it. When Lucas signs up to be a driver, the stage is set for the birth of a legendary racer.
“Death Race 2” heads to DVD and blu-ray Jan. 18, 2011. It comes in two versions: rated and unrated.
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The first one was pretty awful.