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Death Race 2

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Death Race 2
Home video cover
Directed byRoel Reiné
Screenplay byTony Giglio
Story by
Based onCharacters
by Paul W. S. Anderson
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJohn McKay
Edited by
  • Radu Ion
  • Herman P. Koerts
Music byPaul Haslinger
Production
companies
  • Universal Pictures Productions GmbH
  • Moonlighting Death Race Films C.C.[1]
Distributed byUniversal Studios Home Entertainment
Release dates
  • December 27, 2010 (2010-12-27) (United Kingdom)
  • January 18, 2011 (2011-01-18) (U.S. and Canada)
Running time
100 minutes
CountriesGermany
South Africa
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6–18 million

Death Race 2 is a 2010 action film directed by Roel Reiné as well as written by Tony Giglio, who co-developed its story with Paul W. S. Anderson. A co-production between Germany and South Africa, it is the prequel to Anderson's 2008 film Death Race (which is itself a prequel to 1975's Death Race 2000) and the second installment in the Death Race franchise. The film stars Luke Goss as Carl "Luke" Lucas, a convicted cop killer sentenced to life in a notorious private prison where he is forced to fight to the death live on the titular reality show in a bid for freedom. Fred Koehler, Tanit Phoenix, Robin Shou, Lauren Cohan, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, and Sean Bean appear in supporting roles; Koehler and Shou reprise theirs from Death Race.

The film was developed not as a Death Race sequel but as a prequel that tells the origin story of franchise protagonist Frankenstein sans the directorial involvement of Anderson (who stayed on as co-producer instead) and appearance of Jason Statham. Reiné signed on to direct and began shooting in South Africa earlier in 2010. Universal Pictures released the film direct-to-video through its home entertainment division on January 18, 2011, although it set the earliest release date for the United Kingdom, December 27, 2010. Critical reception to the film was "generally positive across the board".[2] A direct-to-video sequel, Death Race 3: Inferno, was released in 2013.

Plot summary[edit]

Getaway driver Carl "Luke" Lucas attempts to rob a bank for crime boss Markus Kane. During the robbery, two officers coincidentally enter the building. Luke tells his accomplices to abort, but they refuse; Luke intervenes, but it results in the death of one of the robbers. Luke kills an officer and dumps off his accomplices to fulfill Markus's wishes. Luke is captured following a chase and sentenced to prison. Six months later, he is transferred to Terminal Island.

Terminal Island is a private prison controlled by Weyland Corporation, which hosts "Death Match", a televised pay-per-view competition where two dangerous convicts are forced to fight to the death or submission. The prisoners are given access to weapons or defense items to use during the fight by stepping on a marked plate in the arena. Death Match is hosted by September Jones, a former Miss Universe who lost her crown due to allegations of having a sexual relationship with the judges. She now works for Weyland Corporation owner R. H. Weyland to generate profit from the pay-per-view subscribers of Death Match. Luke meets Lists, Goldberg, and Rocco, as well as catches the attention of September after protecting the cowardly Lists from an attempted assault.

Luke rejects September's proposal that he fight in exchange for privileges in prison and spurns her sexual advances. In retaliation, September chooses Lists to fight in a Death Match against a physically imposing black opponent, Big Bill, from whom Luke protected him. Luke jumps over a barbed fence to fight for Lists and is briefly assisted by convict and ring girl Katrina Banks. A riot breaks out during the fight sparked by racial tension; convicts force their way into the arena, and some of them attempt to rape the female convicts. Katrina defends herself and helps the other women, who are then evacuated. When guards intervene, Luke surrenders. Markus, worried that Luke will trade information on his crimes for immunity, discovers his location at Terminal Island while watching Death Match. Luke is treated for his wounds and sparks up a conversation with Katrina, whom he thanks for assisting him.

Markus puts a $1 million bounty on Luke's head and convinces some of the prisoners to kill him. Meanwhile, September comes up with the idea of converting Death Match into a race-car match where the contestants will have to race each other in heavily-armed, armored vehicles over three days. Weyland likes the idea enough to incorporate freedom as prize to whoever manages to win five races in what he names "Death Race". Luke joins the race with a pit crew comprising Lists, Goldberg, and Rocco, during which other prisoners try to kill him to earn Markus's bounty. The female convicts are brought back to play navigator for each racer, and Katrina is paired with Luke.

After winning the first race, Luke is congratulated by Weyland, who brings in Katrina as a prize. Once left alone, Luke and Katrina briefly banter with each other and have sex. Later, Katrina is brought to Markus, who offers her freedom if she kills Luke within 48 hours.

During the second race, Luke intervenes in an altercation between two other racers and saves Triad member 14K. As a result, 14K claims to be indebted to Luke. Later in the same race, Katrina informs Luke about Markus's offer. Luke ejects her from the car after discovering that it was sabotaged by one of their pit crew members. Defenseless, he gets blown up by Big Bill's heat-seeking missile; Big Bill's navigator fatally stabs her partner after he kills his own pit crew and grabs her by the throat. Katrina and Luke's pit crew fail to save Luke from the burning car, leaving him engulfed in flames. Unknown to everyone but September, Luke survives albeit badly burnt; she coerces him into joining the race in a mask under the moniker "Frankenstein".

As the last race begins, a Triad assassin sent by 14K raids Markus's mansion and executes Markus as a favor to Luke. Lists kills Rocco (who tampered with Luke's car) and Luke kills September by running her over with his car, after which he races with the other competitors.

Cast[edit]

Additional members of the cast include Patrick Lyster as Warden Parks, DeObia Oparei as Big Bill, Hennie Bosman as Xander Grady, Joe Vaz as Rocco, Danny Keogh as Dr. Klein, Warrick Grier as Calin, and Tanya van Graan as Holly.[7]

Production[edit]

A newly-bought Ford Mustang for Death Race 2 was destroyed and converted into that in the first (pictured), to provide continuity between the two films.

The development of a prequel to Paul W. S. Anderson's 2008 film Death Race (which is itself a prequel to 1975's Death Race 2000[8]) was announced in August 2009, with screenwriter Tony Giglio tasked with expanding on Anderson's idea of an origin story for its main protagonist Frankenstein.[9] Anderson did not return to direct the prequel (which had been tentatively titled Death Race: Frankenstein Lives) but stayed on as producer with Jeremy Bolt and Mike Elliott,[10] nor did Jason Statham reprise his role as he was reportedly working on The Mechanic.[11] On March 2, 2010, it was reported that director Roel Reiné had been shooting Death Race 2 in South Africa and Sean Bean had joined its cast of Luke Goss, Lauren Cohan, Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo, and Frederick Koehler.[12] The film was a co-production between Germany and South Africa.[1]

Shooting lasted 30 days on a $6–18 million budget.[6][a] In directing the film, Reiné preferred using three of the cars from its predecessor for continuity and shooting the car action scenes as realistic as possible. Newly-bought units of these cars, which included a Ford Mustang, were destroyed and then converted into those in the first film. An abandoned cement factory was used to stand in for the prison.[4]

Release[edit]

Universal Pictures released the film direct-to-video through its home entertainment division on January 18, 2011,[15] although it set the earliest release date for the United Kingdom, December 27, 2010.[5] Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain two versions of the film—rated and unrated—as well as bonus contents including featurettes on the cars, stunts and canonicity of the film, deleted scenes, and a feature-length commentary by Roel Reiné.[13][15] According to The Numbers, home video sales for the film have totaled $8.4 million in the United States and Canada,[16] with 218,000 ($4.04 million) DVD copies sold in its opening week, making it a decent debut for a straight-to-DVD release. In contrast, 50,000 Blu-ray copies were sold on the same week.[17] Universal released on similar formats a double feature two-disc set comprising the film and Death Race on October 9, 2012.[18] Death Race 2 was included in the "Death Race: 4-Movie Collection", which Universal released on similar formats on October 2, 2018.[19]

Sequel[edit]

Main article: Death Race 3: Inferno
Further information: Death Race (franchise)

The worldwide reception to Death Race and its prequel successor prompted Universal to enter production on Death Race 3: Inferno, a direct-to-video sequel to Death Race 2 and the third installment in the Death Race franchise. Reiné returned to direct Inferno (which was shot in Cape Town, South Africa later in 2011), as did Luke Goss, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, Fred Koehler, Robin Shou, and Tanit Phoenix to reprise their roles from Death Race 2; Dougray Scott and Hlubi Mboya were cast in newly-added roles.[20] The film was released on January 20, 2013.[21]

Reception[edit]

Between the relentless bloodbath and the thrilling lack of logical consequences, Death Race 2 never fails to astonish and entertain.

—Debopriyaa Dutta, /Film[22]

According to Alicia Malone of the entertainment website Moviehole, critical reception to the film was "generally positive across the board" upon its release.[2] IGN said that while it was neither original nor guaranteed to please opponents of its "highly mediocre" Paul W. S. Anderson-directed predecessor, the film connected well with his as a prequel and delivered "plenty of action, great car chases and loads of mayhem".[13] Contrarily, the Daily Mirror felt it was not as "highly enjoyable" as its predecessor and bound to please nobody but car enthusiasts and "undemanding blokes returning from the pub, preferably in a state of advanced inebriation".[23] Despite the criticism, many publications but Total Film and the Winnipeg Free Press said the film was better than Anderson's.[b] While scoffing at the idea of "prequels to remakes", Salon insisted that the film was still "better than it has any right to be".[11]

The action scenes were singled out by most for further praise,[2] with their quality described as "solid"[11] and "nicely staged".[27] While finding nothing particularly surprising about the origins of "Death Race", Den of Geek wrote that "the fights we see [in "Death Match"] add a Running Man level of violence and excitement that, for me, were more exhilarating than when the film inevitably makes its transition to four wheels".[5] Total Film also cited "the Beyond Thunderdome-style gladiatorial Death Matches" as some of the film's "guiltily enjoyable moments", but said the final racing scenes were "anti-climactic [and] akin to watching someone else's drunken game of Mario Kart".[25] Even so, many publications but The A.V. Club, which found the film boring and "a total waste of time",[3] felt it was an entertaining full-bore action romp,[c] and DVD Talk called it "an intermittently entertaining actioner".[6]

IGN and Screen Daily found the film's production values spectacular for a direct-to-video release,[13][27] while ComingSoon.net criticized them as shoddy and went on to say: "The whole production is just pathetic".[30] Den of Geek acknowledged that the film "still had moments of unfinished effects, including some green screen shots, but, if anything, it added to the B-movie charm",[5] and Fearnet said it was "quite a bit better than what normally passes for a 'DTV sequel'".[28] DVD Talk wrote: "The most impressive aspects to director Roel Reiné's film are the stunt work and crisp cinematography, giving fans of the first film another round of brutal races and beatings, only this time the picture appears to embrace its feral nature with a little more spunk."[6] IGN praised Reiné's direction, "not to mention inventive camerawork",[13] while ComingSoon.net was critical that he eschewed plot and basic storytelling in favor of creating stunning visuals.[30]

Screen Daily found the film well cast[27] and IGN called the cast "pretty terrific",[13] while Total Film said the performances were "awful".[25] Luke Goss, whose performance in "a thankless role" was deemed satisfactory by DVD Talk,[6] was considered by others to be a fine substitute for his predecessor Jason Statham.[5][25][27] Most reviews further praised the supporting cast,[2] with Sean Bean, Ving Rhames, and Danny Trejo credited by some with adding entertainment value with "scenery-chewing" performances.[5][28][29] However, Den of Geek said the film limited Tanit Phoenix and Lauren Cohan to playing one-dimensional roles for which they were photographed in a sexually objectifying way. "I think what's more of a shame, though, is that the female cast wasn't given the same attention as the male," wrote the website.[5]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Sources vary on the actual amount of the film's budget, which Reiné has quoted at less than ten percent of its predecessor.[13][14]
  2. ^ Attributed to multiple references:[5][6][8][24][25][26]
  3. ^ Attributed to multiple references:[8][11][28][29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Miska, Brad (October 6, 2010). "'Death Race 2' Comes Unrated on DVD/Blu-ray This January". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Malone, Alicia (December 29, 2010). "Exclusive: Death Race 3 revving up!". Moviehole. Australia. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Modell, Josh (January 26, 2011). "Death Race 2". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "How To Make A Death Race". Total Film. Future Publishing. December 27, 2010. pp. 1–8. Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Bowles, Duncan (December 15, 2010). "Death Race 2 review". Den of Geek. United Kingdom. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Orndorf, Brian (January 18, 2011). "Death Race 2 - Unrated". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on January 16, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  7. ^ "Death Race 2 - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Barton, Steve (January 22, 2011). "Death Race 2 (Blu-ray / DVD)". Dread Central. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  9. ^ Parfitt, Orlando (August 12, 2009). "Death Race Prequel". IGN. Archived from the original on August 30, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  10. ^ Miska, Brad (November 13, 2009). "Movies 'Death Race: Frankenstein Lives' Begins Casting". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d Calhoun, Bob (January 22, 2011). "The "Death Race" prequel that's better than it should be". Salon. Archived from the original on July 6, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  12. ^ Kit, Borys (March 2, 2010). "Bean Straps into 'Death Race 2'". The Hollywood Reporter. Vol. 413. p. 13. ProQuest 235466424.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Shaffer, R. L. (January 20, 2011). "Death Race 2 Blu-ray Review". IGN. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  14. ^ Strowbridge, C. S. (February 2, 2011). "Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Death Race 2". The Numbers. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  15. ^ a b McCutcheon, David (October 6, 2010). "Death Race Lives On". IGN. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  16. ^ "Death Race 2 (2011)". The Numbers. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  17. ^ Strowbridge, C. S. (February 1, 2011). "DVD Sales: New Release Takes Top Spot". The Numbers. Archived from the original on June 23, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  18. ^ "Death Race / Death Race 2 Double Feature [Blu-ray]". Amazon. ASIN B008R65XVA. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  19. ^ Miska, Brad (August 2, 2010). "Home Video 'Death Race: Beyond Anarchy' is Finally Coming Out". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  20. ^ McCutcheon, David (December 17, 2011). "Death Race 3 in the Works". IGN. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  21. ^ "Death Race 3: Inferno". IGN. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  22. ^ Dutta, Debopriyaa (June 23, 2024). "The Correct Order To Watch The Death Race Franchise". /Film. Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  23. ^ Edwards, David (December 31, 2010). "Death Race 2 DVD review: Revved up bid for freedom". Daily Mirror. United Kingdom. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  24. ^ Kirkland, Bruce (January 30, 2011). "Guilty pleasure; Direct-to-DVD prequel Death Race 2 is better than it has any right to be". The Ottawa Sun. Canada. p. E2. ProQuest 2215579903.
  25. ^ a b c d Geary, Dan (February 2011). "Bland Theft Auto". Total Film. No. 176. United Kingdom: Future Publishing. p. 138. ISSN 1366-3135. Archived from the original on July 14, 2024.
  26. ^ "Death Race 2: This Sequel to the Superior 2008 Edition". Winnipeg Free Press. Canada. January 20, 2011. p. E4. ProQuest 845331071.
  27. ^ a b c d Adams, Mark (January 21, 2011). "Death Race 2". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  28. ^ a b c Weinberg, Scott (January 7, 2011). "DVD Review: 'Death Race 2'". Fearnet. Archived from the original on January 9, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  29. ^ a b Longsdorf, Amy (January 21, 2011). "New on DVD". The Record. p. G10. ProQuest 845788688.
  30. ^ a b Brevet, Brad (January 18, 2011). "Blu-ray Review: Death Race 2 (Unrated)". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on July 6, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.

External links[edit]

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