DEATH RACE

"Let's race"

When former racing driver Jensen Ames (Statham) is framed for the murder of his wife, he is given a life sentence and sent to the maximum-security prison Terminal Island. Here Warden Hennessey (Allen) has created the most popular pay-per-view sporting event in the world. Called 'Death Race' this is a no-holds-barred car race around a purpose built track, filled with dangers, blind corners and plenty of other ways to kill the driver and his navigator. Hennessey needs a new Frankenstein, Death Race's star driver after he is fatally wounded and Ames is that man but he has other plans.

Hollywood's fascination with remaking 70s movies but can Paul W.S. Anderson's reimagination of 'Death Race' be any better than the original?

Back in 1975, David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone battled for points by killing pedestrians in the futuristic, cross country race 'Death Race 2000'. The movie became a cult classic, with many an imitation following this is a movie that could have been crying out for a remake for a modern audience. The man behind 'Mortal Kombat', 'Event Horizon', 'Resident Evil' and 'Alien vs. Predator', Paul W.S. Anderson has taken the concept and combined it with a prison movie concept to produce a very different 'Death Race' movie but it keeps to the 70s spirit.

Doing away with the excessive computer generated effects that have become commonplace in modern cinema, this new version of 'Death Race' seems like a breath of fresh air and this is all because of the use of real cars and real stunts. With the car chases in the 'Bourne' series setting new standards in realism and stunt work, writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson's decision to forgo CGI and return to good, old fashioned stunt work is a welcome one. The cars are brilliantly designed, built to withstand the most brutal collisions and primed with weapons to take out their follow competitor, making the movie more like an elongated video game than a movie but it is these cars and the inventive, prison island based track that make the movie a lot more enjoyable than it should have been.

When it comes to naming British action stars, you would struggle to name any actor outside of the Bond franchise but one man has taken this moniker and made it his own. That man is Jason Statham. The actor who made his name by playing cheeky, cockney gangsters in his breakout movies 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and 'Snatch', has quickly become an action favourite with hits like 'Crank' and the 'Transporter' series and 'Death Race' only adds to this. While be might not get to do as much hand-to-hand fighting, as Jensen Ames he gets to show again that he is just as comfortable behind the wheel but this time he gets to push this to the extreme.

Paul W.S. Anderson has gathered together a fine cast to back up Statham. Joan Allen might not have been the most obvious choice to play Warden Hennessey but she has real fun with the role, revelling in playing the villain. Tyrese Gibson continues to make a name for himself in action adventures playing the role that Sylvester Stallone made famous, Machine Gun Joe Mason. The stunningly beautiful Natalie Martinez makes a real splash in a motion picture debut as Ames' navigator Elizabeth Case. There is also a fun role for the British star that has taken America by storm, Ian McShane.

'Death Race' is a typical Paul W.S. Anderson movie. A mix of huge set pieces, plenty of action and the minimal amount of storyline to get to the next action sequence but it is fun all the same. With some excellent car races and plenty of blood and gore, this is an action movie that you cannot help but enjoy.