Admitting to being fan of the original Death Race released in 2008 starring Jason Statham and Joan Allen doesn't exactly put me in elite company. Hell, I even enjoyed (to a much lesser degree) the sequel, Death Race which swapped Statham for Luke Goss in 2010 and went straight to DVD. They were mindless action films, but there was some valued entertainment it be had amongst the car chases and carnage.
The same cannot be said for the third entry titled Death Race: Inferno. In this installment, inmate Carl Lucas (Luke Goss), or Frankenstein as we have come to know him, is but one win away from gaining his freedom via the Death Race sweepstakes. But behind the scenes wrangling of the Death Race rights from Death Race 2 show runner, Weyland (Ving Rhames) to the corrupt – OK, more corrupt – Niles York (Dougray Scott) there is foul play afoot that may negate any chance Lucas has in becoming a free man. So as the race moves to an international location, Lucas and familiar members of his pit crew, Goldberg (Danny Trejo) and Lists (Fred Koehler) will go through the motions while masterminding a way to come out of the whole mess as winners.
Whereas Death Race and Death Race 2 were both mindless action, Death Race: Inferno is simply mindless. Luke Goss is definitely no Jason Statham. He has 99% less charisma and even less acting ability.
That noted, Goss is given nothing in which to work with here. The dialogue is inane, the fighting sequences are boring and unfolding plot had my decision to not watch paint dry in my garage in lieu of this screen in a frightful mistake.
Director Roel Reiné seems hell bent on appeasing his teenage target audience with car flips and explosions all put to slow motion and loud rock n roll music invading our ear drums. Dougray Scott's character is about as deep as a newborn's bathwater. His actions and dialogue were laughable while he reacts to events unfolding on television screens around him.
Danny Trejo looks almost embarrassed to be part of this project and all other drivers in the Race are disposable actors who are intended on keeping a body count at a teenage acceptable level.
Not all is terrible. There is at least one kill that was worthy of a hand clap and there is some humor to be found – particularly in the television narrators descriptions. But all these fine points accomplish is move Death Race: Inferno from a No Star rating up to a single twinkle.
www.killerreviews.com
The same cannot be said for the third entry titled Death Race: Inferno. In this installment, inmate Carl Lucas (Luke Goss), or Frankenstein as we have come to know him, is but one win away from gaining his freedom via the Death Race sweepstakes. But behind the scenes wrangling of the Death Race rights from Death Race 2 show runner, Weyland (Ving Rhames) to the corrupt – OK, more corrupt – Niles York (Dougray Scott) there is foul play afoot that may negate any chance Lucas has in becoming a free man. So as the race moves to an international location, Lucas and familiar members of his pit crew, Goldberg (Danny Trejo) and Lists (Fred Koehler) will go through the motions while masterminding a way to come out of the whole mess as winners.
Whereas Death Race and Death Race 2 were both mindless action, Death Race: Inferno is simply mindless. Luke Goss is definitely no Jason Statham. He has 99% less charisma and even less acting ability.
That noted, Goss is given nothing in which to work with here. The dialogue is inane, the fighting sequences are boring and unfolding plot had my decision to not watch paint dry in my garage in lieu of this screen in a frightful mistake.
Director Roel Reiné seems hell bent on appeasing his teenage target audience with car flips and explosions all put to slow motion and loud rock n roll music invading our ear drums. Dougray Scott's character is about as deep as a newborn's bathwater. His actions and dialogue were laughable while he reacts to events unfolding on television screens around him.
Danny Trejo looks almost embarrassed to be part of this project and all other drivers in the Race are disposable actors who are intended on keeping a body count at a teenage acceptable level.
Not all is terrible. There is at least one kill that was worthy of a hand clap and there is some humor to be found – particularly in the television narrators descriptions. But all these fine points accomplish is move Death Race: Inferno from a No Star rating up to a single twinkle.
www.killerreviews.com