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2010 action film directed by Roel Reiné From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Death Race 2 is a 2010 action film directed by Roel Reiné and written by Tony Giglio, who co-developed its story with Paul W. S. Anderson. A co-production between South Africa and Germany, 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 for-profit, maximum security prison where he is forced to compete in the titular reality show to earn his 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.
Death Race 2 | |
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Directed by | Roel Reiné |
Screenplay by | Tony Giglio |
Story by |
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Based on | Characters by Paul W. S. Anderson |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | John McKay |
Edited by |
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Music by | Paul Haslinger |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Universal Studios Home Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
Countries | South Africa Germany |
Language | English |
Budget | $6–18 million[lower-roman 1] |
Death Race 2 was greenlit rather 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 Cape Town, 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. The film received generally favorable reviews. A direct-to-video sequel, Death Race 3: Inferno (2013), was also directed by Reiné.
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 sent to Terminal Island. Markus orders a hit on him, convinced Luke will trade information on his crimes for immunity even though he vows never to do so.
Terminal Island is a for-profit, maximum security 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 defensive items to use 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 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 demand 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 intervenes by jumping into the arena, and convict ring girl Katrina Banks briefly assists him from outside the cage. 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 the women, who are then evacuated. When guards intervene, Luke surrenders. He sparks up a conversation with Katrina, after which she asks whether he has a name; he replies, "Of course I do." Realizing Luke is still alive, Markus puts a $1 million bounty on his head, allowing some of the prisoners to kill him.
September launches an offshoot of "Death Match", which Weyland names "Death Race", where prisoners must win five races driving heavily-armed, reinforced vehicles over three days to earn their freedom; the female convicts are to play navigators for each racer. Luke manages to enter the race, with Katrina as his navigator and Lists, Goldberg, and Rocco his pit crew members. 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, all Luke's opponents but 14K, a member of the triad whom Luke saved from getting killed by another racer, attempt to kill him to earn Markus' bounty, prompting Katrina to reveal him the truth about her offer. In the latter stage of the race, Luke ejects Katrina from the car after discovering it was sabotaged by one of his 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. Unbeknown 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 executes Markus in his mansion as 14K's favor to Luke, Lists fatally stabs Rocco for sabotaging Luke's car, and Luke backtracks and runs over September, killing her. Intrigued by his new identity, Katrina then asks Luke whether he has a real name, and he replies, "Of course I do." She smiles as they get back to the race.
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.[6]
A prequel to writer-director Paul W. S. Anderson's 2008 film Death Race (which is itself a prequel to 1975's Death Race 2000[7]) was put in development by August 2009, with screenwriter Tony Giglio tasked with expanding on Anderson's idea of an origin story for its main protagonist Frankenstein.[8] Giglio's script was greenlit by Universal Pictures in November 2009.[9] Neither Anderson nor actor Jason Statham returned for the prequel (tentatively titled Death Race: Frankenstein Lives) due to other commitments, though Anderson stayed on as producer with Jeremy Bolt and Mike Elliott.[8][10][11] Dutch director Roel Reiné signed on to direct in December 2009.[12] On March 2, 2010, it was reported that Reiné had begun shooting Death Race 2 on location in South Africa and Sean Bean had joined its cast of Luke Goss, Lauren Cohan, Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo, and Frederick Koehler.[13] The film was a co-production between Germany and South Africa,[1] enjoying tax breaks for having been shot in the latter location.[3]
Shooting lasted 30 days in Cape Town on a $6–18 million budget; Reiné acted as camera operator on certain action scenes.[3][5][lower-roman 1] An abandoned cement factory near the slums outside Cape Town was utilized to stand in for the prison,[3][15] and Goss stated that a freeway was shut down for about five hours to allow shooting of his daytime hot pursuit sequences.[17]: 03:24–03:31 The car stunts were staged as realistic as possible.[3] According to Goss, he and Reiné decided that some shots of his driving sequences be filmed as he actually drove the cars, citing the 1968 film Bullitt as an influence.[17]: 03:16–03:23 Newly-bought units of three of the cars (including a Ford Mustang) from the first film were torn apart and then rebuilt by the filmmakers as how they originally appeared for continuity purposes.[3]
Universal released the film direct-to-video through its home entertainment division on January 18, 2011,[18] although it set the earliest release date for the United Kingdom, December 27, 2010.[4] Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain R-rated and unrated versions as well as bonus material including featurettes on the cars, stunts, and canonicity of the film, deleted scenes, and a feature-length commentary by director Roel Reiné.[16][18] According to The Numbers, home video sales for the film have totaled $8.4 million in the United States and Canada,[19] 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.[20] Universal released a double feature collection comprising the film and Death Race on October 9, 2012.[21] All four films in Universal's Death Race franchise were released in a collection on October 2, 2018.[22]
The worldwide reception to Death Race and its prequel prompted Universal to enter production on Death Race 3: Inferno, the direct-to-video sequel to Death Race 2 and third installment in the Death Race franchise. Reiné and screenwriter Tony Giglio returned for the sequel, as did Luke Goss, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, Fred Koehler, Robin Shou, and Tanit Phoenix alongside series newcomers Dougray Scott and Hlubi Mboya. Shooting took place in Cape Town, South Africa later in 2011.[23] The film was released on January 22, 2013.[24]
Between the relentless bloodbath and the thrilling lack of logical consequences, Death Race 2 never fails to astonish and entertain.
The film received generally favorable reviews upon its release.[26] While scoffing at the idea of "prequels to remakes", Salon.com insisted it was still "better than it has any right to be".[10] Many reviewers said the film was better than Death Race,[lower-alpha 1] with Dread Central and IGN describing it as a worthy prequel that improves upon its Paul W. S. Anderson-directed source material.[7][16] Contrarily, Total Film said the film made his "look like an overlooked cult classic"[29] and the Daily Mirror found it rather "[b]rimming with guns, girls and growling engines" that car enthusiasts are bound to enjoy it more than a wider audience.[30] "[T]his movie", said the Winnipeg Free Press, "is no Death Race".[31] Despite the criticism, the action scenes were singled out by most for further praise,[26] with their quality described as "solid"[10] and "nicely staged".[32] Unlike those of "Death Race", the set pieces of its precursor "Death Match" received good reviews: Den of Geek found them to be "exhilarating"[4] and Total Film among the film's "guiltily enjoyable moments".[29] Even so, DVD Verdict found the film "guilty" of "running on empty" and The A.V. Club boring and amateurish; they agreed it was ultimately "a waste of time".[2][33] Others were more positive, considering it to be an entertaining full-bore action film, notwithstanding issues with the narrative in terms of plot, character, and originality.[lower-alpha 2]
Screen Daily and IGN complimented the casting,[16][32] and most singled out the supporting cast for further praise.[26] Luke Goss, who was credited by DVD Talk with "supply[ing] the picture with a minuscule sense of personality" in "a thankless role",[5] was considered to be an attractive screen presence and a worthy successor to Jason Statham by several others.[lower-alpha 3] Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, and Sean Bean were credited by some with keeping the film entertaining.[4][28][34] Even so, The Record said they delivered "scenery-chewing turns",[35] and Screen Daily deemed Trejo and Rhames' casting nothing more than cameo appearances.[32] Likewise, Den of Geek felt that Tanit Phoenix and Lauren Cohan would have done more if the film had only treated its female characters to some decent arcs; "I think what's more of a shame, though," said they, "is that the female cast wasn't given the same attention as the males."[4] Total Film said the acting was "awful", but that Bean at least "provides welcome respites from all the prison-based dullness".[29] DVD Talk commented that the goal of the film is to show not acting prowess but bloody violence, guns, and women as sexual objects, citing Cohan's "agonizing, cleavage-popping performance" in a promiscuous role as an example.[5]
Screen Daily found the film's production values spectacular for a direct-to-video release,[32] while ComingSoon.net criticized them as shoddy.[37] Grantland compared the film with "watching someone else play Dreamcast, poorly", finding "Death Match" in particular video game-like yet underwhelming in terms of presentation and production design.[38] Den of Geek acknowledged that the film "still had moments of unfinished effects, ... but, if anything, it added to the B-movie charm",[4] and Fearnet said it was "quite a bit better than what normally passes for a 'DTV sequel'".[34] HorrorNews.net found the editing "top notch" and the soundtrack "pretty bad ass".[36] DVD Talk wrote: "The most impressive aspects to director Roel Reine'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."[5] ComingSoon.net felt that Reiné abandoned plot for stunning visuals,[37] while IGN credited him with making the film look slick and more expensive than it actually is on Blu-ray.[16]