Pun Salad

I'll give an extra half-star to a movie that has Joan Allen say, "Okay c---s----r. F--- with me, and we'll see who s---s on the sidewalk." You don't often hear that kind of dialogue from a multiple Oscar nominee not named Al Pacino. (In case you don't believe me or are just having trouble with filling in the gaps, IMDB has the uncensored quote.)

The premise is, that in the near future, sometime around the end of President Obama's first term, the American economy is in the toilet, crime is rampant, and the public has a depraved thirst for ever more violent pay-per-view reality shows. Hence: "Death Race", which pits convicts held in a privatized prison against each other in no-rules car races; each vehicle is equipped with enough firepower to take out the armies of any two Third World countries. And the warden (the previously-mentioned Joan Allen) will do anything to goose the ratings.

Into this scene comes Jensen Ames, played by Jason Statham, framed for killing his wife. He's coerced into taking over for masked driver "Frankenstein", after the previous inhabitant of the role got seriously killed in his previous race.

I kept waiting for the movie to rise above schlock level, but it never did. The races aren't very interesting: it's like watching someone else play a stupid video game.

In addition to Joan Allen, the acting talent of Ian McShane is also wasted in the role of "Coach", the hero's ace mechanic.