Death Race 2008

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: It's one of those vicious larks that just plain hit the spot. It hits the spot, throws 'er into reverse and hits the spot again, before machine-gunning it and ramming it head-on for the fun of it. Read more

Mark Rahner, Seattle Times: Death Race should at least score points for its title, which is more apt than, say, Feelings Exploration. It's mostly a race, and there's a lot of death. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: It's the perfect end-of-summer film, and a sign that summer needs to end soon. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Anderson's take is ultraviolent, ridiculously stupid and kind of a rush. If your brain has an 'off' switch, you're well-advised to use it. And the carnage is relentless. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: Thanks to its character interplay, the movie doesn't drag despite taking a good 40 minutes to really rev its engines. And the racing that ensues is as loud, fast, hyper-edited, and pulverizingly destructive as the gladiatorially minded would hope. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: Car-crash porn for the modern audience. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: It has the tough guy lead, dozens of mad car crack-ups, tons of gratuitous violence, sweaty B-movie appeal, and even a couple of A-talent actors, but in the end Death Race runs around in circles. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Let Death Race serve as a warning, or maybe an inspiration, to any TV producer who says she'd kill for high ratings: Why not stage a pay-per-view car race in which prisoners compete to stay alive on the course? Read more

Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail: Yes, Death Race is as brutal as a punch in the face. If you have a hankering for B-movie grime and gore, it can also be a lot of fun. Read more

Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News: The movie gets its own Mad Max mojo working, but there's no real attempt at social commentary here -- these churls just want to have fun. Read more

Aaron Hillis, L.A. Weekly: Almost so bad it's good. Almost ... Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Death Race may be a loud, lowbrow piece of pulp, but it's also crackling entertainment -- the very definition of a cheap thrill. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: If you're a fan of Gone in 60 Seconds or The Fast and the Furious, you won't look at your watch while the movie is going on, and you won't feel conned out of your money when it's over. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Well, you've got to say this for Death Race: It knows what it is and doesn't apologize for it. What it is, incidentally, is junk. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Of all the Z-movies in the Roger Corman catalog, they had to remake Death Race 2000. Read more

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: Death Race is a cinematic dreadnought: imposing on the surface, hollow at its core. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Statham's films never promise to be something they're not or offer something they don't provide. Death Race is not an exception. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It is an assault on all the senses, including common. Walking out, I had the impression I had just seen the video game and was still waiting for the movie. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: Death Race is cartoonishly brutal and pleasantly disreputable. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: The combination of good actors and terrible dialogue might have allowed the film a chance at minor cult status, if it weren't for the frustratingly inept action sequences. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: This is still summer trash and no brain cells were injured or even fatigued in the making of it. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Read more

Nigel Floyd, Time Out: It's brainless fun, but while Anderson's brilliant staging of the flesh-ripping stunts surpasses Bartel's cheap thrills, this update lacks the sardonic wit and satirical bite of the Corman-produced version. Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: As hard as metal and just as dumb, Paul W.S. Anderson's Death Race couldn't be further from producer Roger Corman and director Paul Bartel's goofy, bloody 1975 original, Death Race 2000. Read more

Philip Kennicott, Washington Post: If a movie could drag its knuckles on the ground, Death Race would leave eight little tracks in the sand. Read more