Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Death Race 2050 Blu-ray Movie Review

Drive, drive, kill, kill, drive, drive, drive, dumb, dumb, bad, bad, bored, bored, bored.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 10, 2017

Follow-up, sequel, remake, Roger Corman, yada, yada yada. All that anyone really needs to know is that Death Race 2050 is an abysmal movie that tries to be something like The Running Man on wheels while mocking and commenting on an Idiocracy-inspired future America where overpopulation, racism, and virtual reality (never mind good old-fashioned stupidity) are the defining problems of the time. But what's most interesting about the movie isn't its story but rather its contrast with both the vastly superior original -- a movie that might be hopelessly dated but holds up with finer production values and its blend of cartoonish violence meets pitched social commentary -- and the remake and the various sequels that have followed in its tracks. Death Race 2050 is a pitiful little movie, tonally deaf and absurd not for what it has to show or say, but for the way it shows and says it all. It's a violent cartoon come to life with precious few redeeming qualities and a total failure at juxtaposition of grotesque violence against wit and social commentary.

In the future, people have become enslaved to their VR goggles and the "Death Race" sporting event in which several cars compete to the finish line over a three day period, scoring points not by driving faster or better but by killing people along the route. Some of them are innocent bystanders and some insert themselves into the mayhem, either fighting back against it or laying down to be sacrificed for the sake of their favorite driver. And it's all sanctioned by the government of the United Corporations of America in an effort to fight overpopulation. Each driver is paired with a civilian cameraperson who allows all the VR-wearing spectators to get a front-row seat for the mayhem. Amongst this year's contestants are the mysterious Frankenstein (Manu Bennett), the self-absorbed Jed Perfectus (Burt Grinstead), a religious leader named Tammy (Anissa Ramsey), the skilled Minerva (Folake Olowofoyeku), and an AI car named Abe (voiced by D.C. Douglas).

"Silly and cheap." Really silly and cheap. Silly story, cheap effects, silly characters, cheap wardrobe, silly commentary, cheap cars, silly script, cheap production, silly performances, cheap rip-off of a better movie's good name. The modern cinema age and comparative ease of making a movie really has made the B-movie magnitudes worse than it was only a few decades ago, sacrificing charm for cheap. Just compare and contrast the two (non-remake and sequel factory films; that's a whole other story) Death Race movies. Certainly the original isn't a bastion of cinema excellence, but it had character, a tangible aspect about it and a sense of care and consideration, that it was being made with disposable and costly resources that took a lot of real world effect to create, prepare, and execute. And the movie was better off for it. And it might have been silly and over-the-top, but it made a point without sounding like it was written by a fourth grader living in Idiocracy.

Death Race 2050 looks little better than a fairly good college class production. Grab a decent digital camera, hire a semi-competent digital artist to make a few severed bodies, bring in the theater department to crank out some quick and easy costumes and helmets, throw a few little accents from the local junk yard on that old clunker car, and voila! A movie is born. Granted, it's more complex than that. There are some real, maybe even dangerous, stunts in the movie, but nothing that impresses in the least, nothing that feels dangerous or genuine. 2050 has absolutely zero character. It epitomizes everything wrong with contemporary low-end cinema not only texturally, but thematically, too. In a nutshell: just make a point as crudely and mindlessly as possible, slap some awful digital effects in the middle, and assume the audience will eat it up because...who knows why. The only people who are going to watch this will either be movie veterans who will probably be repulsed by the slap in the face to the original, or newbies who have never seen, never mind heard of, the original. And they'll probably think it stinks, too.

The movie's point seems to be completely lost on the filmmakers, and if it's not, then it's completely lost on the audience. If it's to be a comical ode to excessive violence and America's love of it, it's a failure, a failure because it's so poorly done, from the visual effects to the ultra-goofy performances of various cult followers, gun-toting racists, and VR addicts. It's fully unconvincing and empty. If it's to be a stinging commentary on popular culture and modern media, fail, because even in parody there has to be some tangible realism within grasp, not just a collection of hyperactive shouts and nonsense that only serve to make the movie, not its subject, look stupid. If it's to be a simple Action film, then fail, too, because it finds no creativity, no sense of urgency; it's basically a Roadrunner-style cartoon come to life. If it's to explore the real people behind the wheel, then the movie receives an incomplete. It offers some interestingly candid moments from both Frankenstein Minerva, the former of whom is literally unmasked (and way too early for dramatic purpose and story relevance), that make for the film's best moments that paint them less as bloodthirsty heroes and more average people who do what they do for reasons other than a love for it. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie around that is crummy to the point that the trickle of good doesn't make a lick of difference and only really serves to slow down the arrival of the best part: the end.

Death Race 2050 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Death Race 2050 at least looks good, though its digital photography does introduce some aliasing along the way while giving the movie a rather glossy and flat feel about it. Details are adequately revealing and complex. Costumes -- leathery jackets and face masks, skimpy little cheerleader outfits (complete with long tassels on the gloves), or even some bubble wrap -- all show some serious complexities in fabric definition and density. It's easy to see many of the cheaper props and makeup and the 1080p resolution only accentuates the hazy, smeary digital effects. Colors are bold and proud, fairly neutral but very bright and showy, whether red blood, patriotically colored attire, natural greens, or other scattered shades throughout. Black levels hold deep and accurate, as do flesh tones.

Death Race 2050 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Death Race 2050 also features a very good -- active and energetic -- DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Crowd noise and music flow through the stage throughout the film, the former in collected shots at the stadium (where almost none of the action takes place) and the latter a more regular occupant throughout, playing with wide spacing and a quality, and oftentimes very deep, low end support structure. Good throaty bass accompanies car engine revs and bass hits hard in conjunction with various explosions and crashes. Squishy gore effects are clear and detailed. Dialogue is presented with positive clarity, prioritization above competing elements, and natural front-center placement. A very enjoyable track for a very unenjoyable movie.

Death Race 2050 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Death Race 2050 contains several featurettes and a collection of deleted scenes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.

• The Making of Roger Corman's Death Race 2050 (1080p, 10:16): Roger Corman and cast and crew discuss the movie's tone, Corman's history and style, the process of remaking the original, updates for this movie, satire and themes, practical and digital effects, G.J. Echternkamp's direction, blending entertainment and purpose, and more.
• The Look of 2050 (1080p, 6:29): Shooting in South America and a discussion of the costumes.
• Cars! Cars! Cars! (1080p, 4:33): A closer look at the movie's dangerous vehicles.
• Cast Car Tours (1080p, 8:30): A more intimate look at each of the main vehicles with the actors who drive them.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 5:35 total runtime): Introducing Frankenstein, Commandments, Saint Marilyn, Tammy Is Lost, East on Main, Emotional Pain, Tammy and Minerva at Odds, Perfectus Philosophy, Pedestrians/Lunatics/Fans, and The Final Ride of The Abomination.

Death Race 2050 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Death Race 2050 is a terrible movie. Even if being bad is kind of the point, it's bad in a way with no redeeming value, bad in a way that masks anything it's trying to say or accomplish. It epitomizes everything wrong with today's cheap digital products and B-movie landscape, too, playing with a rushed, unfinished, characterless feel. Universal's Blu-ray at least offers good video and audio, along with a few supplements. Skip it.