Force Fed Films: Death Race 2000 (1975)

It's been a while since I've watched a movie from the 70s, but Puneet decided to bring me back to that crazy decade by giving me Death Race 2000 to watch today. I've always wanted to see this movie because I'd hear it be referenced to when people or press would talk about certain video games and violence. It's basically a videogame movie before there were videogames like it to licence. Another shock was that Sylvester Stallone and David Carradine star in it! After seeing Rocky not too long ago, I can tell you that only added to my interest. Find my thoughts on the original Death Race after the break.


The reason why I said the movie seemed like a videogame is all pretty much due to the story. Five racing teams are set to race across the country, but coming in first isn't the only way to win. Your place at the end is only worth a certain number of points, but the racers can also get points by killing people along the way, with old people and infants worth the most points. There is also an American Rebellion group who is plotting to stop the race and take over the government. It's a cheesy, yet grim tone that is played for laughs and thrills while they race across the country.

Many may know David Carradine from his role in Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2, but I know him from his role as the peaceful Kwai Chang Caine in the tv series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues since my Dad was a big fan of that show when I was growing up. In Death Race 2000 though, he plays the best driver in the world, Frankenstein. I remember his performance in his previous roles, he was always quite dry with his acting. It's no different here, unfortunately while it seemed cool when I was a kid, his performance just seems bad to me here.

Frankenstien's car looks more like a Hot Wheels toy I once had

As for Stallone, he too wasn't very interesting to watch as "Machine Gun" Joe Viterbo. He does a few interesting things, like standing up to fire a machine gun into the stands, but it doesn't show it kill anyone, which is weird to me because the movie shows tons of other pople being hit by cars and dying in all manner of terrible ways. I wish they just didn't have him be "the guy who is mad all the time," but I guess I'm asking too much from a pretty bad movie.

Probably the biggest crime that is commited in Death Race 2000 is the completely lacking sense of speed. Most of the racing shots of the cars have clearly been sped up a great deal. It's so bad that at some points it's as if I'm watching an old episode from The Benny Hill Show! Also the few times the cars hit just looks gentle instead of viscious. Nothing to do with the cars seemed impressive, and even the cars themselves often looked like they were just made out of fiberglass and cardboard.

Carradine as Scorpius Frankenstien, he has a grenade imbedded in his hand. It's a hand grenade... get it?!

I suppose I can't avoid talking about the effects and deaths in the race. Most of the time they're just completely unbelievable and unrealistic. These super flimsy looking cars never take any damage at all, and nothing about any of the deaths is exciting or morbidly satisfing. They even worse than that, they're just boring.

I almost can't find anything good to say about the movie. I was so disappointed by it. It at least satisfied my curiosity about what this violent morbid movie was, that made such noise in the media. But the story made little sense, and the motivations for some of the characters was really unclear, especially that of Frankenstien. They also never explained why there are never any other cars on the road, which could have probably been settled with one line of exposition. The whole country seems desolate and devoid of human life in fact. The whole movie just screams of low budget.

Unless you're really super curious about this movie about hit and runs, just save yourself an hour and a half and avoid this movie. I really wish it was better, I had pretty high expectations, but I don't think it could possibly live up. Well, except if you have expectations to see a lot of topless women, it has that in spades.