DEATH RACE

DEATH RACE (1,2,3)

ACTION

Within four years from 2008 the economy of the United States has fallen into disaster, Unemployment and crime rises, and private corporations run most prisons across the nation for profit. 

The movie focuses on the Terminal Island Prison, which broadcast "Death Race" to the world via a popular paysite on internet. Death Race is not only a race to the finish line, but a battle pitting car against car.

The film begins by showing a race near its end between Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson) and a famous masked driver known as Frankenstein (David Carradine in a cameo appearance), who is accompanied by a female navigator.

Frank's defensive systems fail, and Joe destroys Frank's car (his navigator ejects), presumably leaving Frankenstein critically wounded, or dead.

Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is framed for his wife's murder on the same day that the steel mill he works at closes; the murderer is actually a masked intruder that points a finger-gun at Ames as he leaves.

Ames is sent to prison where he is coerced by the sadistic prison warden, Hennessey (Joan Allen) to become the new driver of Frankenstein's Ford Mustang. She tells Ames that she knows of his baby that was left in foster care, and that prisoners are freed upon winning five Death Races, but since he will take on the mask of the legendary Frankenstein, who had 4 wins at the time of his death, he will only need to win one race. The races are broken apart into three stages: Stage 1 and 2 are races in which the driver must survive, and Stage 3 you must win the race in order for it to add to the count towards freedom.

Just before the Stage 1 Race, Ames is introduced to his navigator, Elizabeth Case (Natalie Martinez), who happens to be Frankenstein's previous navigator. During the race, Ames see another driver, Pachenko, make the same hand gesture as the intruder that killed his wife. Three drivers are killed during Stage 1: Siad, Grimm, and Travis Colt. Ames finishes last after taking a hard hit from Machine Gun Joe.

Ames learns he is part of a plot to keep the legend of Frankenstein alive, solely for the personal profit of Hennessey. He confronts Hennessey about the driver, but instead she shows him pictures of his baby living with foster parents, asking him if he thinks he could provide for his baby better than the foster parents. Angered, he takes one of the pictures and leaves. The night before Stage 2 he makes a trip to the garage of Pachenko's team to confront him. He is beaten down by a few members of the team but is helped by a member of his garage allowing Ames to retaliate and nearly kill Pachenko. His revenge is thwarted by the prison guards telling them to save it for the race......(cont)