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Cast

Luke Goss
as Carl Lucas

Ving Rhames
as Weyland

Sean Bean
as Markus Kane

Danny Trejo
as Goldberg

Frederick Koehler
as Lists

Lauren Cohan
as September Jones

Tanit Phoenix
as Katrina Banks

Patrick Lyster
as Warden Parks

Joe Vaz
as Rocco

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Critic Reviews for Death Race 2

Audience Reviews for Death Race 2

• Nov 25, 2013

  I think this movie copped a lot more flak than it deserved, and honestly, I liked it better than Death Race (which also copped more flak than it deserved), or Death Race 2000 (the 1975 film the former two are based on, which is not as good as people say it is). Though it was sad not to see Statham in the film, Luke Goss did an excellent job of picking up the reins of protagonist. So far I can honestly say I've loved everything I've seen that Goss has done to date (Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Blade 2, Tekken, Fringe and The Dead Undead). Also Sean Bean (of Boromir from The Lord of the Rigs fame) and Danny Trejo (From Dusk till Dawn, The Devil's Rejects, Rob Zombie's Halloween, Predators and Machete) are both always money well spent in my books. I was doubtful that Death Race warranted any furthering in its franchise, given that it was a quasi sequel to Death Race 2000 to begin with. Honestly though, after having seen Deathrace 2, which was made for only a tenth of the cost of Death Race, I'm quite glad they did. It may be just another action movie, but it's got great re-watch value, which is what I most admire in a film. That's not to say it's not without fault. I had to watch the film through twice before I really understood half of the characters motives. Ving Rhames is a terrible actor, how he keeps getting work is beyond me. Though thankfully his role as Mr. Weyland (hopefully this was a deliberate throw back to Alien, and they don't honestly expect us to believe they come up with it themselves) who owns (but doesn't run) the Terminal Island Prison, is a minor one. Goss's love interest wasn't quite as annoying, but the navigator really didn't do it for me. She was even worse then the navigator from Death Race, which is bad. The actual "Death Race" part of Death Race didn't come up until half way through the film, which I'm sure caused plenty of people a lot of grief, but seriously, this is what I like to see from an origin story, the origin. World is bad, prisons get full, corporations buy prisons, prisons make money, not enough money, prisoners riot, rioters die, news coverage of deaths make money, prisoners fighting to death becomes reality show, reality show loses popularity, change fight to death to fight to death in cars, fight to death in cars makes money. Simple. Now we know. It doesn't matter how good the film itself may be, I'm sick of movies like Rise of the Lycans, The Scorpion King, Exorcist: The Beginning, Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning and Paranormal Activity 2, (most of which were crap by the way) that advertise they will let you "see how it all began", and they don't! Sure, maybe you find out how SOMETHING began, but it doesn't take you all the way back. At least Chains of Olympus and Gods of the Arena are upfront that they're only prequels, not "Origin Stories". I can't decide which order to suggest to people you should watch this franchise in. Honestly I say give Death Race 2000 a miss all together, but do you watch them in the order they were released, or their set chronology? I'm thinking #1 then #2, but I'll never know which would be better. I just say to do it that way, because you'll be less disappointed by the absence of almost every character from the prequel in Death Race if you watch them that way around. 14K is still around, and so is Lists, but that's really it. The films got one of the best soundtracks I've come across in a while, but other than that there isn't anything particularly special. Still, it's a Hell of a lot of fun. 69% -Gimly
  

  Gimly M Super Reviewer
• May 21, 2013

  An action-packed but poorly written prequel, Death Race 2 is mindless fun. After a bank robbery goes wrong, Carl Lucas is sentenced to Terminal Island where the Weyland Corporation is experimenting with prisoner combat entertainment. Overall, the plot isn't that bad, and does a fair job at crafting an origin story for the Death Race. The casting is also pretty solid, and features Luke Goss, Lauren Cohan, Danny Trejo, and Ving Rhames; but their characters aren't written very well. Still, the fight scenes and chases are full of thrills and excitement. Death Race 2 provides an interesting backstory for the series, but the B-movie quality holds it back.
  Dann M Super Reviewer
• Apr 08, 2013

  Roel Reine's <i>Death Race 2</i> does what it can with its budget.<p>Considering this is a follow up to its predecessor, <i>Death Race</i>, the story takes place before hand, making this completely watchable without having seen the first. At just over 90 minutes, the first half is a let down. Sure, the story and major characters need to be setup, but when the title of the film contains the word "race", it would be nice to see that. Instead, it becomes a journey to get there.</p><p>For a straight to video picture, the action and violence is quite good without much dependence on CG. Most of the budget definitely goes here as seen with the vehicular destruction.</p><p>The cast is decent, same as the acting with Luke Goss as the lead. Danny Trejo and Sean Bean back him up nicely, while Lauren Cohan and Tanit Phoenix are extremely easy on the eyes.</p><p>If <i>Death Race 2</i> isn't a disappointment, that's because of its second half.</p>
  JY S Super Reviewer
• Jan 12, 2013

  The sequel to the remake of Death Race is a very good improvement over the first film. This a prequel detailing the origins of Frankenstein, and for a straight to DVD release, it's a very good film with an interesting plot, which actually was very well done, even though it wasn't perfect. Acting wise, there were some decent performances, nothing remarkable, but the action was far more engaging than the first film due to the fact that the plot was more interesting and intriguing to me. Death Race 2 is one of the few Straight to DVD titles that is better than the theatrical release. In terms of a prequel, this film succeeds were many other prequels have failed. Sean Bean is great here as well and he makes for an interesting villain. I was pleasantly surprised by this second entry and it was much better in terms of mindless action and good plot. The origin story of the race was very good, and the cast did a good job with the film's material and one of the reasons that this sequel works so well is that the 1975 original was a low-budget B movie, and this one has all the ingredients of a good B movie and it makes very entertaining and fun for action junkies. Go into this one expecting a more in depth plot with good, mindless action, and you're going to have fun with this one. This is one of the best popcorn action flicks to go Straight to DVD and if you loved the first one, you'll probably enjoy this one. Or if you're like me and wanted more out of the first film, then this prequel may give you what you were looking for. Death Race 2 is flawed, but man is it a fun, entertaining ride worth taking.
  Alex r Super Reviewer

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