death race

you ever just want to watch a stupid trashy action movie? sometimes i do. so last week i did! i went and rented 'death race' and i've got to say, this is probably the greatest trashy action 'B' movie i've ever seen! i must start by admitting that i have loved almost everything jason statham has put out, he's the perfect over-the-top action movie star.
ok, here's the laughable premise: statham has been framed for the murder of his wife and finds himself in jail. the jail keeper has been creating these reality show races to the death as a way of making money to keep the jail in business, and statham must become the new driver of one of the cars. lame, right? wrong! its a silly set up, but it leads to some of the coolest racing car chase scenes in decades! the cars are all tricked out with armor and guns and stuff, and the race plays out like a 'need for speed' video game. the characters are joyfully one-dimensional, but the actors have so much charisma that any more character development would be unnecessary. i'm having a hard time explaining why i loved it so much because all its different parts shouldn't add up to anything special, but the whole is so much greater than it's parts. i guess that can be chalked up to good casting, great directing, and phenomenal editing. this one will soon be added to my dvd collection so i can watch it again and again!