Actors: Luke Goss, Danny Trejo, Tanit Phoenix, Frederick Koehler, Robin Shou
Directors: Roel Reine
Rated: R / Unrated
Studio: Universal Studios
Release Date: January 22, 2013
Run Time: 105 / 106 minutes
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
When Roger Corman made this original cult classic “Death Race 2000” back in 1975 with David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone, I doubt he ever though the film will be remade or turn up with two prequels either. When I saw “Death Race” in the theaters, I thought it was plain ole stupid fun. With “Death Race 2”, it feels a lot smaller than the first but I actually enjoyed it a bit more since there was no bullshit just action and plenty of Tanit Phoneix. This second prequel brings back Luke Goss (“Hellboy 2: The Golden Army”), Danny Trejo (“Machete”), Ving Rhames (“Mission: Impossible”), Fred Koehler (Death Race 1 & 2), Robin Shou (“Mortal Kombat”) and Tanit Phoenix (“Death Race 2”). So the crew is back from “Death Race 2” and it is really well-polished action film. The plot or lack of is forgivable but it is very entertaining. The scale of the film seems so much bigger than it is and shot in some really beautiful locations. I didn’t think I would say this but what’s next for this franchise? I’m still hungry!
Official Premise: Repentant convict Carl Lucas (Luke Goss)- aka Frankenstein- is a legendary driver in the brutal prison blood sport known as Death Race. Only one victory away from winning freedom, Lucas is plunged into his most vicious competition yet: the first-ever desert Death Race. Through South Africa’s infernal Kalahari Desert, Lucas is pitted against ruthless adversaries and powerful forces at work behind the scenes to ensure his defeat. Also starring Danny Trejo and Ving Rhames, Death Race 3: Inferno is an insane, action-packed thrill ride.
Universal has delivered a fantastic two-disc combo pack. This comes with a Blu-ray, a DVD and two digital copies – iTunes and UltraViolet. Count me in for the Ultraviolet, I will be adding that to my account for sure. I should note that the DVD disc actually includes both cuts of the film, which is impressive. You can tell though when it is including the unrated footage since it jumps/lags a bit. The film packs an unrated cut but only runs a minute longer than its also included R-rated version. We get some longer – very bloody kills, which is good enough for me. The 1080p looks very sharp with the locations used in the film, very impressive. As does the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track, which revs up and kicks ass on my 7.1 surround sound system.
The special features for this film are quite fantastic actually. First up we have extras that are exclusive to the Blu-ray disc. There is an alternate opening, which is definitely worth check out. “Racing For Death” is a look into the cars and the work that went into them for the production. “Art Imitating Life” is a featurettes on the character Goldberg and the actor who plays him, Danny Trejo. The rest of the extras are available on both Blu-ray and DVD. There is a montage of deleted scenes to start. “The Making of Death Race 3: Inferno” is the best extra and takes us behind-the-scenes on this new version of the popular Death Race franchise. Lastly, there is an audio commentary track With Director Roel Reiné, also worth checking out for sure.
