Review of Death Race: Beyond Anarchy (2018) by Tiziano O — 13 Nov 2018

This movie is absolutely bonkers. Now, while the background is reasonably well explained throughout the beginning, there are a lot of details missing. The action is believable, authentic-looking and satisfying, the characters are appropriately extreme but not quite campy and at times the plot verges on philosophical like in the original Death Race (remake).

It has surprising production value for a decidedly B-movie and makes excellent use of its set and ambiance. That being said, it also super over-indulges in gratuitous nudity, sex talk and swearing which undermines what could be a somewhat gritty and stoic script.

The juxtaposition of the only two competent characters with a cast of nameless degenerates is a not-so-subtle hint that maybe they aren't two inmates who coincidentally showed up at the same time.

Really, the upsetting thing about this movie is that the main man, Connor, falls in love with a prison woman in a matter of days and this love is so strong and so real that we are expected to believe that he willingly refuses to leave the prison after completing his mission and decides to reign supreme as the new Frankenstein with Jane by his side.

This alone essentially cripples the movie because it's so ridiculous, but since the movie ends two minutes later, you don't have to deal with it for long.