Poster © Universal Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Sci-Fi & Thriller
RatedR
Runtime1 hr 45 mins
ReleasedAugust 22, 2008
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorPaul W. S. Anderson
StarringJason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane
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Death Race (2008)
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| Death Race's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Sci-Fi & Thriller |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 08/22/2008 (United States); 09/26/2008 (United Kingdom) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 45 mins |
| Budget | $45M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Death Race 2000 by Robert Thom Charles B. Griffith, "The Racer" by Ib Melchior |
| Country | United States, United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Death Race's Interests | |
| General | Armored muscle cars, prison garages, livestream ratings, masked drivers, a track full of traps. |
| Music | Paul Haslinger |
| Movies | Death Race 2000 (1975). The weirder, wilder original. |
| Television | Top Gear. Fast cars, big crashes, and everybody gets to go home after. |
| Heroes | Coach (Ian McShane), the pit boss who chooses to stay inside. Make of that what you will. |
| Death Race's Crew | |
| Director | Paul W. S. Anderson |
| Writers | Paul W. S. Anderson |
| Producers | Paula Wagner, Jeremy Bolt, Paul W. S. Anderson |
| Cinematography | Scott Kevan |
| Music | Paul Haslinger |
| Edited By | Niven Howie |
| Production | Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Impact Pictures, C/W Productions |
| Distributed By | Universal Pictures |
Joan Allen in a business suit is scarier than anything with a machine gun bolted to its hood in Death Race, and the movie barely knows what to do with her. The racing is the real letdown. Paul W. S. Anderson cuts the action so fast that the armored cars turn into a blur of sparks and steel, and you’re never sure who is ahead or why it matters. The plot is a video game menu: pick your car, unlock weapons, beat the boss. Jason Statham is perfect for it, though. He growls, glares and sells every line with a straight face. Ian McShane brings an old pro’s twinkle as Coach, the pit boss who has seen it all. Allen’s icy warden, counting viewers like stock prices, is sharper than the script around her. It made $76 million worldwide on a reported $45M. A 4.5 because Statham and Allen are fun and the races are just noise. $932 says you merge onto the highway this week and quietly imagine your car has armor plating.
What works: Statham’s straight-faced growl, Ian McShane’s twinkly pit boss, and Joan Allen’s icy, ratings-obsessed warden.
What doesn’t: The races are cut so fast you can’t follow them, and the plot is little more than a video game menu.
Who it’s for: Grown action fans who want cars, glares and a Statham one-liner, and nothing more.
Spoilers
Jensen learns the warden set him up to get her star driver, and he teams up with Machine Gun Joe to break out of the race instead of finishing it. The warden gets a parting gift with a nasty surprise inside, and Jensen ends up free, working in a garage with Joe and reunited with his daughter.
In a broke near-future America, prisons run for profit, and the hottest stream around is Death Race: inmates racing armored, weaponized cars to win their freedom. Ex-con and former racing star Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) loses his steel mill job, then gets framed for a crime he did not commit and lands on Terminal Island. Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen) makes him an offer: drive as the masked fan favorite Frankenstein and win his way out. His pit boss Coach (Ian McShane) has doubts, and rival Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson) has plans. Paul W. S. Anderson directs. One hundred five minutes, foot on the gas.
Mechanics who can armor a muscle car by Friday. Pit passes available.
Joseph "Machine Gun Joe" Masonphoto: MILLION DOLLAZ WORTH OF GAME, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| Jason Statham | Jensen Ames |
| Joan Allen | Warden Claire Hennessey |
| Ian McShane | "Coach" |
| Tyrese Gibson | Joseph "Machine Gun Joe" Mason |
| Natalie Martinez | Casey "Case" |
| Max Ryan | Slovo Pachenko |
| Jason Clarke | Ulrich |
| Frederick Koehler | "Lists" |
| Jacob Vargas | Gunner |
| Justin Mader | Travis Colt |
| Robert LaSardo | Hector "The Grim Reaper" Grimm |
| Robin Shou | "14K" |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $76M; Domestic box office $36.3M; Opening weekend $12.6M; Profit / loss (est.) -$29.5M; Rotten Tomatoes 41%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 41% (155 reviews); Metacritic 43 / 100; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 6.4 / 10 (230,294 votes); movie.guru score 4.0.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.