Death Race
A wrongly imprisoned steelworker must survive a televised armored-car death match while turning the prison’s manufactured champion myth against its creators.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- brutal
- propulsive
- bleak
- action movie night
- car chase marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly agreed that the film delivers fast, visceral car combat but offers a thin, often mindless plot and limited character depth.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Terminal Island markets prisoners' deadly races as televised entertainment, making institutional violence into a commercial spectacle.
Jensen is forced to race under the persona of the supposedly dead champion Frankenstein.
Armored cars, mounted weapons, collisions, and explosive track hazards dominate the film's action design.
Warden Hennessey manipulates prisoners, broadcasts, and the Frankenstein mythology to control the race's narrative.
Films like Death Race, and why
The Running Man
shares dystopian prison spectacle, lethal vehicle combat, and relentless action pacing
Death Race 2000
shares futuristic car combat, exploitative entertainment, and brutal survival stakes
Mad Max: Fury Road
shares hard-edged science fiction action, imprisoned protagonists, and high-impact practical destruction
Lock Up
shares prison exploitation, institutional corruption, and visceral masculine action
Movie Details
- Director
- Paul W. S. Anderson
- Release Date
- 2008-08-22
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (4276)
Cast
- Jason Statham
- Joan Allen
- Ian McShane
- Tyrese Gibson
- Natalie Martinez
- Max Ryan
- Jason Clarke
- Frederick Koehler
- Jacob Vargas
- Justin Mader
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Death Race about?
- A wrongly imprisoned steelworker must survive a televised armored-car death match while turning the prison’s manufactured champion myth against its creators.
- What is Death Race like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Death Race as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Death Race violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Death Race as graphic.
- What did critics think of Death Race?
- Critics broadly agreed that the film delivers fast, visceral car combat but offers a thin, often mindless plot and limited character depth.
- Which films are like Death Race?
- Films with a similar feel include The Running Man, Death Race 2000, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Lock Up.
- How long is Death Race?
- Death Race runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch Death Race?
- In United States, Death Race streams on Philo, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel.
