geminiredblue When Roger Corman and his crew set out to make a movie, you weren't always guaranteed a good time. However, with DEATH RACE 2000, you'll be happily rewarded. Here is, perhaps, the best "death match" movie ever made! In the not-too-distant future, a cross-country auto race is held once a year. Participating drivers are given the opportunity to run over unwitting citizens. And score points based upon their age, race, social status, and so forth. In this year's current race, there's the ever-popular Frankenstein (David Carradine), Machine Gun Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone), Calamity Jane (Mary Woronov), Matilda the Hun (Roberta Collins), and Nero the Hero (Martin Kove). Who will win? Who will die? Watch and enjoy! And flatten all the remakes along the way!!!

brchthethird Roger Corman is known for making ultra-low-budget, B-grade (or lower) motion pictures that have lots of violence and nudity. DEATH RACE 2000 is no different in that regard. Personally, I haven't seen any other Roger Corman pictures besides this one, but if this is any indication of what they're usually like than I'll just stop here. I know that this film was limited by its low budget, but it still failed to entertain me with what it did have. There was some attempt at social satire, but it was all surface and supported by some of the worst acting I've ever seen. David Carradine is given top billing (as he is the main character), but I thought that Sylvester Stallone's limited, one-note performance was more fun to watch. Overall, the film fails at social satire and only makes up for it a little bit with some decent racing sequences (considering the budget).

Mr-Fusion "Death Race 2000" seems like it was tailor-made for the midnight movie crowd. Gonzo is the word that comes to mind. You can't help but chuckle at some of the gleeful violence in such a roughly hewn movie, and the acting herein varies from wooden to cheesy (and a big draw is watching Stallone ham it up in that hair). Not to mention David Carradine in the bondage Darth Vader getup.It's all too ridiculous and that's its charm. Like watching the love child of "Cannonball Run", "The Running Man" and "Mad Max". Which really doesn't seem doable anywhere else but on paper; but here, it works. 6.5/10

JamieWJackson Actually, that's not quite fair. The movie itself is far from trash, although there is a lot that's trashy about it. But it makes a good sound bite, no? :-)As I write this, there are already 130 reviews of DR2K on IMDb. What could I add? With that many reviews in the hopper already, this is a vanity review. Oh well. Here's my take:This is cheap B-movie fare, but it reminds me of the Beatles in that its greatness stems from a nexus of circumstances unlikely to ever occur again. Everything came together here to make a really outstanding B-movie, and the trashiness adds to the fun (for those who let it). DR2K has wicked tongue-in-cheek fun while also throwing at us gratuitous nudity and slapstick violence, and always keeping us guessing at what in the world is coming next. I think only the 1970s could produce a movie like this; we grew up too much after that, and everything is too self-aware and self-conscious now to do this sort of zealous, devil-may-care schlock any more.It's a bit like Mel Brooks at his best, but doing it on a shoestring budget. This sort of production only works if everyone believes in it enough to put enthusiasm into their work, because it sure isn't going to make it on production value. Thankfully, in this case, they got terrific, spirited performances from just about everyone involved. (That's not to say that the acting was top-notch, just that it was lively and kept things moving and entertaining.) There's no mystery why some hate the film; you need a sardonic sense of humor and a tolerance for low budget antics. Those without should watch something else. For the rest of us this is a real gem.Simone Griffeth is enchanting in this movie, both for her beauty and seductiveness as well as for providing much of the best real acting; I find myself wishing she'd found a lot more success later. She seemed to have everything one could want in a rising starlet, but I don't think I've ever seen her before. The other gals are lovely as well; plenty of good B-movie eye candy, just as it should be, and they don't just sit there, they really get into their roles, as the guys do too.*** MILD SPOILER: *** what other movie offers you, with as straight a face as anything else in the film, a line like "Mr. and Mrs. President Frankenstein"??!? LOL!!If you're up for some campy fun and dark humor, don't miss DR2K!