I never liked the original cult classic, of what little I can remember of it, but I did have some strange hope that this new 2008 version, which stars Jason Statham, would be some visceral form of entertainment. Boy, was I wrong. This new Death Race, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who, with Alien vs. Predator under his belt, can rival Uwe Boll at times,  looks about as bad as movies get. Dreary and plotless, a remake of Stone Cold’s The Condemned only with more recognizable actors, Death Race just looks stupid. And dull. The action doesn’t look interesting in the least, and the presence of Joan Allen is just more shocking than anything else. Statham, who has made a career out of starring in bad action movies, I can understand, but Allen? Really?

The only saving grace, though, is Statham, who does seem to make even the worst action movies somewhat entertaining. Crank was pushing it, and Death Race looks to push that theory even further.

If you haven’t watched the Death Race movie trailer, click here.