Manu Bennett, Marci Miller, and Malcolm McDowell feature in the political satire and action movie Death Race 2050, which was released in the United States of America in 2017 and was directed by G.J. Echternkamp. This movie is a continuation of the film Death Race 2000, which was released in 1975. Roger Corman, who was responsible for producing both movies, referred to the first one as "a car-racing picture with some dark comedy" in his blog introduction to the latter.Death Race 2050's plot?
The year 2050 has arrived. In the United Corporations of America, which suffers from an unemployment rate of 99.993 percent and an excessive population, the Death Race serves the dual purpose of providing entertainment and regulating the population. The current iteration of the Death Race takes competitors from Old New York to New Los Angeles, and the defending champion is Frankenstein. In this competition, Frankenstein faces up against a genetically engineered athlete named Jed Perfectus, a hip-hop star named Minerva Jefferson, a female cultist named Tammy the Terrorist, and an evil, black, artificially intelligent, self-driving automobile named ABE. Each participant in the race is given a proxy, who is a broadcaster who provides the viewers with a virtual reality experience of the competition. Annie Sullivan, who acts as Frankenstein's surrogate, quickly puts him off, and he dismisses both her efforts to interview him and her recommendations that he should let his opponents pass him by.
Rebels, led by a former network producer named Alexis Hamilton, set up traps all along the East Coast as the drivers raced through. When Tammy and Minerva steal each other's cult members for kills, they become fierce rivals. After getting caught in a rebel trap, ABE breaks down, kills its proxy, and gives up on the race to figure out what its purpose in life is. At the first checkpoint, Annie, who it turns out is a spy for Hamilton, is told to kill Frankenstein. She tries to get him to fall in love with her, but he only cares about winning the race. In another place, the Chairman says that Frankenstein's long life has turned him into a liability, while Perfectus will tell his loyal fans to let him kill them.
On Day two of the race, the competitors will make their way through the country's heartland, an area that is well-known for the high prevalence of gun ownership among its residents. A suicide bomber sent by Tammy is successful in taking the life of Chi Wapp, who was acting as Minerva's proxy. When Frankenstein tries to save time on another tip, he takes a shortcut, but this causes his automobile to get stuck in a cornfield. As Annie goes out on her own, Frankenstein defends himself against a team of Resistance ninjas in order to rack up more points. As soon as they reach the second checkpoint, Annie confesses that she is a member of the resistance and makes an effort to enlist Frankenstein. Frankenstein, who is uninterested in politics, expresses his disdain for both the opposition and the government while maintaining that his only objective is to come out on top. Minerva admits to Annie when they are both drinking at a pub that she is a highly educated academic who, in order to maintain her lifestyle, has adopted the persona of a stereotypical hip-hop character. When Annie returns to Frankenstein's chamber, Perfectus, who is envious of Frankenstein's notoriety and sex appeal, is about to kill Frankenstein, but Annie manages to spare his life. In the meanwhile, it has been found that Hamilton and the Chairman have been conspiring together behind the scenes.
On Day three of the race, the government gives the drivers "approved" routes to take so they can avoid attacks from the Resistance. Frankenstein's right arm was hurt when he fought Perfectus, so Annie helps him change gears. Minerva tries to catch Tammy, but Tammy's suicide attempt makes Minerva fall off a cliff. Tammy is happy about Minerva's death until an ABE comes back, hits her against the wall, and then blows itself up. This kills them both. Hamilton and her rebels are killed by Frankenstein and Annie, while Perfectus takes a secret path to the finish line. Both cars try to get ahead until Perfectus loses control of his and crashes into the control booth for virtual reality. Before crossing the finish line, Frankenstein sends a message to his fans suggesting that the Chairman himself is worth 1,000 points. After Frankenstein kills the Chairman, the crowd cheers. He then tells them to stop living in a virtual world and start their own Death Race. As the country falls into violent chaos, Frankenstein and Annie watch from a distance and suggest that they should repopulate the country after the chaos has stopped.
Cast of Death Race 2050
- Death Race champion "Frankenstein" is played by Manu Bennett.
- Donald Trump parody: Malcolm McDowell as The Chairman Of The United Corporations Of America; with a "slight comb-over in his hair".
- Marci Miller as Frankenstein's proxy.
- Jed Perfectus, played by Burt Grinstead, is a genetically modified athlete who believes he is the ideal driver.
- A hip-hop musician turned racer, Folake Olowofoyeku plays Minerva Jefferson in the film.
- Anessa Ramsey plays a religious cult leader named Tammy "The Terrorist".
- Yancy Butler portrays Alexis Hamilton, a former network producer who now heads a squad of rebels.
- Charlie Farrell as J.B., the male announcer for the Death Race.
- Grace Tickle, the female Death Race commentator and interviewer, is played by Shanna Olson.
- Leslie Shaw portrays Eve Rocket, Perfectus' surrogate, in the role.
- An malevolent AI-controlled, self-driving racing automobile voiced by D.C. Douglas (ABE).
- A Japanese actor, Pierre Paolo Goya Kobashigawa, portrays Chi Wapp.
- Sebastian Llosa plays Steve, a regular person who watches the Death Race from Annie's point of view in virtual reality.
- Helen Loris as ABE's programmer.
Death Race 2050 was created in what way?
Corman got the idea for a sequel to the first movie when an Italian reporter told him that The Hunger Games and Death Race 2000 had a lot in common. Corman talked to Universal Pictures, which made the modern remake (which Corman thought got rid of too much of the original's political commentary), about putting back the original's dark satire. Corman said, "You did a good job, but you took out the killing of pedestrians and the themes of a broken society."
Filming started in Corman's late 80s, amid the 2016 presidential election. It features the UCA Chairman. Corman told an interviewer, "The president's hairstyle could be similar to Trump's, but I don't want to get into that because Trump will come and go and the film will remain."
How good was Death Race 2050?
"There are a lot of Death Races in a movie about the Death Race ending. A decade after the Death Race trilogy with Jason Statham, Roger Corman returns with Death Race 2050. Despite being excellent films in their own right, they have nothing to do with the original Death Race 2000. So Corman re-routes this fiery catastrophe with a three-day race across a dystopian America, where pedestrian deaths get points for outrageous personalities! But with a 50 at the end." - Decker Shado
There are three behind-the-scenes films included with the DVD and Blu-ray release in the United States: The Making of 2050, The Look of 2050, and Cars! Cars. Cars. Cars. On the 20th of March, 2017, it was made available in the UK.
The film has an 88 percent acceptance rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on eight reviews with a 6.8/10 average.
Chris Alexander wrote on ComingSoon.net that the movie was "loud, shrill, jerky, sadistic, stylish, sloppy, dumb, and smart all at the same time." In a review for Nerdist, Scott Weinberg said, "It's all very clunky, ramshackle, and kitschy, but that's part of the'shaggy dog' charm of the production." And Zavala, writing for a website, said, "It has enough blood, guts, simple political commentary, scenery-chewing, and bad special effects to become a cult classic."