Before the release of Death Race this Friday, Movies.ie recommends you check out the following titles to get your heart pumping!
Gentlemen, start your weapons! ‘Resident Evil’ director Paul W.S. Anderson’s latest adrenaline fuelled flick ‘Death Race’ hits Irish screens this weekend with Crank’s Jason Statham in the driving seat. For all you adrenaline junkies, Movies.ie recommends the following titles to get your heart pumping!
#1 -DEATH RACE 2000
The original pic ‘Death Race 2000′ from the delightfully dark humoured Paul Bartel. In a dystopian future, the government sponsors a popular, but bloody, cross-country race in which points are scored by mowing down pedestrians–with bonus points for the elderly! Five teams, each comprised of a male and female, compete using cars equipped with deadly weapons. Frankenstein, the mysterious returning champion, has become America’s hero, but this time he has a passenger from the underground resistance. Considered a cult pic, ‘Death Race 2000’ is a fun, campy classic that draws genuine thrills from its mindless ultra-violence.
#2- DAYS OF THUNDER
FORGET PLOT! ‘Death Race’ is all about the visuals and so too was the film that rocketed Tom Cruise to international stardom: ‘Days of Thunder’. Cruise plays Cole Trickle, a young, cocky hotshot with little stock car driving experience but a hell of a lot of raw talent. Trickle’s uncanny ability to make all the right moves on the racetrack wins him the backing of Tim Dolan (Randy Quaid), who wants to put him in a car. Eventually he wins the support of grizzled former driver Harry Hogge, a NASCAR legend who sees that Trickle has the potential to be a great driver. Determined to make it to the top, Trickle develops a healthy rivalry with veteran racer Rowdy Burns. Along the way, he romances Dr. Claire Lewicki (the true beginnings of the Cruise/Kidman saga), a beautiful neurosurgeon. Hogge’s mentoring (and a potential tragedy) leads Trickle through the dramatic process of self-discovery, which ultimately makes him a better driver… Once again we say it, FORGET PLOT! Like ‘Death Race’, ‘Days of Thunder’ is an arcade-game romp done with visual flair.
#3- THE RUNNING MAN
Looking to get the old ticker racing – look no further then Arnie! It’s the 21st Century, the government frames a good cop for a bloody massacre. The authorities take him into custody and then give him an option: he can spend the rest of his life in jail or participate in a “gladiator” type television show that usually culminates with the death of the protagonist. The wronged cop agrees to the challenge, teaming up with a pair of revolutionaries and an innocent young woman to survive the game and overthrow the corrupt system.
#4 -THE FRENCH CONNECTION
Just to add a bit of legitimacy to the list, we’ll throw in ‘The French Connection”. The film is perhaps best known for its infamous, masterfully filmed chase scene (influenced by Peter Yates’ Bullit) in which the lead policeman, Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman), recklessly drives a stolen car through oncoming traffic in pursuit of a sniper escaping by elevated train. The thrill of this crime drama is accentuated by director William Friedkin’s early European influences, perhaps best represented by the handheld documentary-style visuals and Friedkin’s claims that the Oscar-winning screenplay was frequently disregarded in favour of improvisation.
DEATH RACE is in Irish cinemas from Friday, September 26th.