Death Race 2000

Director Paul Bartel's DEATH RACE 2000 is a futuristic, sci-fi satire with a sadistic streak of sheer silliness. Loaded with speed, nudity, and vehicular homicide, there's absolutely no way to take it seriously! David Carradine is at his supreme best as the mysterious Frankenstein! Sylvester Stallone is the perfect heavy as Machine Gun Joe! Mary Woronov is red hot as Calamity Jane! You'll laugh in spite of yourself, as pedestrians are sent sailing to their doom! In this race, winning is everything, no matter who dies in the process! DR2K has enough murder, mayhem, and naked massages for 10 movies! A true classic for the carnage connoisseur...

I'm astonished by the number of reviewers who see this film as "stupid". It has one hell of a witty script, with amazingly accurate jabs at everything from media hype to uber-patriotic propaganda. Just listen to the president blaming everything on "the treacherous French and their stinking European allies". Sounds chillingly like "Freedom Fries", doesn't it? This wonderful little gem is far more intelligent that it's usually given credit for, and certainly smarter than 99.9% of the films made today. Those who dismiss it as stupid junk because of its outrageous premise are missing the point. I haven't seen anyone write a film this smart in at least 20 years.

This film received one of the ultimate compliments: they made it into a pinball machine (a good one, too) and it's probably one of two subjects Sylvester Stallone wishes would go away! Fred Grandy is probably glad his role isn't as prominent. Actually, as a movie, it's pretty decent. I enjoyed it myself. Mary Woronov did a great job and most of the other leads are good as well. Stop the proceedings, Oscars for everyone! Worth watching.