BLU-RAY REVIEW

Death Race 2050

Featured In Issue 215, March 2017

Picture3
Sound3.5
WSR Score2
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
63175990
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
Violence and gore throughout, language, and some sexual material and nudity.
(Retail Price):
$$26.98
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
(Running Time In Minutes):
92
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
(Theatrical Release):
No
(Direct-To-Video Release):
(Disc Release Date):
1/17/2017
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
(Director):
G.J. Echrernkamp
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Subtitles):

Death Race 2050 is a delirious blend of high-octane action, razor-sharp political satire and full-throttle mayhem. This is the reboot of the original Death Race 2000. The new release straps viewers into the driver's seat of the ultimate auto showdown, a blood-splattered, no-holds-barred, virtual-reality show that gleefully pits hardened road warriors against each other––and their audience. It's the year 2050 and America is controlled by an all-powerful corporate government ruled by The Chairman (McDowell). The masses have been brainwashed with violent virtual-reality entertainment. The event of the year is the Death Race, in which a motley crew of violent drivers compete in a cross-country road race, scoring points for shamelessly running people over and driving each other off the road. The reigning champion and fan favorite, Frankenstein (Bennett), who's half-man and half-machine, wants to take the crown, but his rebel spy co-pilot threatens his legacy. (Gary Reber)

Special features include a making-of featurette (HD 10:16); the featurettes: Cars! Cars! Cars! (HD 04:33), The Look Of 2050 (HD 06:29), and Cast Car Tours (HD 08:30); 10 deleted scenes (HD 05:35); upfront previews; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 1.78:1 1080p AVC picture quality is pretty bad and obviously very low budget with poor production values. The imagery is colorfully saturated with weird costumes of all manner. Props are cheap looking, resulting in the poor production values. Black levels are deep and solid. Visual effects are amateurish. This is a poorly produced picture that will appeal to those with very low expectations. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is aggressively dynamic, with an energized soundfield and directionalized surrounds. Deep bass in the .1 LFE channel is often powerful. Atmospherics and sound effects effectively deliver a sense of mayhem, as well as the noisy and loud music score. Dialogue is poorly integrated spatially, This agitated sonic experience is loudly and disturbingly irritating. (Gary Reber)