The year is 2012 and the United States economy has crashed. Jobs are scarce, income is low, and the cost of living is more than enough. For entertainment, people go online and watch reality shows on pay-per-view. One that seems to catch everyone's eye is "Death Race."

Back in the so-called "good old days" Jensen Ames (Jason Statham, "Crank") was an ex-con and NASCAR champion. When he leaves racing and decides to turn his life around, supporting his wife and baby daughter, things don't turn out too well.

They get worse when Jensen's wife is murdered. He finds her lying on the kitchen floor, and before he can even blink, a dark figure hits him over the head. The only thing Jensen sees through his blurred vision from the blow is a hand gesture - two fingers pointed at him as a gun.

When he wakes up, he finds a bloody knife in his hand. Soon after, the police haul him away, and he is found guilty of a crime he would never commit. He is sent to Terminal Island, the biggest prison in the country.

There he is welcomed by the ever-graceful Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen, "The Bourne Ultimatum"), who just so happens to be the creator of "Death Race." Like most evil women in movies such as this, Hennessey has a plan for Jensen.

He's to compete in the Death Race as Frankenstein, a racer who nobody knows is dead. Being the sadistic woman she is, Hennessy promises Jensen his freedom if he wins the race. The only problem is that as the name implies, this is a race to the death where the slightest wrong thing can get you killed.

Fortunately for Jensen, he has some friends among the dog-eat-dog inmates. One is Coach (Ian McShane, "We Are Marshall"), who is a master mechanic. There's also Jensen's car's designer Gunner and the brains behind its engine, List. Not only does he get a sarcastic yet friendly crew, but Jensen also gets a Latina navigator, Case (Natalie Martinez).

As you would expect, you can't be Frankenstein without a monster, and Jensen's monster is a 2008 Ford Shelby Cobra. This monster just happens to have a number of weapons including smoke, nails and oil, as well as a six-inch-thick steel plate on the back called Tombstone.

The year is 2012 and the United States economy has crashed. Jobs are scarce, income is low, and the cost of living is more than enough. For entertainment, people go online and watch reality shows on pay-per-view. One that seems to catch everyone's eye is "Death Race."

Back in the so-called "good old days" Jensen Ames (Jason Statham, "Crank") was an ex-con and NASCAR champion. When he leaves racing and decides to turn his life around, supporting his wife and baby daughter, things don't turn out too well.

They get worse when Jensen's wife is murdered. He finds her lying on the kitchen floor, and before he can even blink, a dark figure hits him over the head. The only thing Jensen sees through his blurred vision from the blow is a hand gesture - two fingers pointed at him as a gun.

When he wakes up, he finds a bloody knife in his hand. Soon after, the police haul him away, and he is found guilty of a crime he would never commit. He is sent to Terminal Island, the biggest prison in the country.

There he is welcomed by the ever-graceful Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen, "The Bourne Ultimatum"), who just so happens to be the creator of "Death Race." Like most evil women in movies such as this, Hennessey has a plan for Jensen.

He's to compete in the Death Race as Frankenstein, a racer who nobody knows is dead. Being the sadistic woman she is, Hennessy promises Jensen his freedom if he wins the race. The only problem is that as the name implies, this is a race to the death where the slightest wrong thing can get you killed.

Fortunately for Jensen, he has some friends among the dog-eat-dog inmates. One is Coach (Ian McShane, "We Are Marshall"), who is a master mechanic. There's also Jensen's car's designer Gunner and the brains behind its engine, List. Not only does he get a sarcastic yet friendly crew, but Jensen also gets a Latina navigator, Case (Natalie Martinez).

As you would expect, you can't be Frankenstein without a monster, and Jensen's monster is a 2008 Ford Shelby Cobra. This monster just happens to have a number of weapons including smoke, nails and oil, as well as a six-inch-thick steel plate on the back called Tombstone.

Also, as you would expect, you can't really have a Death Race without having a villain. Here it's Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson, "Transformers"), who has hated the infamous Frankenstein for a long time because he is so close to freedom.

(If a driver wins five races, he wins his freedom. Frankenstein has already won four.)

Will Jensen ever get off of Terminal Island? Will he find his wife's killer? Find out in this high-speed, mind-boggling thrill ride!

I enjoyed every second of this movie. I knew from the get-go that it was going to be killer (in more ways than one), and it didn't let me down. Of course there were some parts that were just horrifying, but for the most part it was all rather exciting.

The cameras were too quick for me to see who was going where during the races, but the plot was on the money. I also loved how the characters interacted with each other. The actors - especially Statham and Gibson - did a great job in their roles.

The only problem I had with the film was the extensive amount of foul language. That and violence are the reasons this film gets its R rating.

 I think this film is similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger's "The Running Man" and "Roller Ball" with James Caan. Although I haven't seen the original "Death Race 2000" (1975) with David Carradine, I have a feeling that the 2008 version is better.

"Death Race" is definitely a movie worth watching. In closing, all I can say is when the light hits green and the gear is in drive, hang on tight for this killer ride!