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Death Race 3: Inferno

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Death Race 3: Inferno
DVD cover
Directed byRoel Reiné
Screenplay byTony Giglio
Story by
Based onCharacters
by Paul W. S. Anderson
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyWayne Shields
Edited by
  • Michael Trent
  • Radu Ion
Music byTrevor Morris
Production
company
Universal 1440 Entertainment
Distributed byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment
Release date
  • January 22, 2013 (2013-01-22)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Death Race 3: Inferno (also known as Death Race 3 and Death Race: Inferno) is a 2013 American science fiction action film directed by Roel Reiné. It is the third installment in the Death Race film series and takes place between the events of Death Race 2 (2010) and Death Race (2008). Produced by Paul W.S. Anderson, the film stars Luke Goss, Tanit Phoenix, Danny Trejo, and Ving Rhames. The movie combines dystopian elements with intense vehicular combat in a race to the death. The film was released direct-to-video on January 22, 2013, And was followed by Death Race: Beyond Anarchy in 2018.

Plot

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In 2020, Death Race owner R. H. Weyland has been forced to sell the rights to Niles York, a British billionaire who acquired the rights by a hostile takeover and intends to relocate the Death Race to South Africa. Before leaving, Weyland arranges Carl Lucas, also known as Frankenstein, to have his face fixed after it was previously disfigured. With Lucas just one win away from his freedom, York fears losing the huge Frankenstein fanbase and threatens to kill Lucas if he wins.

As the crew from Terminal Island reaches the facility in South Africa, a scuffle breaks out, forcing Lucas (in his Frankenstein persona) to intervene. However, his mask is knocked off during the fight, revealing to his team of Katrina Banks, Goldberg, and Lists that he has been hiding his identity behind the mask during their previous races.

Before the first race, the pool of female navigators are pitted against each other to participate in the "Navigator Wars", a gladiator-style armed fight to the death. The show is now hosted and produced by Satana, on behalf of York. Ten surviving navigators, including Katrina, are assigned to their drivers. Afterwards, all race participants are shot on their necks with GPS trackers, so the showrunners can track them and kill them if they attempt to escape.

The first race, in the Kalahari Desert, features terrain that calls for a different racing strategy from the one on the Terminal Island prison course. Lucas manages to regain Goldberg's trust, but not Katrina's. Eleven racers compete, but Jackal makes a jump start, only to be blown up by a tracking missile. Three racers and their navigators die during the race, while Razor beats Frankenstein to win the first day.

Katrina, still heartbroken that Lucas has kept secrets from her all along, distances herself from him. After getting a flesh wound from another brawl, Goldberg establishes a relationship with the show's surgeon, Olivia. In order to make Katrina jealous, Satana orders Psycho's navigator Amber to have sex with Lucas.

The second race commences with the death of three more teams. Fury is killed after being tricked by Olga Braun (Death Race's first-ever female driver), who is in turn run over by Razor. Razor struggles to handle both Lucas and Psycho before they are joined by 14K, who disabled Nero's truck before leaving him to get beaten to death by an angry mob of locals. Lucas wins the second race, but Goldberg is caught in an explosion caused by stray bullets from local war lords, and Olivia pronounces him dead.

York is determined to keep Lucas from winning at any cost. Razor disables Psycho's car, killing him. Lucas takes the lead, and York orders him killed with a tracking missile. However, 14K shoots flares to divert the missile and destroy it, saving Lucas's life and repaying his debt from the race back in Terminal Island. York fires Prudence, his secretary, who was against his actions all along.

Lucas, who holds a commanding lead, relinquishes it to 14K and turns off to find York. Satana handcuffs York to a table for his betrayal. After Katrina finally professes her love to Lucas, they both crash their own car into the control room and it explodes, engulfing the room in flames. It appears that everyone, except a facially disfigured Lucas, perished in the crash. However, at the medical facility, Lucas yells that he is York, not Frankenstein. Olivia, Lists and the GPS tracking chip confirm it to be Lucas/Frankenstein, and they report the same to Prudence, who fills in for the "late" York. She returns the Death Race to Terminal Island and assigns Hennessy to take charge of the race, while recruiting "Coach" and Case to replace Goldberg and Katrina.

It is then revealed that Lucas made a deal with Weyland while at the hospital; Weyland provided Olivia as an insider, and she helped fake Goldberg's death. Satana yielded to Weyland, trapping York in the control room right before the planned car crash; Lucas and Katrina ejected from the car before the crash, and Olivia planted the tracker with Frankenstein's I.D into York's body, leaving York and Katrina to be pronounced dead. Weyland regains control of the Death Race and grants the team their freedom, though Lists refuses and returns to Terminal Island. Weyland pays Lucas and his team a lot of money for their help, which they use to relocate to a nearby beach resort. Meanwhile, York is now forced to assume the identity of Frankenstein, hoping to gain his freedom and have his revenge while racing at Terminal Island in the future.

Cast

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Release and reception

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Death Race 3: Inferno was released directly to home video on January 22, 2013.[1][2] The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the high-action sequences and stunts but criticized the limited character development and predictable storyline.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10.[3] Scott Foy of Dread Central rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "Movies like Death Race 3: Inferno are like a piece of chewing gum – the flavor is fleeting, you spit it out when you're done without hesitation, but it gave you the minor fix you were after."[4] Jesse Skeen of DVD Talk rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "This movie probably won't win any awards, but it's great mindless fun."[5] David Johnson of DVD Verdict called it an "ultimately a loud and tedious chore."[6] Scott Weinberg of Fearnet wrote, "Cheap, choppy, and almost shamelessly by-the-numbers, Death Race 3 earns points for the same reason its predecessor did: it's quick, slick, enjoyably empty-headed, just energetic enough to smash through the finish line".[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Death Race 3: Inferno [Blu-Ray] │ Exclaim!". Death Race 3: Inferno [Blu-Ray] │ Exclaim!. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Miska, Brad (November 8, 2012). "'Death Race 3: Inferno' Dated For Home Video; Trailer and Art". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  3. ^ "Death Race 3: Inferno". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 16, 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ Foy, Scott (January 7, 2013). "Death Race 3: Inferno (Blu-ray / DVD)". Dread Central. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  5. ^ Skeen, Jesse (January 16, 2013). "Death Race 3: Inferno (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  6. ^ Johnson, David (January 28, 2013). "Death Race 3: Inferno (Blu-ray)". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  7. ^ Weinberg, Scott (January 17, 2013). "FEARNET Movie Review: 'Death Race 3: Inferno'". Fearnet. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
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