Quite a while back I decided that Paul W.S. Anderson’s remake of Death Race 2000 would be my movie to hate in 2008. Then I backtracked based on the obvious fact that a pre-judgement wasn’t fair at all to the departed shades of Paul Bartel and The Real Don Steele. (Comments about the remake’s concerns for their ghostly feelings are reserved for later.)
I feel now like Universal doesn’t have a lot of love for the movie, either. With a little under three months until release there’s been little material seen from the flick. (Aside from a few test screenings which haven’t actually returned the worst possible word of mouth.) Granted, this is the studio that waited until the last minute to market The Incredible Hulk, and based on the success of that strategy we probably won’t see much of Death Race until next month.
In the meantime, MTV has a preview of the film (which, sadly, reads a lot like a GameSpot preview of a new video game) and a load of new screens. They are not inspiring. Ian McShane looks as if he’s hoping no one will notice he’s there. I want to be kind. I want to be OK with jettisoning the basic concept and setting the action on a closed track. But you see my problem.
