DVD pick of the week: Death Race 2

Cast Luke Goss, Sean Bean, Lauren Cohan, Ving Rhames, Tanit Phoenix
Director Roel Reine
Genre Action/Sci Fi
Rating 18

As the narrator reveals, the US prison system has reached a breaking point and private firms have taken over all detention facilities. Weyland (Rhames) is the owner of one such island penitentiary. He is also the owner of a TV network that’s trying hard to get good ratings. Those who have watched the first Death Race will know that gladiator-style  fights were arranged every week at the facility.
 
It was a fight to the death and there was one winner. As Death Race 2 begins, it’s clear that there is  a need for a change in strategy. So the host of Death Watch, September Jones (Cohan) launches a new game: Death Race. Eighteen convicts will vie for their freedom, but there are only eight cars. And at the end of 18 laps, only the winner will be alive. Meanwhile, the jail gets a new inmate, Carl Lucas (Goss) who not only has to prove his racing skills but also outwit the convicts who are after the $1m bounty placed on his head.