Filmed in 2017, Death Race 2050 stars Manu Bennett as a futuristic racer, Marci Miller as a female racer, and Malcolm McDowell as a political satirist. It's a sequel to Death Race 2000, which was out in 1975. As Roger Corman put it, "This is a car-racing picture with a little dark humor."What is the plot of Death Race 2050?
It is the year 2050. The Death Race serves both entertainment and population control in the United Corporations of America, which is beset by overpopulation and a 99.993 percent unemployment rate. The current Death Race, which spans from Old New York to New Los Angeles, includes defending champion Frankenstein. Jed Perfectus, a genetically created athlete, Minerva Jefferson, a hip-hop star, Tammy the Terrorist, a female cultist, and the villainous, black, artificially intelligent, self-driving automobile ABE battle against Frankenstein. Each driver is given a proxy, a broadcaster who gives the viewers a virtual reality experience of the race. Frankenstein is instantly turned off by his proxy, Annie Sullivan, and dismisses both her efforts to interview him and her recommendations to let his opponents to pass him by.
During the time when the drivers are racing around the East Coast, a group of rebels headed by Alexis Hamilton, a former network producer, have erected traps throughout the area. When Tammy and Minerva abduct members of the other's cult with the purpose of killing them, a heated competition ensues between the two of them. The artificial intelligence known as ABE suffers a malfunction, which results in the death of its proxy, and then gives up the pursuit of figuring out its ultimate goal in life. At the first checkpoint, Hamilton gives Annie, who it turns out is a spy working for her, the order to murder Frankenstein. Her effort to seduce him was unsuccessful due to the fact that he was solely focused on winning the race. In another part of his speech, the Chairman says that the fact that Frankenstein has lived for such a long time has turned him into a burden, while Perfectus will urge his dedicated devotees to die at his hands.
On Day two of the race, the drivers go through the country's heartland, which is notorious for its gun-toting people. Tammy sends a suicide bomber to murder Minerva's proxy, Chi Wapp. On another road, Frankenstein takes a shortcut, but his automobile becomes stuck in a cornfield. While Annie is away, Frankenstein fights a gang of Resistance ninjas in order to collect extra points. Annie confesses to being a rebel and tries to recruit Frankenstein at the second checkpoint. Frankenstein, who is apolitical, insults both the rebels and the government, repeating his goal to win the race. Minerva explains to Annie at a bar that she is an educated academic who survives by playing a clichéd hip-hop persona. When Annie returns to Frankenstein's chamber, she protects him from Perfectus, who is envious of Frankenstein's fame and sexual attraction. Meanwhile, Hamilton and the Chairman are revealed to be working together behind the scenes.
On the third day of the race, the government establishes "authorized" routes for drivers to escape Resistance assaults. Annie assists Frankenstein in shifting gears since his right arm was injured during his battle with Perfectus. Minerva pursues Tammy, but jumps over a cliff in an effort to prevent Tammy's suicide proxy. Tammy gloats over Minerva's death until an ABE returns, smashes her into a wall, and self-destructs, killing them both. Frankenstein and Annie eliminate Hamilton and her rebels, while Perfectus finds a covert road to victory. Both automobiles jostle for position until Perfectus loses control of his vehicle and smashes into the virtual reality control booth. Before reaching the finish line, Frankenstein informs his admirers that the Chairman is worth a thousand points. Frankenstein invites the audience to abandon their virtual world and begin their own Death Race after murdering the Chairman, much to their joy. Frankenstein and Annie observe from a distance as the nation descends into violent anarchy, arguing that they should repopulate the nation after the violence subsides.
Corman's Death Race 2050's trailer is seen here.
That are some of the actors who starred in Death Race 2050?
- Frankenstein, the cybernetic veteran and champion of the Death Race, is portrayed here by Manu Bennett.
- Malcolm McDowell as The Chairman of the United Corporations of America, a spoof of Donald Trump replete with a "slight comb-over in his hair".
- Marci Miller as Frankenstein's proxies Annie Sullivan in "Frankenstein's Daughter."
- Burt Grinstead plays Jed Perfectus, an athlete whose genes were changed to make him a good driver.
- Folake Olowofoyeku portrays hip-hop artist-turned-racer Minerva Jefferson.
- Tammy "The Terrorist," played by Anessa Ramsey.
- Alexis Hamilton, played by Yancy Butler, is a former network producer turned leader of a rebel organization.
- J.B., the male Death Race announcer, is played by Charlie Farrell.
- Shanna Olson portrays Grace Tickle, the female Death Race pundit and interviewer.
- Leslie Shaw portrays Eve Rocket, Perfectus' surrogate, in the role.
- D.C. Douglas voices ABE, a self-driving racing automobile controlled by AI.
- Chi Wapp, Minerva's proxy, is played by Pierre Paolo Goya Kobashigawa.
- As Steve, a bystander who witnesses the Death Race from Annie's perspective, Sebastian Llosa portrays the role.
- Dr. Creamer, the ABE's programmer, is played by Helen Loris.
What kind of production process was used for Death Race 2050?
In an interview, an Italian journalist said that The Hunger Games reminded him of the film Death Race 2000. Universal Pictures, the studio behind the current film, was contacted by Corman to reinstate the dark humor from the original. "You did well, but you removed the pedestrian killings and broken-society themes," said Corman.
Filming started while Corman was in his 80s, just around the time of the 2016 election. One of America's most well-known businessmen is featured in this film. "The president does have a hair style that may be approaching Trump's hair style, but I don't want to go too deep into that, since Trump will come and go and the film will stay."
What did you think of Death Race 2050?
"There are a number of Death Races in a movie series about the Death Race that is coming to an end. After Jason Statham's Death Race trilogy in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Roger Corman's Death Race 2050 Roger Corman returns with Death Race 2050. While excellent films in their own right, they bore little resemblance to the original 1970s B-movie Death Race 2000. So Corman gets this out-of-control burning disaster back on track by organizing a three-day race across a dystopian America, where pedestrian deaths earn points for over-the-top personalities! But with a 50 at the end of the title this time." - Decker Shado
There are three behind-the-scenes films included with the DVD and Blu-ray release in the United States: The Making of 2050, The Look of 2050, and Cars! Cars. Cars. Cars. On the 20th of March, 2017, it was made available in the UK.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 88 percent approval rating, based on eight reviews with an average rating of 6.8/10 as of June 2020.
Chris Alexander described the picture as "loud, strident, spastic, cruel, stylish, slipshod, foolish, and brilliant in equal doses" in an article for ComingSoon.net. "All extremely awkward, rickety, and kitschy," remarked Scott Weinberg in his Nerdist review, "but that's just part of the'shaggy dog' appeal of the show." "It's has enough blood, guts, naive political commentary, scenery chewing, and bad special effects to become a cult classic," Screenanarchy.com's Sebastian Zavala said.