Convicted cop-killer Carl Lucas, a.k.a. Frankenstein, is a superstar driver in the brutal prison yard demolition derby known as the Death Race. He is only one victory away from winning freed... Read allConvicted cop-killer Carl Lucas, a.k.a. Frankenstein, is a superstar driver in the brutal prison yard demolition derby known as the Death Race. He is only one victory away from winning freedom for himself and his pit crew.Convicted cop-killer Carl Lucas, a.k.a. Frankenstein, is a superstar driver in the brutal prison yard demolition derby known as the Death Race. He is only one victory away from winning freedom for himself and his pit crew.
- Lists
- (as Fred Koehler)
- Baby
- (as Micheal T. Dube)
- (credit only)
- Calimity J
- (as Charlbi Dean-Kriek)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBoth Frederick Koehler (Lists) and Robin Shou (14k) appear in all three films. Koehler is also rumored to reprise his role in the upcoming fourth film, Death Race 4: Beyond Anarchy (2018).
- GoofsAt the end of the previous film, Death Race 2 (2010), Goldberg says "I'm sorry Luke didn't live to see this", then Lists says "I'm not so sure he didn't". In the car, Katrina also realizes that Frankenstein is actually Carl Lucas because he gave the same reply that she gave him on the question "Do you have a name?" ("Of course I do"). So, if at least Katrina realizes that Frankenstein is actually Carl Lucas, then why is she so shocked to see him alive in this film? And why would she not tell Goldberg and Lists?
- Quotes
Goldberg: Forget everything you know about racing. Desert racing isn't about speed, it's about endurance and handling.
Carl Lucas: Hang on, I thought you didn't know shit about this kind of racing?
Goldberg: I don't. It's the first thing that came up on Google.
- ConnectionsFollowed by Death Race 4: Beyond Anarchy (2018)
- SoundtracksThe Wings of Icarus
Written by Klayton, Jim Dooley (as James Michael Dooley)
Performed by Celldweller ft. Jim Dooley (as James Dooley)
Courtesy of FiXT/Position Music
What you get instead is a badly edited piece of manure that lacks coherence, but is rich in really poor and amateurish performances, stuffed with mostly mediocre (and occasionally outright pitiful!) f/x. I cannot understand how the same director (and largely same cast) responsible for DR2 could end up with this mess! Sure, most of the problems - 'snipped' action sequences, scenes sequenced so quickly and randomly that they resemble a meaningless collage of music videos, nonsensical dialogue that makes you think the actor/actress is responding to lines cut from the final product, words dropped/missing, incoherent scenes, confused camera work etc. - could be explained by a hatchet-job in editing. Still, no matter how bad the editor may have been at his/her job, it cannot possibly explain the amateurishly exaggerated performances from virtually all the actors/actresses involved, very much including Ving Rhames, Luke Goss, and Danny Trejo, all of whom have proved themselves before (to a greater or lesser extent) to be able to carry their lines and scenes rather well.
This movie obviously had a much smaller budget, and did not have the benefit of inheriting the original cars (and probably some sets) as DR2 did. It is all the more surprising, then, that the director did not even make full use of the f/x and explosions/kills that they did spend money on, oftentimes opting to cut away from them and not letting them play themselves out on the screen!(?) There are a few genuinely nice (sometimes even beautiful) shots (courtesy of the stunning desert location) a few somewhat interesting cars (though most are entirely too reminiscent of those in Fast Five) and Eugene Khumbanyiwa (the actor who played the Nigerian warlord in District 9) is as deliciously psychotic as ever - but they are the rarest of exceptions in this otherwise confused, utterly amateurish endeavour. I found myself beginning to yawn about halfway through, and could not help but feel that DR3 compares to DR2 much the same way as, say, the Nemesis sequels compared to the original Nemesis.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $6,500,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1