| Director | Paul W. S. Anderson |
|---|---|
| Budget | $45 million |
| Box office | $76 million |
In 2012, the United States' failed economy and rising crime rates led to an increased number of privatized prisons. At one such prison, Terminal Island Penitentiary, Warden Claire Hennessey profits from livestreaming Death Race, a three-day event where inmates race weaponized cars on a trap-filled track to win their freedom.
In 2020, popular masked Death Race driver Frankenstein approaches the finish line, pursued by his rival "Machine Gun Joe". The former's navigator, Case, says his weapons have malfunctioned and urges him to stop. Requiring one more win for his freedom, he refuses. She ejects before Joe destroys Frankenstein's car, killing him.
Industrial worker and ex-con Jensen Ames, who used to be a well-known, successful racer, now struggles to support his family as the steel mill he works at closes. When he returns home, a masked attacker knocks him out. He wakes with a bloodied knife and his wife Suzy dead, before he is arrested. Framed for murder, he is sentenced to life imprisonment while his baby daughter Piper goes into foster care.
Six months later, Jensen is transferred to Terminal Island, where Hennessey offers him freedom in exchange for standing in for Frankenstein at the latest Death Race. Jensen accepts and meets Frankenstein's pit crew, Coach, Gunner, and Lists, who suspect Hennessey is using him to increase ratings. On the first day of the event, Jensen meets Case, who reveals their car's weapons are malfunctioning again. He becomes distracted after recognizing another driver, Pachenko, as Suzy's killer. Jensen confronts Pachenko, who admits Hennessey ordered him to frame Jensen so she could use him and his racing talent to replace the previous Frankenstein.
On the second day, Jensen threatens to eject Case unless she reveals the truth about the malfunctions. She admits she was offered release papers in exchange for sabotaging Frankenstein's car to keep him from winning so Hennessey wouldn't have to free him. Jensen tricks Pachenko into crashing his car, then kills him by snapping his neck. Hennessey releases the "Dreadnought", a multi-weapon tanker truck, to further increase ratings and kill off drivers; Jensen and Joe work together to lure it into a trap and destroy it. The day ends with them as the only survivors. Aware that Jensen knows she won't let him win so as to keep him, Hennessey orders her second-in-command Ulrich to plant a bomb underneath Jensen's car. Jensen approaches Joe and proposes a plan.
In the final race, Hennessey sabotages Jensen's chances at winning before he and Joe exploit a weak spot created during the first race to escape to the mainland bridge. Hennessey and Ulrich shut down the livestream, deactivate the cars' weaponry, and send guards. She attempts to activate the bomb, unaware that Coach has found, disarmed, and removed it. Upon reaching a railway depot, Jensen secretly jumps out and escapes on a freight train with Joe while Case, disguised as Frankenstein, allows herself to be captured. Pleased by the ratings, Hennessey opens a present, only to find the bomb. Coach detonates it, killing her and Ulrich.
Six months later, Jensen and Joe have become mechanics in Mexico, with Piper finally in Jensen's custody, and reunite with Case.