DEATH RACE: INFERNO

Carl Lucas was thought to have died following the incredible accident that involved him during the last race of Death Race. In fact, Lucas survived, with second-degree burns on 80% of his body, which the cosmetic surgeon is slowly working on to restore his appearance. Meanwhile, Carl Lucas has become Frankenstein, the masked driver who is captivating Death Race fans and only needs one more victory to secure his freedom. But Weyland, the director of the broadcast that airs Death Race, is forced to sell the network to competitor Niles York, who decides to change the rules of the game: races will no longer be held solely on Terminal Island but will also be expanded to other locations, including populated areas. Additionally, York wants to rig the next race to ensure Frankenstein does not win, thus preventing the loss of the show's star. With his usual team, who is unaware of his true identity, Frankenstein prepares to race! A whole new life has taken over the franchise of "Death Race," which began as an ultra-violent b-movie in the mid-1970s with "Anno 2000: The Death Race," produced by Roger Corman, and was brought back to theaters by Paul W.S. Anderson in 2008 with a remake that emphasized the action component. The success of this remake launched a trilogy, with the last two chapters—actually prequels—released as direct-to-video productions by Universal Pictures. Unlike many subpar products typical of the straight-to-video universe, the subsequent chapters of "Death Race" have maintained good, respectable levels of action-violence movies that align well with the reboot by Anderson. With "Death Race 2," unable to feature actor Jason Statham, who played the protagonist in the previous film, the choice was made for a prequel, functionally telling the story of the previous Frankenstein, played by stuntman Luke Goss. However, "Death Race 2" took the story quite broadly, and it took about ninety minutes before Carl Lucas transformed into Frankenstein... a sort of prequel of the prequel, since it is in "Death Race 3: Inferno" that we witness the events immediately preceding the 2008 film. The team for this third film is the same as the previous one, with Roel Reiné in the director's chair, Tony Giglio again as the screenwriter, and a cast that is almost unchanged: Luke Goss, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, Tanit Phoenix, Fred Koehler, and Robin Shou, joined by Dougray Scott from "Mission: Impossible 2" as the villain, the new broadcaster Niles York. "Death Race 3: Inferno" works well, knows how to entertain, and has enough creativity to offer a slightly different story. Of course, we are still dealing with the same presentation of a nearly uninterrupted series of deadly races focused on spectacle, but the idea of moving the races outside the prison provides the necessary unpredictability to enjoy the film. Certainly, we are still far from the adrenaline and charismatic characters of the first film, and the narrative breadth that made "Death Race 2" a very successful film is also missing. "Inferno" is more of an appendix, a completion film to the second, and, if we want, a connection to the first, although it is evident that Frankenstein is only a symbol and not a person, to the point that anyone could hide behind that metal mask and "Death Race 3" emphasizes this point. Of the three films, this number 3 is the weakest, but this does not mean it is a bad product; on the contrary, we are still facing a well-crafted film, rich in rhythm, and with capable actors in part. Perhaps the new characters have less charm than the previous ones, starting with the villain played by Scott, who lacks personality, resulting in a sort of fusion between the character of Ving Rhames and September Jones, the show's host from the previous film. In short, plenty of action, beautiful women (this time there is also a "she" among the drivers!), and gratuitous violence—all the ingredients that have made "Death Race" a cult saga—return in "Inferno." To be seen by fans of "extreme" automobile races. Add half a pumpkin.