Movies - Death Race

I expected to hate the new "Death Race" but didn't.
Certainly it lacks the grindhouse charm of the original -- which starred David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone -- but as a simplistic actioneer that doesn't wpretend to be more than it is AND smashes up a lot of vehicles it's an OK way to spend 90 minutes.
Action man Jason Staham does his thing, never changing expressions, which is enough in this stripped down story.
Heavyweight actress Joan Allen, slumming, plays the baddie with the necessary icy reserve and Ian McShane adds some badly needed humor as Coach, the ace car builder.
That said, the real stars of this film are the stunt men and effects team who make the slam bang race action entertaining.
It's what passes for a popcorn action movie these days, too grim for its own good and lacking charm, but it's still digestible popcorn.