I'll cut right to the point. Death Race, seems similar to the game twisted metal on Playstation. Yes the characters also use weapons, and cars that the every day consumer tends to drive. Nothing really ground breaking in what I've said so far. This movie doesn't attempt to have any crowd rising epiphanies or such a twisted plot that it doesn't seem to capture us. Although, some of the speeches made by Joan Allen's character are questionable considering she is addressing convicts. Nevertheless, the movie is designed to be a source of car action entertainment.
It is similar to the movie Shoot Em Up with Clive Owen. Purely unrealistic entertainment and that my friends is the beauty of this movie. It's nice to be able to sit in a theater and have a few chuckles, watch some mind boggling car chases/crashes and have a sense of where the story is going.
I went into the movie with little to no expectations of how "good" the movie would be but purely as a source of entertainment, and fascination of "car functioning." If you get a chance to go see it with a group of friends definitely do it! It's not a movie you want to watch alone.