"F-ck with me and we'll see who sh-ts on the sidewalk."

I'm still scratching my head on that one. I'm not sure what it means, but then again I'm not entirely sure why "Death Race" 2008 exists and I'm even less sure of the hows and whys of Paul W.S. Anderson's continued employment.

"Death Race" is the story of Jensen Ames who we meet the last day of his job as a factory worker, we've been told that the economy has collapsed and Ames receives $300 cash for 120 hours worth of work in two weeks, Ames is also a devoted family man and in pretty short order he is framed for murder and recruited by warden Hennessey (Joan Allen) to take over the mantle of a legendary racer named Frankenstein (so named because he has sustained so many injuries, he covers his deformed face with a leather mask), who succumbed to sabotage in the last race, who is one of the signature attractions of the Death Race. The Death Race is a no holds barred automobile race where the vehicles are outfitted with offensive and defensive weapons and your only options are to win or die.

In addition to offering Ames the mantle of Frankenstein, Hennessey offers him his freedom with the hopes that he will decide to take up the Frankenstein legacy instead after he sheds a little blood. Hennessey is a shady b-tch and decides that she's ultimately going to kill him anyway. Ames won't have this and in the midst of saving his own rear end and finding his wife's killer he teams up with his chief rival Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson) to plot an escape. Ames also has a loyal pit crew that includes Ian McShane and Jacob Vargas and an amply bosommed navigator named Case played by a chick named Natalie Martinez whose talents are as questionable as Anderson's.

In furthering the discussion of why Anderson remains mysteriously employed, the short answer to that question is "Event Horizon," it's good. It also bears mentioning that Anderson's films (excepting "Aliens Vs. Predator" and "Event Horizon") provide occasion for anyone stupid enough to watch his movies to leer at hot chicks with big boobs or skimpy outfits or tight leather. Not that you can't do any of those things from the comfort of your own computer, but throw some violence into the mix and we're all just about animal enough to eat it up.

Paul W.S. Anderson has the unique ability to suck the tension out of just about everything he comes in contact with, I fell asleep during "Alien Vs. Predator" when I saw it in theaters. And I think Ames' revenge is really anticlimactic. He runs the guy who actually killed his wife off the road during the Death Race, the guy crawls from the wreckage and he snaps his neck. He doesn't draw the situation out enough to let you know that he's really angry and you think maybe he'd be saving all of his revenge anger for the warden, but he's not even the person who delivers the final strike. All that stuff the warden said to try and convince him to stay on as Frankenstein and leave his daughter in the care of strangers must have awakened his conscience.

Coach (Ian McShane) delivers the line "nobody messes with my car" as he blows up the warden, but he never seems like the kind of guy who has any stake in doing anything to the warden. His very presence at the prison is voluntary from a certain point onward and it predates his need to avenge the original Frankenstein. Then again, nobody likes an icy cold tw-at. I just don't believe that it is too much to ask that the hero/wronged be a little more hellbent in their pursuit of justice.

One final thought: Machine Gun Joe and Jensen Ames run off to Mexico together and Joe says something about Ames making him live the life of an honest man. That's really cute in all honesty but seeing as how we're told that Joe is gay but nothing ever transpires to bring the point home is it really necessary to bring the girl back at the end? Once the villains found out it was her and not Ames they captured at the end wouldn't they have just killed her? Can't two men freshly escaped from jail just live the good life together south of the border without somebody having to say, "No, we're not gay!" Because if we can tolerate "Death Race" we can stomach a hell of a lot more than you think.

Recommended: No