HOLLYWOOD, California — The automotive-carnage-themed thriller opened third at the box office this weekend, earning an estimated $12.3 million behind comedies Tropic Thunder and The House Bunny. Fiery explosions, fast cars, loud weapons and attractive women trumped a few uninspiring reviews to win over action-film buffs.Movie critic Roger Ebert gave the film only a half star, writing: 'It is an assault on all the senses, including common. Walking out, I had the impression I had just seen the video game and was still waiting for the movie.'However, several critics recognized the movie for its honest, raw action captured in metal-bending car chases and brutal violence, including Nathan Lee of The New York Times: 'The movie is legitimately greasy, authentically nasty, with a good old-fashioned sense of laying waste to everything in sight — including the shallow philosophizing and computer-generated fakery that have overrun the summer blockbuster,' he remarked. is set in near-future America, where inmates are cast into gladiator-like reality shows to fight for their release from prison and to keep their lives. At the center of the violent races are cars modified to protect their drivers and destroy the competition. Jason Statham's lead character pilots a Ford Mustang wrapped in bleak industrial armor and equipped with machine guns, flamethrowers and napalm after being wrongly convicted for his wife's murder.What this means to you: Death Race may not be for the film connoisseur, but top-notch thrills make it a must-see for action fans. — Eric Tingwall, Correspondent