SummaryHurtling down the track, careening around, over, and through the competition, Speed Racer is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive, and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized--the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a lega...
SummaryHurtling down the track, careening around, over, and through the competition, Speed Racer is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive, and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized--the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a lega...
I remember watching this in 2008 in the theaters, that my dream came true. It was the closet it can get to the original anime, not sure why it bombed but i loved it all the way. I watched it again in 2024 and i still enjoyed every second of it. It's definitely not like Hollywood adaptations these days which focused on creative liberties and agendas.
The state of mind brought on by Speed Racer the movie is more akin to that phenomenon by which young infants, exposed to more stimuli than their systems are equipped to handle, will simply shut down.
This toxic admixture of computer-generated frenzy and live-action torpor succeeds in being, almost simultaneously, genuinely painful -- the esthetic equivalent of needles in eyeballs -- and weirdly benumbing, like eye candy laced with lidocaine.
The racing scenes can be a lot of fun, and if the entire film had been of that quality, this whole film would have been between an 8 and 10. It's generally the weird, quirky family and overly dramatic plot, reminiscent of older shows that really hurts this film. Who knew that the dime a dozen shows of the past, hell-bent on selling products didn't have plots that'd hold up in today's more complex film market.
I suggest skipping around to watch the cool races, and try to ignore everything else..
Family entertainment on steroids, Speed Racer is a frenetically paced visual extravaganza that elicited a strictly mixed response from me. Often times, the film could best be described as an incredibly rich chocolate cake. For some, they enjoy lots of sugar, especially children, but certainly some adults. Other adults, including myself, get nauseous because something is too sweet. Speed Racer is often times this feel. It may be a family film, but it seemed to pour it on a little thick at times. Telling the story of Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) and his quest to clean up racing, a sport he was born into, the film is a thoroughly entertaining effort from the Wachowskis that will certainly wow anime fans, action junkies, and children, but for all others, it will be merely diverting entertainment.
An undeniable visual accomplishment, Speed Racer features absolutely killer special effects. When the humans are set against the backdrop of these special effects, it can look quite fake, though that may be intentional. That said, the Caso Cristo 5000 and Grand Prix races are so pretty and incredibly crafted, it is incredible. These sequences, when focused on the race, are tremendous. Yet, these sequences are even held back by the Wachowskis insistence to frequently have jarring cuts to announcers and the crowd with them just talking about Speed Racer kicking everyone's ass. It really kills the mood and does not entertain, but rather annoys. It is a film that has racing obsessed characters, but yet the directors seem wholly uninterested in actually showing racing during the races.
That said, the frenetic pace of the film during the races really adds to the entertainment. Without the racing, this film would be horrifically bad. Without the special effects, this film would be truly hollow, as beneath the surface, Speed Racer offers absolutely nothing. A paper thin plot that is every family movie cliche rolled into one, Speed Racer utilizes cloying sentimentality, stupid flashback montages (especially the one at the end for Racer X), and cliche parent-son conversations to reinforce the image of it being a film about family. If this were at all true, the parents would not be every parent cliche in the book. For example, Pops Racer (John Goodman) is a hard on the outside, but loves his family deeply. He loves car, working on cars, and can be incredibly hard nosed when his wife, Mom Racer (Susan Sarandon), is not around to stop him. Mom Racer, on the other hand, exclusively cooks, serves her husband and sons, and has heart-to-hearts with her son about her pride over him and to help communicate his father's feelings to him. In other words, the characters are walking, talking cliches.
The characters continue to take nosedives in this one with Spritle (Paulie Litt) being wildly annoying. I get there has to be a kid character for kids to relate to a bit, but he is just so annoying it physically hurt. His chimpanzee companion added nothing. No humor, nothing. I think he is from the source material, but could have certainly been left out. It may be a kids movie, but why add a chimp? Do kids just like real life chimps that much? As a former kid, I can attest that this is not the case.
Speed Racer is that hot girl with no personality whatsoever. She may be fun for a while, but when you realize she has no personality worth sticking around for, you realize it may be time to move on. That said, the experience is not completely unredeemable, because hey, she is still hot and you two did have a good time together. However, for anything long-term to really work out, there has be something underneath the surface. Some kind of inner beauty. Unfortunately, Speed Racer offers none of that. Instead, it accepts being nothing but eye candy while being unwilling to offer anything. At the very least, it is better than Jupiter Ascending which, while equally pretty, was plain dumb. Speed Racer is a kids movie, so most stupid moments I can write off for that reason and give it a pass. Overall, stick around for the visuals because they make this one worth a watch.
I honestly don't see why there are so many good reviews of this. The acting was marginal at best, nothing to brag about. There was a lot of eye candy, sure, but that's more for younger kids, and every attempt it makes at a deeper level is something we have all seen before and we could all see coming.
This is a disservice to even fans of the original Speed Racer cartoon and any references (which are too many) to the original are painful. The effects are weird and unfitting and don't suit the original series.