Review: ‘Speed Racer’

This one has polarized out reviewers a bit, make sure to check them all out!

Scott:

Well, we just got to hit up a special screening for the newest Wachowski Brothers flick Speed Racer, and I wasn’t impressed.

The trailers for the movie seem really action packed and fast paced, and what you actually get is some action, a slow confusing plot line, and a CGI filled movie geared towards kids. I probably would have loved this movie when I was 13.

Basically you have Speed Racer, played by Emile Hirsch, who is absolutely obsessed with racing. His older brother was one of the most popular racers and he wanted to be just like him. Towards the beginning of the movie you feel like he is living in his shadow. Then you realize that he has some resentment towards him for a few different reasons. Along the way you meet Trixie (Christina Ricci), Sprittle and his monkey, his Mom (Susan Sarandon), Pops (John Goodman), and Racer X (Matthew Fox). The only redeeming parts of this movie were Sprittle, played by youngster Paulie Litt, and Trixie, who is played by Christina Ricci. I have loved some of her previous roles and this one really stands out as another that I love.

The imagery is absolutely stunning, and at times very overwhelming. Some points in the movie I questioned how it passed the epilepsy test … but, we didnt see anyone going into a seizure or having to leave early. We caught this on an IMAX type screen (Mega Screen) and it seemed to give me a headache from all the crazy movie shots.

All in all, the movie is good especially if you have kids. I would have regretted paying to see it though. Let me know what you guys think after you check it out.

(1 out of 5)

Travis:

“Every one of us has to find a reason to do this. You don’t climb into a T-180 to be a driver. You do it because you’re driven.” — Racer X

That line right there pretty much sums up the theme to this movie all in two short sentences. Hey, don’t worry … as much as I really liked this movie, I’m not going to bore you by trying to convey some greater metaphorical meaning that lies just beneath the surface of Speed Racer. Nope … I’m just going to talk about how damn cool this movie is!

First and foremost, I realize I’m going against the grain here in even sort of liking this movie, let alone liking it as much as I did. Actually, screw it … if I can’t be honest, why bother. I LOVED this movie. [Whoa! Who just threw that tomato!] Here’s the thing, at least the way I interpreted it … Speed Racer was made by two guys who loved the old cartoon, wanted to add their own passions into it and intended to make a living cartoon, with their own personal flair. Hey, it works. Take a movie and appreciate it for what it is … that’s what I say.

Oh, fine … here’s the story, as if that really matters. Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) takes over as the mega-talented driver of the Mach 5 race car, filling a void in the family racing team left by his late brother. During his rise to fame, Speed encounters the true nature of the powers that be running the World Racing League. He decides he doesn’t like what he sees and chooses to race against all odds in an effort to change the racing world. That’s it … you want more, go see it. I did, despite my reservations, and I left absolutely thrilled that I went.

The special FX … the movie’s made by the Wachowski brothers. What did you expect? That’s what these guys do. Don’t fault them for that. This is the best movie they’ve made since The Matrix. Yeah, I get it … it’s the first movie they’ve made since the Matrix trilogy, but I only give the first one high marks. The special effects and action are all over-the-top, but that’s the idea. I challenge you not to allow the trailer to influence you too much. Once I saw the movie in its entirety, I understood.

All the cars, except Mach 5, are sort of dorky but I think that was intentional. The racing was sweet, like combining Tokyo Drift with massive life-sized Hot Wheels racing tracks pumped full of monster steroids. The dialogue was funny, Sarandon (Mom) and Goodman (Pops) were fine actors as usual and there was even a cool fight scene with Racer X (Matthew Fox) beating the heck out of a ninja assassin, who then gets a pummeling by Pops, who shows off some moves from his former wrestling days.

Speed Racer is hyper-fast paced and really never slows to the point of losing its momentum. There are many funny parts, plenty of Christina Ricci (Trixie), a few decent dramatic scenes [usually involving Sarandon or Goodman] and even the soundtrack is pretty cool. Oh yeah, and even the pet chimpanzee Chim Chim was often a welcome addition. So, instead of just writing off Speed Racer … give it a chance. You may be surprised.

(4 out of 5)

Zac:

The Wachowski siblings have crafted a fantastic, fun, and exciting piece of cinema that can be enjoyed by anyone willing to let the kid inside of them come out to play. The film centers around the Racer family as they try and challenge the scheme of conglomerate racing mogul Royalton, who is only worried about dollars and cents and not the joy and excitement of racing that the Racer family holds true.
Speed Racer (Emile Hirsh) is the driver for the family and lives with the ambitions to live up to his older brother Rex, idolizing him as a child and forced to watch his downfall on the professional circuit, those memories drive Speed to follow the path he does, and strive to do good in the only way he knows how; race. Speed’s Family supports him in a number ways throughout the film and the feeling of family unity is strong and is a great message to the audience this film is targeted towards.
Now, don’t let the family moniker scare you away as this is quality entertainment, it’s just suitable for all ages, and that isn’t a bad thing by any means. The races are entertaining as hell and full of speed, zaniness, and excitement, along with some brutal crashes to all contestants (every driver’s life is saved in a crash by a bubbly foam thing that wraps them up as they bounce away unscathed). There are three major races throughout with the best being the finale by a hair over the opening “ghost” race.
The plot as a whole works pretty well for the most part, it gets a little slow when Royalton is attempting to recruit Speed to join his team and leaves us wondering a bit to Racer X’s emotions, but outside that, the movie whips along at a very quick pace, injecting some genuine laughs (usually from Chim Chim and Spritle), Kung Fu fighting, while pulling you into the intended suspense of the piece.
The acting is solid across the board and really compliments the visual treat so that you get to watch more then a CGI light show of sorts. John Goodman is great as Pops and you can real feel his struggle to deal with his past lessons from Rex and trying to apply him to the paralleling situations with Speed. Susan Sarandon does well with what she has as the supportive Mom Racer as does Christina Ricci as the equally supportive Trixie. Matthew Fox plays an excellent bad-ass and mystery man in Racer-X and he has a joy beating people up on and off the track. Paulie Litt is hilarious as Spritle working well with his primate co-star as they share just about every scene together. Speed is played well by both actors who play him. Hirsch sells the intensity of the races and also sells us on his motivations and drive to be something great even if it only is through racing. Nicholas Elia is fantastic as young Speed and really works well worshiping and working off Scott Porter’s Rex Racer.
The Wachowski’s visual look to this film is unreal. A living and breathing cartoon full of color and life, cool wipes and transitions, it all just oozes style. I can’t think of another movie that is so constantly full of life, fun, and flavor in its visual style in recent memory, maybe ever. It is an absolute trip and demands to be seen on the big screen or better yet IMAX; I can’t wait to get this on Blu-Ray as well. You won’t find a more stimulating visual marvel of a film like this for some time to come I imagine.
In the end, Speed Racer is a solid family film that falters rarely and outside a minor pacing issue in the beginning is just a blast to watch throughout. The races are a lot of fun, though not as good as the SW: Episode I pod race, and the story is solid, but nothing awe inspiring, but that doesn’t keep this film from being a great family action film that is easy to sit back and just enjoy. Speed Racer is a lot of fun and worth checking out for the visual and the opportunity to just sit back and be a kid again in the theater.

(4.25 out of 5)

[rating: 3/5]