Speed Racer (Widescreen Edition)

This movie was everything that was enjoyable about watching an old-school Anime in live action. The acting was exactly right, the shots, the effects. The plot was great and they didn't waste time.
Don't believe the critics; this was a fantastically fun, exciting movie.

I took my 4-year-old nephew to see this over the weekend because he too saw the commercials and has been dying to see it. He's at an age where he's really into cars, as well as fire engines and trains, and I thought this was right up his alley. I was right. He loved it. It was fast, it was exciting and it was fun for kids. Speed's little brother Sprital and his pet chimp Chim-Chim cracked up every kid in the theater and I have to admit they were pretty funny. The scene where Sprital is offered all the candy he wants made every kid laugh hard. It was creative in ways I would never think of and interesting for both kids and adults. There was a nice little message about family and integrity too. The portrayal of young Speed and his love of racing and his older brother was excellent. One of the best quiet little parts was when lil' Speed gets picked up from school by his big brother, in the Mach 5! What kid wouldn't love that? I don't get why people are saying there is no heart in this movie. It has plenty. I ended up liking the Racer family more in this movie than I ever did in the cartoon. While there are a couple of fight scenes they are more action-y than violent or vicious. Again, Sprital and Chim-Chim leaven the fights with humor. I don't know why the critics have their undies in a bunch over this one. It's plenty entertaining.

Anyhow, check out this movie for no other reason than you get to see a chimp de-pants a ninja

this is one of those films that the blu ray disc makes the experience intense.

Well its corny, its colorful and its a fun movie experience. If you like anime, its a lot like that only with people and it is way better than the old cartoon. Very beautiful fun movie that might have you say go speed go!

How much you like this film will depend partially on how much you buy into the central concept of the movie: a live-action film made as cartoon-like as possible through art direction and production values. Perhaps the best example of that is the big hand to hand fight up in the mountains; whatever you think of the movie in general, that scene is a spectacular technical achievement. Indeed, one cannot fault the Wachowskis on a technical basis in any film; they push the envelope in production design and photographic technique in every production. However, I didn't buy into the live-action-as-cartoon concept, and the story left me cold. Perhaps that's because I was never a huge "Speed Racer" fan growing up. My wife was much more so than I, but even she didn't care for the movie so much.

The performances are good; the actors are not the problem. John Goodman is as good as he's been for a while (he's always an asset to a movie), Christina Ricci does a great job with the kind of part she hasn't really had before, and Matthew Fox turns in a good performance as Racer X for a promising big-screen debut. (It helps that Racer X is not altogether different a character than Jack Shepard.) Emile Hirsch is a fine Speed Racer, but he is burdened with playing the Oliver Twist of this movie. Speed Racer is the title character, but like Oliver Twist, is the cipher at the center of the proceedings; a character that is a catalyst for other events but whom at the end of the tale we still hardly know.

"Speed Racer" is a kids' film, but in my view fails as such. It's too long, takes too long to really get moving plot-wise, and has a little too much language for kids. I'm not a language prude; the language in "Speed Racer" is mild. And I don't really mind if my daughter hears that in other contexts. I suppose my objection to it is its gratuitous appearance, particularly in a film obviously oriented toward children.

If you are interested in this movie, I would recommend a rent before purchasing if you haven't seen it before.