The appeal of this frenetically-paced fantasy is probably limited to 10-year-olds, gamers and fanboys.
Speed Racer (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:11
Rotten:27
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: The Wachowski Brothers have overloaded Speed Racer with headache-inducing special effects, and neglected to develop a coherent storyline.
Australian Rating: PG [See Full Rating] Action violence and coarse language
Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Australian Theatrical Release:
Jun 12, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $43,929,341
Synopsis: Based on the 1960s Japanese-manga-derived animated TV series of the same name, SPEED RACER follows the adventures of the title character (Emile Hirsch), a young race car driver who sits behind the... Based on the 1960s Japanese-manga-derived animated TV series of the same name, SPEED RACER follows the adventures of the title character (Emile Hirsch), a young race car driver who sits behind the wheel of the lightning-fast Mach 5 vehicle. Aided by his family, which includes Pops Racer (John Goodman) and Mom Racer (Susan Sarandon), and his devoted doe-eyed girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed racks up victory after victory, but still lives in the shadow of his late older brother, Rex (Scott Porter), who died in a race. When Speed garners the wrath of Royalton Industries, he must team up with the enigmatic Racer X (Matthew Fox) to defeat the ruthless corporation. Written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, the masterminds behind the MATRIX films, SPEED RACER replaces the gritty techno patina of that blockbuster series with a polished, brightly hued virtual reality. Though the eye-popping visuals threaten to eclipse the acting, the fine cast gamely makes the most of their green-screen environment, particularly the likable Hirsch, who won acclaimed for his decidedly different INTO THE WILD role, and LOST's always-noble Fox. Adding to the movie's giddy mood are Paulie Litt and his chimp companion, who provide comic relief as Speed's playful younger brother, Spritle, and Chim Chim, respectively. While definitely a case of style over substance, SPEED RACER is a movie meticulously designed to appeal to families and kids, especially the Spritle-like young ones. [More]
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Christina Ricci
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain, Richard Roundtree, Roger Allam, Benno Furmann, Kick Gurry, Paulie Litt, Nicholas Elia
Director: Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski
Director: Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski
Screenwriter: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Producer: Joel Silver, Grant Hill, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Speed Racer
This is fairly simplistic anti-corporate fare, told in a way that occasionally defies comprehension as well as gravity. Impressionistic is the word.
An overlong and downright boring story, with its plodding family scenes interspersed between the action sequences, makes Speed Racer a bit of a flooded engine.
Resembling little more than a two-hour video game, the high-energy movie is positive enough about the strength of family to forgive the challenges of the format and simply go along for the (very loud and noisy) ride offered by the Wachowski brothers.
Given that Speed Racer itself is basically an elaborate commercial, the anti-corporate message inevitably rings hollow.
No doubt the Wachowski brothers were aiming for a surreal atmosphere, and they hit their mark, but it too often felt less an edge-of-your-seat movie experience and more a pretty cool new computer game.
Creating visual styles that break boundaries is what the Wachowskis do best; Speed Racer is a thrilling triumph of multi-layered visual storytelling, combining CGI with live action & involving mind boggling race sequences using virtual real-life locations
The actors are lost amidst the orgy of pixels writhing around like the special effects equivalent of a bukkake film
You have to be 12 to like it, and I have to say there is little or nothing here to remind us why we were all quite so excited about The Matrix.
At the finish line Speed Racer comes across as an indulgent fantasy project for the Wachowskis.
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.
For a movie about velocity, the excitement factor is low and the races feel like a drag.
The fakeness of it all overwhelms, dampening any real excitement. It's hard to care about characters so stiff and one-dimensional they out-cartoon the cartoon originals.
Speed Racer is a manufactured widget, a packaged commodity that capitalizes on an anthropomorphized cartoon of Capitalist Evil in order to sell itself and its ancillary products.
A frenetic, densely layered, narratively scrambled blob of moviemaking that will leave viewers alternately baffled and sensorially stunned.
Speed Racer sets out to honor and refresh a youthful enthusiasm from the past and winds up smothering the fun in self-conscious grandiosity.
You might admire it as a Warholian blur of pop art, gawp and gasp at its Hot Wheels-for-real dynamism, or get a headache.
I reckon the M.P.A.A. should use the advent of Speed Racer to revive an old ratings symbol: a big Roman X, meaning 'of no conceivable interest to anyone over the age of ten.'
Pure cotton candy -- entirely non-nutritious but too sweet and pretty for young people to resist.
Latest News for Speed Racer
January 21, 2009:
Razzies Name 2008's Worst Movie Nominees
No awards season would be complete without the Golden Raspberry Awards (AKA The Razzies), awarded each year to the very worst movies to hit Hollywood. This year's winners will... More...
October 06, 2008:
Filme.Acasa: Un blockbuster de arta a sosoit la linia de final. Este sclipitor, accesoriat si auto-erotic. Speed Racer iti face inima sa pulseze de trei ori mai repede. ![]()
More...
September 22, 2008:
The arty blockbuster has arrived, and it's as flashy, accessorized and auto-erotic as can be. Which creates a strange sensation indeed, that it's not just the cars that are smoking, but those Wachowski brothers as well, and whatever's in their pipes too. ![]()
More...
September 15, 2008:
RT on DVD: Speed Racer Zooms to Blu-ray!
Get the pop rocks and Coke ready -- Speed Racer is out this week! We'll tell you what new releases to skip over, when Death Proof and Planet Terror are headed to Blu-ray, and... More...
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