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Movies / On DVD / Speed Racer
Speed Racer

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Speed Racer (2008)

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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.

[See More Credits]

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1 - 4 of 13

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Reviews for Speed Racer

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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The appeal of this frenetically-paced fantasy is probably limited to 10-year-olds, gamers and fanboys.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph (Australia) | comment 2 Comments
06/13/08
Vicky Roach
Vicky Roach
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
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This is fairly simplistic anti-corporate fare, told in a way that occasionally defies comprehension as well as gravity. Impressionistic is the word.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment 1 Comment
06/13/08
Margaret Pomeranz
Margaret Pomeranz
At the Movies (Australia)
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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.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
06/13/08
Pauline Adamek
Pauline Adamek
FILMINK (Australia)
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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.

Full Review Source: Courier Mail (Australia) | comment Comment
06/13/08
Des Partridge
Des Partridge
Courier Mail (Australia)
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Given that Speed Racer itself is basically an elaborate commercial, the anti-corporate message inevitably rings hollow.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
06/12/08
Jake Wilson
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
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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.

Full Review Source: Sunday Mail (Australia) | comment Comment
06/12/08
Colin Newton
Colin Newton
Sunday Mail (Australia)
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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

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
06/05/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
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The actors are lost amidst the orgy of pixels writhing around like the special effects equivalent of a bukkake film

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment 2 Comments
05/12/08
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
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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.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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At the finish line Speed Racer comes across as an indulgent fantasy project for the Wachowskis.

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (Australia) | comment Comment
06/13/08
Shannon J. Harvey
Shannon J. Harvey
Sunday Times (Australia)
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I love the look and the style and the spirit of this film.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment 5 Comments
05/12/08
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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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.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment 5 Comments
05/09/08
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
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For a movie about velocity, the excitement factor is low and the races feel like a drag.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment 1 Comment
05/09/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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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.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment 3 Comments
05/09/08
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
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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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 2 Comments
05/09/08
Jim Emerson
Jim Emerson
Chicago Sun-Times
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A frenetic, densely layered, narratively scrambled blob of moviemaking that will leave viewers alternately baffled and sensorially stunned.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/08/08
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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Speed Racer sets out to honor and refresh a youthful enthusiasm from the past and winds up smothering the fun in self-conscious grandiosity.

comment 1 Comment
05/08/08
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
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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.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/05/08
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
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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.'

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment 3 Comments
05/05/08
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
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Pure cotton candy -- entirely non-nutritious but too sweet and pretty for young people to resist.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 4 Comments
05/01/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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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. Opens in new window
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. Opens in new window
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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