Shawn's Speed Racer Review

2008 Movie # 69 - Speed Racer

This one was probably the only frustrating miss of the year. I didn't get to see it in Imax which I would have absolutely loved to do, especially after actually watching the movie. My theatre only played it for a week, as did the other theatre I go to. So I never had the time to go check this one out. Despite all the bad reviews, the massive scale box office failure and general hate on this movie, I still held out hope that it would surprise me and end up being a good watch. That's exactly what it did, it actually turned out to be a really good watch.

Of course it's all about the look of the movie which many people hated but I thought was pretty cool and well done. It's rare to see something so different in movies these days so I applaud the movie for it's balls in going in the direction that it did. It really does look like an anime cartoon brought to life. It's not just the races that look like this but the entire world that these characters live in as well. Basically you're either going to appreciate the look of the movie, or loathe it. There's definitely no in between.

The races are of course the highlight of the movie and there are plenty of them throughout the movies running time (an issue that will be addressed shortly). They are fast paced, crazy over the top and just a shit ton of fun to watch. They actually don't take up as much of the movie as I would think, but when a race is about to start you know shit is about to get awesome real fast.

The cast all does a good job, with everyone realizing what kind of movie they're in and having fun with it, while at the same time never making it too over the top or campy. My favourite would have to be Matthew Fox as Racer X but being a huge Lost fan I pretty much support anything the man does. He really was great in the role though. Christina Ricci actually looks like a cartoon character here and it's both strange and hot.

My one main issue would have to be the running time. The movie is over 2 hours long which there isn't really a need for. Don't get me wrong I was never bored but I still felt there were things that could have been cut out and the movie would have been just fine still without it. I also wasnt a huge fan of Speed's brother and Chim Chim. I felt their sequences didn't mesh with the rest of the movie, although their parts were clearly in there to keep the younger kids interested in things.

The problem I think comes down to the fact this movie is really marketed towards anyone. It's supposed to be a kids movie but it's 2 1/2 hours long and features a surprisingly complex plot about corporations and sponsorships and corruption, etc. Also the majority of these kids have no fucking clue who Speed Racer even is. However the age group who does remember the character and the cartoon have no interest in the movie since it's a movie aimed at kids. I however had a lot of fun with it and wish it would have done better in theatres. check this one when it hits DVD.

****/5