Speed Racer


3.5/4

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Roger Allam, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Benno Furman

Rated PG for Sequences of Action, Some Violence and Language

Frantically paced with a furious energy, The Wachowski Brother's latest film, "Speed Racer" is an exciting blend of light, color and energy that makes "The Fast and the Furious" look a whole lot worse than it actually is.

"Speed Racer" is based on an anime cartoon by Tatsuo Yoshida created in 1967, and existed in various incarnations a few times since then.  The film pays homage to the show, yet it also exists on its own; in other words, it wants to have its cake and eat it too.  This kind of thing rarely works, but with talent like the Wachowskis at the helm, it pays off…big time.

Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a stunt racecar driver for his family: Pops (John Goodman), Mom (Susan Sarandon), and Spritle (Paulie Litt).  Also working for the family business are Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed's girlfriend, and the mechanic, Sparky (Kick Gurry).  Speed is extremely talented and in high demand by corporate sponsors like Royalton (a delightfully over-the-top Roger Allam).  But when Speed turns Royalton down, the corporate sleazeball makes it his mission to destroy Speed at all costs.  There's a reason for that…in an attempt to win Speed over, Royalton lets him in on a little secret: all of racing is fixed so that the corporate owners can get rich.  Now, to save his family, Speed must team up with the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) to take down Royalton.

The visual appeal of this movie is so intense that it must be seen to be believed.  All colors are bright and colorful; it's like a Dr. Seuss movie on hyperdrive.  The Wachowskis do some daring things with their film, like having characters faces slide across the screen to increase menace, or mixing live actors with crude kids drawings.  All this has a point: to keep the film's manic energy up.

As impressive as the visuals are, they don't camouflage either the story or the characters.  Emile Hirsch makes Speed someone we can rally behind, and pulls off dialogue that's at times a little too wordy with aplomb.  John Goodman is terrific as Pops, handling the energetic scenes with as much skill as the sensitive ones.  Roger Allam goes so far over-the-top that he doesn't just chew on the scenery, he completely devours it.  Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon and the rest of the cast (including Korean pop star Rain) provide solid support.

The film didn't fare well at the box office, and that's a shame.  It's a lot of fun; the last twenty minutes are a prime example of how to finish a movie.  Every time I watch this movie, I'm always jumping up and down with excitement.  And for once, a movie manages to be energetic without having to resort to aggressive camera movement.  It's not flawless (the details of the corporate backstabbing don't make much sense and will likely go over little kids heads, and some of the green screen work is unconvincing), but it is a lot of fun.

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