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Movies / On DVD / Speed Racer
Speed Racer

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Speed Racer (2008)

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Reviews Counted:201

Fresh:75

Rotten:126

Average Rating:5.1/10

Consensus: The Wachowski Brothers have overloaded Speed Racer with headache-inducing special effects, and neglected to develop a coherent storyline.

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Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for sequences of action, some violence, language and brief smoking

Runtime: 2 hr. 15 min.

Genre: Action & Adventure

Theatrical Release: Apr 28, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $43.9M

Synopsis: Hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition, Speed Racer is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is... Hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition, Speed Racer is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized-the legendary Rex Racer - whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer, the designer of Speed's thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company's maniacal owner but uncovers a terrible secret-some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won't drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line. The only way for Speed to save his family's business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie, Speed teams with his one-time rival-the mysterious Racer X - to win the race that had taken his brother's life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible. [More]

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Matthew Fox, Nicholas Elia, Roger Allam, Melissa Holroyd, Paulie Litt, Ariel Winter, Benno Furmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Gian Ganziano, Rain, Richard Roundtree, Peter Fernandez, Kick Gurry, Harvey Friedman, Sadao Ueda, John Benfield, Nayo Wallace, Valery Tscheplanowa, Christian Oliver, Sami Loris, Moritz Bleibtreu, Olivier Marlo, Sean McDonagh, Ashley Walters, Scott Porter, Vinzenz Kiefer, Mark Zak, Willy, Kenzie Lovelay, Julia Joyce, Clayton Nemrow, Ricky Watson, Brandon Robinson, L. Trey Wilson, Lauren Blake, Cosma Shiva Hagen, Ralph Herforth, Waldemar Kobus, Max Hopp, Julie T. Wallace, Matthias Redhammer, Ecki Hoffman, Stephen Marcus, Art La Fleur, Peter Navy Tuiasosopo, Nan Yu, Paul Sirr, Ramon Tikaram, Melvil Poupaud, Kad "Y" Taylor, Junior Sone Enang, Jana Pallaske, Dari Maximova, Werner Daehn, Komi Togbonou, Leila Rozario, Steven Wilson, Karl Yune, Togo Igawa, Jonathan Kinsler, Anatole Taubman, Ben Miles, Frank Witter, Megan Gay, Corinne Orr, Joe Mazza, Joon Park, Ludmilla Ismailow, Milka Duno, Amira Osman, Jens Neuhaus, Sesede Terziyan, Ill-Young Kim, Yuriri Naka, Oscar Ortega Sánchez, Yu Fang, Narges Rashidi, Andrés Cantor

Director: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski

Director: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Screenwriter: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Producer: Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
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  • Speed Racer 2008
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    SPEED RACER FEATURETTE
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    SPEED RACER ICE CAVE
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    SPEED RACER GERMAN
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  • SPEED RACER MUSIC VIDEO
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    SPEED RACER GRAND PRIX
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    SPEED RACER WEVE GOT WORK TO DO
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    SPEED RACER NINJA ATTACK
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  • SPEED RACER ILL TAKE RACER
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    SPEED RACER LOCAL FAN FAVORITE
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    SPEED RACER THE CAR IS A LIVING BREATHING THING
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    SPEED RACER SNEAK PEEK
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1 - 4 of 12

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REVIEWS FOR SPEED RACER

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1 - 20 of 203 (sorted by date)
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Future Movies UK | comment Comment
Jul 7, 2010
Coco Forsythe
Coco Forsythe
Future Movies UK

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film.com | comment Comment
Jul 7, 2010
Laremy Legel
Laremy Legel
Film.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
Jul 7, 2010
Brett Michel
Brett Michel
Boston Phoenix

What grounds the spectacle, pushing it beyond a two-hour ejaculation of sensation, is its yearning for innocence

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
Aug 26, 2009
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Fellow critics mercilessly denounced this dazzling, visually inventive adaptation; one of the ten best films of 2008

Full Review Source: Orange County and Long Beach Blade | comment 6 Comments
Feb 27, 2009
Fr. Chris Carpenter
Fr. Chris Carpenter
Orange County and Long Beach Blade

Cut from car to driver to announcer to audience and over and over again, ad nauseam. Such pretty racing scenes, so little to actually see.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
Nov 14, 2008
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

The brothers swamp the fragile story and characters with such a deluge of CGI tricks and elaborate action sequences that it proves hard to care about the humans on screen.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
Oct 18, 2008
Mike Goodridge
Mike Goodridge
Screen International

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
Oct 18, 2008
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

A flashy, colorful film that packs a ton o’ fun into its fast-paced frame.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
Oct 18, 2008
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Bullz-Eye.com | comment Comment
Oct 18, 2008
Bullz-Eye.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
Oct 18, 2008
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Twelve-year-old boys should be wowed, but for the rest of us, it will depend on your appetite for eye candy.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment 1 Comment
Oct 18, 2008
Tom Charity
Tom Charity
CNN.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
Oct 18, 2008
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Even the target audience of 10-year-olds might get jimmy legs sitting for a punishing 135 minutes as the Wachowski brothers projectile-vomit their cotton-candy dreams all over the big screen.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
Oct 18, 2008
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic IconTop Critic

You can feel the kids in the audience tapping their feet, waiting for more action. So, let’s just give the kids what they want: fast-paced excitement, wrapped up in a colorful package.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment 1 Comment
Oct 1, 2008
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com

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.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
Sep 22, 2008
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze

Maybe it's all flash and little substance, but there's no denying the appeal of that flash....

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
Sep 15, 2008
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

The Wachowskis blur the definition of "children's film" as much as the original cartoon challenged Western perceptions of "children's television".

Full Review | comment Comment
Aug 22, 2008
Shane Burridge
Shane Burridge
rec.arts.movies.reviews

And here we have a prime example of why studios should not be funding the creations of The Wachowski Brothers. While visually dazzling, the film's paper thin plot and the cheesiness of its actors are a huge disservice.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment 3 Comments
Jul 13, 2008
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

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
Jun 13, 2008
Vicky Roach
Vicky Roach
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
 
 
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LATEST NEWS FOR SPEED RACER

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