Twelve-year-old boys should be wowed, but for the rest of us, it will depend on your appetite for eye candy.
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.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for sequences of action, some violence and language.
Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:May 9, 2008 Wide
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.
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Reviews for Speed Racer
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.
Speed Racer creates a timeless, visually seductive world suspended somewhere between the pop '60s and the sci-fi future. Its biggest disappointment, strangely enough, is its raison d'être -- the races themselves.
Speed Racer intends to convey a sense of heedless momentum, but it drags painfully.
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.
More than the story of the Racer family, Speed Racer is the visual autobiography of the Wachowskis and their pit crew of computer-nerd Einsteins, using the tools of their trade to transform the movie medium.
For a movie about velocity, the excitement factor is low and the races feel like a drag.
The movie, unfortunately, doesn't make that leap from sensation to art, but it suggests fascinating possibilities for moviemakers interested in using the latest techniques seriously to explore the world -- the fairyland we have made with our technology.
Someday, real artists may come along to use some of the techniques that the Wachowskis are developing. Then things will get interesting.
Speed Racer is brilliantly photographed and edited. It's told in a literally visionary style, full of innovation and breathtaking risk. But when it comes to the story, it's running on empty.
The movie makes you crave a streamlined story, interesting characters and a joystick.
Writer-directors Larry and Andy Wachowski, the creators of the Matrix films, once again invent stunning visual tricks in this adaptation of the late-'60s Japanese anime.
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.
It gave me a headache, a stomach ache and the less-defined unease that comes from witnessing a major change in the zeitgeist. Because the zeitgeist, judging from this movie, now embraces rattle-headed visual delirium at all costs.
An eye-popping, day-glo videogame that's as emotionally empty as it is visually exhilarating, Speed Racer is style, style, style without substance, but then it moves so fast that many may not care.
Sugar, not petrol, is the fuel that comes to mind watching candy-hued, visually hyperactive, narratively sputtering Speed Racer.
This is a movie that is giddily, gorgeously overwhelming, from the cool slow-motion to the Kubrick cartoons to the wormhole pyrotechnics to the kaleidoscopic bliss.
So bereft of intelligence, style and excitement that I can't figure out who in the world it's supposed to appeal to.
The Matrix creators Andy and Larry Wachowski barrel through this adaptation of the 60s animated series, hoping perhaps that no one will notice the story is as flat as roadkill.
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...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
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| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
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|---|---|
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