I love movies. Love them! And so the recent state of cinema is somewhat akin to having my stomache pumped by a overzealous EMT-in-training. The last couple years have been absolutely painful with few shining moments making it worth fighting crowds and shelling out ten plus bucks at the box office. There have been films (Eastern Promises and Juno to name just two) that have taken my breath away but plenty of others have left me cold and almost angry (the ten minutes of 10,000 B.C. I endured still hurts).

And so, it is with a wondrous cry I proclaim the return of Hollywood in all its breathtaking glory. Speed Racer is why we go to the theatres.

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to a press screening and let me tell you, what a gift it turned out to be. From the moment the film starts, fans and those not so familiar with the 60s T.V. show are taken back forty years and, at the same time, are catapulted to an impossibly future. It's not really clear when the film takes place and this will only server to keep the film fresh in the years to come. The eye-popping color, the incredible Michael Giacchino score, and the sometimes euphoric (but never nauseating) vertigo-inducing effects work together to create a wondrous experience I have honestly never beheld. You'll have to forgive the hyperbole but Speed Racer leaves its audience exhilarated but never truly overwhelmed.

The acting was spot on. It was at turns campy and intense. The Wachowskis (they of Matrix Trilogy fame) keep a firm grip on the reins throughout their odyssey and make fantastic use of John Goodman ("Pops Racer") and Susan Sarandon ("Mom Racer") and Christina Ricci, Speed's own guardian angel and possible love interest, "Trixie." The titular role is played by Emile Hirsch who, largely unfamiliar to me before watching the film, will have quite a few new fans once May 9 rolls around.

I have no interest in providing a synopsis of the film here. If that's what you're looking for, I suggest picking up the original show on DVD. However, the best thing about this film is that there is absolutely no need to have seen the original Japanese anime first. If you are among those who remember the show, you'll be impressed by how truly respectful the Wachowski Brothers have treated their source material (there is a very excellent nod to the show's original Japanese version during the end credits that really helped pull everything together for me).

Speed Racer is not the kind of film you want to miss. This summer promises to be quite a rollercoaster of delights but it's going to be awfully hard to surprise me after having seen Speed race like a demon on wheels toward that checkered flag. I don't know that a certain iron gentleman or a familiar whip-wiedling, fedora wearing adventurer can win this race.

I'm still trying to catch my breath.