Cinematography:
David TattersallComposer:
Michael GiacchinoCast:
Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Hiroyuki Sanada, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Scott Porter, Benno Fürmann, Richard Roundtree, Christian Oliver (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
Born into a family of racing nuts, 18-year-old Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is taking the racing world by storm. Racing his father's designed 'Mach 5', a gadget laden speed machine, his combination of fearless talent and sheer aggression has led him to be the talk of the racing fraternity. Fiercely loyal to his family, Speed Racer's main aim is to emulate his late brother Rex's (Scott Porter) achievements, and win the tough cross-country rally, 'The Crucible', in which his brother died. But when he turns down a lucrative offer to drive for rival Royalton Industries, he soon discovers that they fix the outcome of all the major races in the country. Now, with Royalton out to stop him at all costs, he realises he must win every race, including 'The Crucible', if he is to defeat Royalton and save the family business. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (13)
So colorful... Oh yeah, this movie just blew me away. It raised the bar. I just loved it ;-) I waited, I went through it, and it paid off. I put it on at the exact moment I needed it the most. At the moment when it could consume me. Maybe if I'd let it in just a moment later or earlier, it wouldn't have gotten full marks. Clever as can be. :-D It's got juice.
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The Wachowskis show once again their technical skills and impress with an incredible range of perfectly tuned colors, visuals, a captivating concept of car races, and typical camera positions and shooting systems of some scenes. On the other hand, they have quite traditionally forgotten about the script, which oscillates between a “sketch” from a silly sitcom and entertainment for the whole family, especially for the younger ones. The plot is very dysfunctional, but technically breathtaking. The classic that we are used to, but this time we won't forgive it.
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Brilliant! It’s a pity that the visionary visuals and direction of the Wachowskis is ruined by excessive childishness. I would throw the characters of the little brother and the chimp out of a skyscraper window, then I would scrape them from the street, bring them back up and throw them out again. But whatever, Speed Racer is an extraordinary and unique film and I can accept a couple of defects for all that beauty.
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The first twenty minutes I joyfully wallowed in its ingenuity, stylization and precision that the Wachowskis shower at you both horizontally and vertically. But then the same happens over and over for the rest of the movie. Here and there a wonderful moment occurs, but mostly you just get a chimp gawping out at you from the screen. And I don’t mean the excellent as always Hirsch. In my eyes it gradually devolves into the level of a far too long tripped out paint by numbers book that isn’t shaken out of its over-combined lethargy until the very end. Personally, I was expecting something different and more bizarre. This was, Speedy’s adventures make a traditional infantile family movie about the right values, with a pinch of insight into basic capitalism for the very young. So, certainly baloney, but not much fun. Still I would like to recommend this epileptic’s paradise because you really don’t get the chance to see something like this every day. And, last but not least, for that feeling of speed that the Wachowski siblings (can’t call them brothers, can I?) are so skilled at instilling. P.S.: That monkey in the pajamas has an unpleasantly penetrating gaze. I still have the feeling that somebody’s looking at me. Brr.
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The races: a perfect spectacle, your eyes are amazed, your adrenaline rises, and you're subconsciously gripping the steering wheel and stepping on the pedal. The dialogue, comic relief, and everything else: disappointment, and often unexpected suffering. The parents make an effort, the brother rolls his eyes, and Trixie, a lovely sexy figure, winks her eyes and helps the main hero. And meanwhile, I'm praying for someone to step on that pedal again. It is truly a very uneven mixture, you climb into Speed's cockpit and you still don't get under his skin for even a bit throughout the two hours. And at that moment, any possible enthusiasm for the film as a whole ends for me. A visual orgy on zero background. This is supposedly how films are supposed to look in the future. I think (and I strongly hope) not. P.S.: Big plus for the mysterious Matthew Fox, who can create a deep character out of anything.
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Gallery (61)
Photo © Warner Bros. Pictures
![Speed Racer - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/000/130/130500_3616b5.jpg)
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