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Speed Racer Review
Born to race cars, Speed Racer 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.
Speed Racer is based on the original cartoon 'Mach Go Go Go', so as with a lot of these type of conversions to screen you don't hold out a lot ofhope of them actually being any good. But for one minute hold onto that thought. This film has been created by The Wachowski Brothers who gave us The Matrix. So you know you are not in for just a straight cartoon to big screen version. Oh no, this time we get their latest bag of tricks called 21/2-D Technology, which is a style, where the actors work with 360 green screen. High Def is used to capture the locvales and then it all is all put into the wrap around sets. Awesome effect it is too. SO back to the original point... Is it another dull conversion?
Well, the answer is sometimes. Visually this movie is an awesome spectacle. The races are truly adreneline pumping, it's all so fast you'll get out of breath watching it. The best way to possibly describe it is MarioKart blended with Tron. In fact certain sequences looked like they were an upgraded version of the light cycles! Unfortunatly, the plot and script are wafer thin and the script is absolutely dire in places. But this is lifted from a cartoon so it can almost be forgiven. The cast do the best they can with what they have been given, although when all you really have to do is pull faces to a green screen, it's not a lot to work with. When your in danger of being upstaged by a chimp called Chim Chim, you know the effects are going to have be spectacular. Despite this though both Christinna Ricci and Matthew Fox excel. Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer, does what is required and will not be setting the world alight with this role, does however play his role well. Susan Saradon and John Goodman however barely get out of first gear and look like they are as much in awe of the visual effects as we are.
Is it worth seeing then? Well, yes despite its failings in the plot and scripting dept. It is a kids/family movie and that is squarely where it's pitched at. Any child with more than a passing facination with Hot Wheels will lap this up.
Once again despite it's weaknesses, it's strengths (namely the visuals and the races) far, far outweigh them. This has to be seen on a big screen to fully get the feel of the glory of the adreneline -soaked races. If you can see it in digital all the more better for you. Speed Racer may not be the best blockbuster this summer, but it will be one of the guiltiest pleasures you will see. Go, Go, Go!
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