Speed Racer
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Matthew FoxDirector: The Wachowski Brothers
Year of Release: 2008
This movie is supposed to be a live action/fantasy film version of the classic ’60s cartoon show Speed Racer. Through endless reruns and cult following, an interest in Speed Racer has lasted over several generations of kids. This film however little to nothing to do with the original cartoon. Sure, there is a character named Speed Racer who drives the Mach 5, but the similarities end there.
The film has a very whacked-out, over saturated vibe to everything. The colors are beyond bright and also clearly fake. The whole movie feels like one big fake plastic fruit tree. It relies so heavily on CGI one wonders why they didn’t just make it 100% CGI instead of sticking out-of-place real people into the fake environments.
Story is weak, characters are weak leading to some unimpressive performances from otherwise great actors, and the whole thing is just drowned out with visual over-stimulation.
Bottom Line: Don’t bother.
