DVD
REVIEW: Speed Racer

09/16/08

You know how
theoretically there are an infinite amount of colors, well I
think I’m seen all of them in “Speed Racer” the new movie
by, the Wachowski brothers, the duo that brought as “The
Matrix”. The very colorful movie is based on the1960s
Japanese anime series Speed Racer. The brothers haven’t done
much since The Matrix Trilogy, except for producing the
outstanding “V for Vendetta”, but I still had faith they
could do a good job until I started reading all the negative
reviews. Honestly, I went in with very low expectations from
all the negative reviews I read. However, I’m here to tell
you what you’ve been told is a lie, the critics are wrong
because Speed Racer is pure unadulterated family
entertainment.
Speed Racer starts at the very beginning with a young Speed
Racer (Nicholas Elia) daydreaming about racing cars which is
turn shows an older Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) racing the
Mach 5 remembering his youth. The camera next pans to each
family member and a segment of each is revealed giving us a
nice breakdown of the back story. This was a very nice
technique and it shows the use of the new all in focus
technology where everything on the frame is in focus like a
cartoon. In this back story, it is revealed that Speed
Racer’s brother Rex (Scott Porter) died in a deadly race
known as The Crucible.
Speed wins the race and as the new rising star is called by
Royalton (Roger Allam) a man that controls all aspects of
racing and because of it has gain tremendous power and
wealth. Unlike this brother, Rex, Speed Racer sticks with
his Pops (John Goodman) and doesn’t sign a contract will
Royalton. At this point Royalton tells Speed that all the
races are fixed and that he controls the outcome. Speed is
disillusioned and leaves disappointed but not without
Spritle (Paulie Litt ) and Chim Chim causing some major
problems. Now Speed and the mysterious Racer X must race
together to bring down Royalton.
The cast could not have been better, but the casting of the
villain, Roger Allam as Royalton and John Goodman as Pops
was perfect. John Goodman is Pops and he plays the character
flawlessly. Roger Allam plays the villain so deviously here
like he did in “V for Vendetta”. Allam knows how to get
under our skins. Matthew Fox as Racer X has a flare of the
mysterious. Matthew’s ability to portray very little emotion
finally paid off and his monotone voice only added to his
character’s allure.
The special effects were good, however I prefer the special
effects where one is not sure if it’s an effect of if it’s
real. We that said, the special effect here look like you’re
inside a live action cartoon, not bad but a little
distracting. The best part of the movie were the fights
scenes and the comedy provide via Speed’s little brother.
The fight scenes are wacky and like nothing you have ever
seen before and even have the Racer family fighting off a
bunch of ninjas. The other thing that was also very good was
Chim Chim and Spritle. They were the comic relief and if you
think they would come off corny, you are way off. They are
actually very funny and I think that Chim Chim and Paulie
Litt deserve at the very least an MTV movie award
nomination.
The movie runs about 2 hours and 15 minutes and this is a
little too long. There are too many race scenes and at least
one could have been cut out or trimmed down. Overall, the
movie was fun, funny and provided an entertainment
experience that the entire family can enjoy. So this weekend
when you’re deciding whether or not to take the kids, take
grandma too. I’ll bet she’ll have a blast.
Review
By Milton Brayson
milton@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
Widescreen [16:9 Transfer]
AUDIO:
English,
Spanish and French
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish
French - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The DVD includes two
featurettes running around 30 minutes total. I was very
surprise to find these featurettes highly entertaining.
Spritle in the Big
Leagues! This is a very fun and unique featurette
were Paulie Litt takes audiences to a tour the movie set.
Totally recommended (14:33)
Speed Racer:
Supercharged! This is another outstanding
featurette about the drivers of the WRL and explore
the film’s incredible cars and unbelievable racetracks. A
must see (15:51)
Digital Copy
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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VIDEO |
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