DVD review: “Speed Racer”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Writer-directors Larry and Andy Wachowski’s faithfulness to their source material stands out among the best and worst aspects of their big-screen adaptation of “Speed Racer.”
Temper your expectations of a movie based on a cheesy 1960s anime series about a boy who is a genius behind the wheel but too dim-witted to realize his little brother and pet chimpanzee stowed away in the trunk in virtually every race. Consider that the movie credits include this quote from the original cartoon: “We’ll be counting on you, Speed, and the future of world peace will rest upon your shoulders.”
Fortunately, the Wachowski brothers don’t let the movie version get that goofy, though they do stuff it with self-important, overly complicated plotlines and unneeded peripheral characters.
Their candy-colored story is set in a retro-futuristic alternative dimension where sleek cars use jump jacks, spearhooks and oil slicks in crash-bash races along loop-the-loop tracks.
The Wachowskis take a family-friendly approach, though the movie runs too long with too much violence and language for children younger than 8. Emile Hirsch stars as Speed Racer, whose skills on the track have conglomerate-sponsored race teams scrambling to sign him.
When Speed decides to stick with Mom and Pops Racer’s (Susan Sarandon and John Goodman) independent business, the sinister suits conspire against him. But Speed, with the help of the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox), takes on corporate evil and all comers on the track.
Speed’s brother Spritle (Paulie Lett) and pet Chim-Chim get into shenanigans along the way.
- BAM
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
[...] Speed Racer blog.newsok.com [...]