Reviewed by Max Foizey.

Release Date: May 9, 2008
Directed By: The Wachowski Brothers
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox
Rating: PG

I'm a few years too young to have watched the "Speed Racer" cartoon series growing up, but in my youth I caught some of the re-runs on cable TV, and wasn't all that impressed. Thus I wasn't expecting to enjoy the Wachowski Brothers' adaptation, but to my surprise, I did. A lot. The Wachowskis have crafted a light, funny, exhilarating family film that will push filmmaking into new, exciting realms.

Their version of "Speed Racer" is the first true live action animated film, a Fantasia acid trip for the tween set. Following in the footsteps of 1994's "The Flintstones," Warren Beatty’s "Dick Tracy," and Robert Altman's "Popeye," the film doesn't try to be realistic at all, and instead plays up its cartoon heritage. Unlike other CGI epics, "Speed Racer" doesn't try to make its world photo-realistic.

Our cast walks through a gloriously artificial world, full of bright colors and contrasts. Visually stunning and quite remarkable, I've never seen a film look like this. It's innovative and gorgeous. The over-the-top racing scenes take their cue from video game cut scenes and culture; to say that cars could never drive that way in real life is missing the point entirely.

What the Manning family if to football, so is the Racer family to racing. Pops (John Goodman) builds the cars, Mom (Susan Sarandon) makes the pancakes (and builds the cars), and Spritle (Paulie Litt) eats the pancakes (and builds the cars). Since Speed was a little kid he wanted to be a bad ass racer like his older brother Rex. The opening scene features a young Speed doodling race cars in school, imagining winning the big race. It's an excellent scene, pure joy on film.

Years pass, and eventually Speed becomes a hot shot racer, but he carries the weight of Rex's death, after the world watched his brother die in a controversial race. With his success, Speed finds the big time sponsors want a piece of his future, and a tempting offer from Royalton Industries sets up the film's only real plot. WILL SPEED RACER SIGN WITH THE EVIL CORPORATION, OR WILL HE CONTINUE TO RACE FOR HIS FAMILY?

Of course Royalton's crazy owner (Roger Allam, really hamming it up) doesn't like to hear "no" for an answer, so he uses intimidation, rigs races, and even sends assassins after Speed and his fam. The mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox with a steady rasp) shows up to put the bad guys in their place, and to give Speed a reason to question what actually happened to his brother. The origin of Racer X is handled very well, even those familiar with his identity will have fun watching it unfold on screen.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone look as cute in a film as Christina Ricci does as Speed's longtime gal pal Trixie. She throws punches, fixes cars, and pilots a helicopter, all while sporting a dynamite haircut and wearing pink. A whole lot of pink. Pink Pink Pink.

Emile Hirsch infuses the character of Speed with more depth than I would have thought possible. The world may be artificial, but Hirsch isn't. His brooding visage reminds how inseparable racing and family are to him.

The youngest of the Racer clan, Spritle (Paulie Litt, always mugging for the camera) works well alongside his chimp Chim Chim as comic relief for parents and kids. At its heart, this is a story more about family than racing, and the Wachowski Brothers do a nice job keeping the focus on the Racer family instead of the epic races. It doesn't hurt that Susan Sarandon and John Goodman are perfectly cast, with Goodman doing his best work in years. He's the soul of the film.

The format in which the movie is presented is unlike anything I've seen before; as characters are introduced a short flashback of their back story bursts on screen, and giant floating talking heads are used to wipe from one scene to the next. It's innovative, but gets tiring - which is a good analogy for the entire film - innovative, but tiring. At times the visuals can be downright overwhelming, and it's at least one race too long (the 'Snake Oiler' race should have been the last).

Though it may become a cult classic, it will not age well on home video, so see it on the largest screen possible, and bring the kids. The Wachowski Brothers did as well as can possibly be expected in adapting a live action "Speed Racer" for the big screen. I'm not sure what more could have been done with this property, and it's got a great message for kids, to boot. (You can strive to win and be the best, but your family it what's really important.)

An Anime come to life, "Speed Racer" is a cure for ADD.  ZOMG the colors!

Ready for a new kind of radio? Check out the award winning Max On Movies, every Saturday from 2-4pm on 97.1 FM Talk. You'll hear breaking news about upcoming films, reviews of the latest theatrical and DVD releases, and interviews with your favorite actors, directors, and writers. Max On Movies was awarded a Certificate of Merit in the Special Program category from the Missouri Broadcasters Association in 2007. A member of the Saint Louis Gateway Film Critics Association, Max has written about film for various print and Web media, and appeared as guest critic on nationally syndicated radio shows. E-mail Max at mfoizey@stl.emmis.com critic on nationally syndicated radio shows. Though not a fan of the original "Speed Racer" cartoon, Max used to rock out to Alpha Team's naughty remix of the cartoon's theme. E-mail Max at mfoizey@stl.emmis.com