| Speed Racer [2008]
File Info>>
Video:
Codec: XVID
Bitrate: 1064 kbps
FPS: 25.00
Resolution: 688x288
Audio:
Codec: AC3
Sample Rate: 48000Hz
Bitrate: 384 kbps
Channel Count: 6
Channel Positions: Front: L C R, Rear: L R, LFE
Plot>>
“Your son seems to be interested in only one thing. All he talks about, all he seems capable of thinking about... is automobile racing”
The first big anime series to properly cross over from the East to the United States finally gets a shiny new make over in the hot new movie ‘Speed Racer’ This is the story of a young boy with a huge dream; not to be a Doctor, not to be a fancy lawyer… oh no, this kid wants to drive race cars. T180’s to be exact, high powered vehicles that can move at over 400mph.
These days I think the fastest we’re even allowed to travel in our everyday modern motor vehicles is 80 mph at best, and crossing this line usually results in having our grinning little faces snapped by a speed camera. Those of us whose show no regard for this unscrupulous caging of our inner beast only tend to end up building a photo album of blurred government snap shots, a weighty collection of fines and then, alas, a disqualification and an introduction to the public transport system.
There is a place though, where frustrations like this are quashed. Where certain brave and fearless individuals can break every law in the book and even receive a round of applause for it (America you say?) No, I speak of an amazing city called Cosmopolis. A bright bustling homeland where drivers can travel fast and racers can eclipse the speed barriers.
Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is the guy we meet first, his Dad (John Goodman) runs an independent racing team and Speed has been wanting to become a race car driver ever since he was little. His mum (Susan Sarandon), younger brother Spritle, pet monkey Chim-Chim and girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci) all know about Speed’s lust for racing and although they don’t always show it, they all fully support him.
Things take a turn though when the head of the giant Royalton Corporation tries to persuade Speed Racer to pull out of his fathers racing team and sign a contract with them. Speed now has a big decision to make as to whether to go for the big time or stick with the family business as it looks like this corporation wont take no for an answer.
The essence of the animated series has been captured magnificently in this film. From the colourful city backdrops and clothing to the hyper stylised motor racing on the dangerous racetracks, the Wachowski brothers have done full justice to this classic show.
Although aimed at a slightly younger audience I’m pretty confident that this will be enjoyed by anyone who watches it. The martial arts sequences, the high speed stunts and the likeability of the characters all make this something that absolutely cannot be missed.
Impressively directed, superbly designed and eye-poppingly colourful, this is an enjoyable action-adventure flick, providing you like things that go vroom.
Based on the popular 1960s anime-style cartoon (although not as well known here as in the US), Speed Racer stars Emile Hirsch as racing fanatic Speed Racer, whose older brother Rex (Scott Porter) died in a mysterious racing accident ten years previously. With the support of his loving family – Mom (Susan Sarandon), Pops (John Goodman), little brother Spritle (Paulie Litt) and mechanic Sparky (Kick Gurry) – as well as loyal girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed is now the rising star on the racing circuit, which brings him to the attention of sinister corporate sponsor Mr Royalton (Roger Allam).
When Speed refuses to join Royalton's team, he finds himself targeted on the track by Royalton's racers. However, help is at hand in the form of the mysterious masked driver, Racer X (Matthew Fox), who persuades Speed to help him expose corruption in the sport.
Directed by the Wachowski Brothers, Speed Racer uses an impressive blend of live action and state-of-the-art animation to brilliantly recreate the whizzy animation style of the cartoons. The set designs are incredibly detailed (see the digital projection version if you can) and so brightly coloured that you could be forgiven for thinking you were hallucinating.
The performances are excellent, particularly Emile Hirsch, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon, while Roger Allam makes a suitably sinister villain (British, of course) and there's strong comic support from Paulie Litt and his scene-stealing chimpanzee as Speed's pesky little brother. In addition, the race sequences are excitingly shot using a style the Wachowskis have dubbed car fu, meaning that the cars do a lot of jumping, flipping and spinning around.
The plot may be a fairly simplistic good-vs-evil affair but the family drama adds an interesting layer, particularly during the impressively edited, multiple flashback opening sequence.
In short, Speed Racer is an entertaining, superbly directed blockbuster that's unlike anything you've seen before. Highly recommended.
This whizzy and outrageously colourful family action romp is a visually breathtaking hybrid of animation and live action. The story may feel about as gripping as a videogame, but the film is pure eye candy.
For the Racer family, cars are in the blood, from Mom and Pops (Sarandon and Goodman) to sons Rex, Speed and Spritle (Porter, Hirsch and Litt), plus Speed's girlfriend Trixie (Ricci) and ace mechanic Sparky (Gurry). Ten years after Rex's mysterious death, Speed is now the rising star in the racing circuit, but he enrages a megabucks corporate sponsor (Allam) by refusing to join his team. So it's war on and off the track, especially when Speed teams up with a detective (Furmann) and secretive driver X (Fox) to expose corruption in the sport.
The Wachowskis cleverly adapt the 1960s anime series into a full-on blockbuster movie, maintaining the full-contact racing style (which they call "car-fu") and surreal, gravity-defying races on looping tracks and treacherous mountain roads. They also maintain the central focus on the dynamic that holds Racer family tightly together, which is about the only thing that holds the film together as well. Although it also allows for some gooey schmaltz. At least the international array of fine actors manage to create entertaining characters and maintain their dignity amid the flurry of effects.
And really, that's what this film is. The Wachowskis are never likely to settle for something we've seen before, and this movie is an astonishing barrage of garish, whirling imagery from start to finish. The detail is impressive, as is the complex action choreography and a continuous streak of silly humour that keeps it from being pretentious (which is where The Matrix went wrong).
This is just big action fun, with some family drama and a good versus bad plot that isn't nearly as twisty as it pretends to be. Actually, the plot is rather thinly filled in just to connect the racing scenes. And this lack of something to grab onto leaves the film feeling very long and strangely dull, even amid in the biggest effects sequences. It's kind of like looking through a kaleidoscope for two hours--fascinating and dazzling
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