Review of Speed Racer (2008) by Equality7-2521 — 10 May 2008

As a children's movie, it gets a grade A. As entertainment for adults who know HOW to watch a movie, how to suspend disbelief, and appreciate art in all mediums and genres, it gets a grade B. Going into this movie, I was aware of the mixed reviews from reputable critics.

But it's sad that many of them already have preconceived notions of how movies should BE. They want conventional and linear storytelling (although they whine about formulaic scripts and lack of imagination), they want Syriana meets Le Mans? Who the F knows what they want.

All I know is that I went in knowing this was a Wachowski Brothers flick. And from the unimpressive trailers, I knew what to expect visually - which definitely took me a while to get used to. I EXPECTED some extremely EXPERIMENTAL filmmaking.

And it was definitely that. The races definitely aren't as good as McQueen in Bullitt. or the Pod Race in Star Wars Phantom Menace. or the mega monster crane scene in Terminator III. etc etc. But in spite of that, there is a swelling heart at the core of this movie.

If you can't appreciate that, I feel sad for you. This isn't mere eye-candy or escapism. It took me about 40 minutes or so to get myself fully immersed, but it won me over. Pretty cool. I recommend this for people who care.

.. And know what an imagination is. BTW, Racer X is almost as cool as Christian Bales' Batman.