Review of Speed Racer (2008) by Brian K — 13 Apr 2013

Welcome to the exhilerating world of Speed Racer. Not only does the title define the character, it's actually his name. The Racer family lives in Technicolor splendor in their small town, and they, as their last name suggests, enjoy racing.

Especially Speed. Speed doesn't necessarily enjoy racing more than the rest of the family, he's just the fastest and brightest at it. The movie starts out with Speed as a child, making believe he's driving in a race while he's supposed to be taking the school test.

At first, it seems like Speed Racer will be an acceptable children's film. It ends up being a moving, exhilerating, out of body, out of this world experience. And I was touched by it too. The Wachowski brothers (V for Vendetta, The Matrix) have proven themselves as psychological go getters.

Here, their philosophy is a little more simple. Do what you love to do, go for it, reach for the stars, and don't let anybody get in your way. There is someone who tries to get in Speed's way.

His name is Royalton, and he offers Speed to join him. Speed says no, and Royalton makes sure that every race is fixed, bribing other racers to beat him, hurt him, even kill him. There's one line in the film where Speed says something to the affect of: "I always thought that racing was all about the experience, but now I realize that it's all about business.

" I think the Wachowski's might feel the same way about film making. It's all about the business, and the Wachowski's are much like Speed Racer. They haven't let the producers, and the agents, and the studios, and the executives, or anybody else get in their way.

They've made their film, and they made it the way they wanted to. They've reached for the stars. Speed does too. The final scene in this film is so touching and exhilerating that you may just leap from your seat in joy.

You'll be a child again. Not since the original Star Wars has such excitement been able to embody me into a truly out of body experience. The visual style of the film is everything I've seen before while being nothing I've seen before.

It's filmed in the style of the original campy tv series, but, in live action, the colors and camera movements, and editing style along with the beautiful cropped panning are new, inventive, and outrageous.

I love Speed Racer as much as I've ever loved any film, and I hope the box office slum of mother's day weekend doesn't oppose people to seeing the film. Critics haven't been very kind either.

But, what they're not seeing is the creativity and the guts to do what the Wachowski's have done, and any way you slice it, they have gloriously finished the race in first place, no matter what the 'Royalton's' of the business may say.