Speed Racer(2008) Film Review

Rating; 4 Stars out of 4, thumbs up.

Rated PG For Sequences Of Action, Some Violence, Language And Brief Smoking.
2hrs 15min/135min.

Mom: "Hey, what are you two doing?"
Sprittle: "Nuttin'."
Mom: "Is that the same 'Nuttin'' that broke my last couch?"
Sprittle: "No that was a totally different nuttin'."

Now, what I am about to say will get me a LOT of negative feedback. In 2008 the masterful superhero film "The Dark Knight" was released to widespread critical acclaim. That same year the film adaptation "Speed Racer" was released to mixed to negative reviews. Whereas "The Dark Knight" was a massive box office triumph, receiving $534 million in the states and $1 billion worldwide, "Speed Racer" was a failure, gaining only $43 million in the states and $93 million worldwide, failing to regain it's budget of $120 million. Now "The Dark Knight" is definitely on my best films of 2008 list, at #2. What's #1, my absolute favorite film of 2008? Well.....

Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is not a joke, your eyes do not deceive you, "Speed Racer" is my pick for the best film of 2008, and one of the best films of that decade. Please feel free to leave your asinine and brainless comments down below. Go ahead, I'll wait. Continuing on, "Speed Racer" is not  the mess of a film that people have been leading you to believe since release day. This film is a picture perfect live-action version of the anime of which it is based on. When I told people that I prefer this over "The Dark Knight", people went ballistic, to the point where I was having arguments with people for well over 10 minutes. People think that my opinion is awful. They call it opinion for a reason.

Speed Racer(Emile Hirsch) is a world famous racer(Who'da Thunk it?). Still coping with the death of his brother Rex(Scott Porter) after a freak accident during a race. Keeping the family legacy alive, but not trying to upstage his brother, Speed wins the race that opens the film. The crowd goes wild, the people love him. The net morning, companies from all around the world want to sign Speed as their official driver. Royalton(Roger Allam) shows up at their door, warmly introducing himself and his company. However, behind closed doors, Royalton is a vile person, who wants nothing but money from Speed. He couldn't care less if he died on the track. When he refuses to sign, Royalton wants to destroy him and his family, including Pops(John Goodman), Mom(Susan Sarandon), Spritle(Paulie Litt) and the love of his life, Trixie(Christina Ricci. Will Speed save the day? Oh, come on, you know he will!

The characters in this film are so engaging and so likeable from the very first moment they come on screen. Speed is obviously the centerpiece of the film. As Speed, Hirsch plays the character with a cool vibe, while still keeping to true to the animated figure he's portraying. Matthew Fox is all around cool and mysterious as Racer X, a man who may or may not be involved with the Racer family.  X is dark and brooding, but once he takes the mask off, his emotions start washing over him.

Christina Ricci is a beautiful delight as Trixie. She may act tough at times, but deep down, she's still a little girl. Her and Speed's relationship is not the main focus of the film, but when the film does focus on it, it's very well done. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon are the perfect choices to play Mom and Pops Racer. They might seem too overprotective of Speed, but they're only trying to protect him and not have him go through the same fate as Rex. As for the antics of Spritle and his pet sidekick Chim-Chim, they don't get in the way of the film at all. They actually fit very well into the structure of the film. Although the scene during the end credits with the two of them, while fun for anyone who's a kid at heart, does get to be a little much. As for Roger Allam as the villain Royalton, he so deliciously evil, it's so much fun to hate him.

The special effects in this film are a like a lavish and expensive dream. The film is a non-stop explosion of colors. If your one that's interested in that kind of medium, I would highly suggest you get the film on Blu-ray. The film makes you delightfully dizzy with it's fast-paced energy. The film never slows(no pun intended). Usually that means there's something rotten in Denmark, but the anime was very fast-paced as well, so here, it works.

The music fits so well with the tone and matches well with Japanese culture. There's a song called "Go Speed Racer Go" that was made for the film by a group called Ali Dee And The Dekompressors that's incredibly cheesy but is a lot of fun to listen to at the same time. I read an interesting story about how one of the chimps bit the stand in for Spritle during a day on the set, on accident. A little while later, during a training session, a trainer hit him on impulse. The American Humane Association rated the film "Unacceptable" based purely on this incident. Should they have done this? I leave that up to you dear reader.

The Wachowski's have had a mixed career. "The Matrix Trilogy" is good for the first two films but lacking in the final entry, "Cloud Atlas" is an underrated film that deserves to be looked at, and their new film, "Jupiter Ascending" sounds incredibly stupid. And no, I have not seen "Bound" but I would like to. "Speed Racer" is the best film they have done yet. I love this film with all my heart. The fact that I have to defend my opinion is rather silly. I think this is a better movie. This movie has a few things that "The Dark Knight" does not. While that film was grim and dark, this film is bright and fun. And having the amazing and lovely Christina Ricci helps a little too.