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Speed Racer

A two-hour visual assault that feels like someone tie-dyed your face

By Matt Pais

Metromix
May 8, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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Acting in the interests of his car-building dad (John Goodman) and his dead, racing-legend older brother, hot young driver Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) turns down big-budget sponsorship from a sleazy entrepreneur (Roger Allam) who claims that all major races are fixed. That turns the businessman into a foe along Speed’s quest for glory on the track, where his mom (Susan Sarandon), his girlfriend (Christina Ricci), his younger brother and a pet chimp cheer him on. Matthew Fox also stars as mysterious Racer X.

Big question: Can writers-directors the Wachowski Brothers (“The Matrix”), with help from “300”-style green screen effects, deliver fast-moving, visually splendid fun while staying true to the ‘60s anime series?

Skip it: The races, while dazzling, lack excitement and clarity--Did Speed win? We could barely tell--and are less likely to inspire a, “Wow,” than an, “Ow! My eyes!” It seems the Wachowskis didn't put any effort into making “Speed Racer” a complete, entertaining movie, instead laboring to create something bright and shiny that has little concern for anything else.

Catch it: If you love having all your lessons spelled out for you, you'll be glad for Racer X’s many meaningful lines, like how Speed can’t let racing change him, how he races not because he’s a driver but because he’s driven, and how Speed can be the best “if they don’t destroy him first.” See ya later, subtlety!

Bottom line: Wheezing badly during numerous chimp-related sight gags and a warning to “cootie-sensitive viewers,” the movie’s stuck between a kiddie cartoon and live action. And the actors--save Goodman and Allam--appear equally confused. (Ricci and Fox are so lost that they’d need a map just to get back to the middle of nowhere.) Hardly any fun at all, “Speed Racer” is impersonal and redundant, and only partly because so many stories have been made since the ‘60s about money corrupting professional sports.

Bonus: Speed’s younger brother (Paulie Litt) and the family monkey go on a sugar-induced candy bender while playing air guitar to “Freebird.” If only the rest of the movie had the same childlike zest for life.

Video: Watch the review of 'Speed Racer'

What do you think of 'Speed Racer'? Email me: mpais@tribune.com