I saw Speed Racer and it just blew me away! I know some would frown at some parts of the movie and those would be the ones who are not familiar with the cartoons. But for people like me who saw the cartoons, it's a whole different ball game.
Visually, the fans and the ordinary moviegoers would be in for a treat. After all, what would you expect from Joel Silver, the Wachowskis, and ILM's collaboration? What the Wachowskis did visually was reminiscent of Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy in terms of color. The use of primary and secondary colors were effective because viewers would find it hard to take their eyes off the screen; also, it captured the color of the cartoons. It is very apparent that the Wachowskis are true Speed Racer fans. They did an excellent job of translating a cartoon into a live action film. I was satisfied with the way the characters were transported from your Saturday morning cartoons into the big screen. I mean, the essence of the characters remained intact. I must add, I liked all the fighting scenes; especially Racer X's. Watch out for the fighting scene in the snow, it's hilarious!
*Spoiler Alert!*
I liked the handling of the story as well. The story sequence just fell into place. In the opening scene, it was established why Speed Racer is going to be a good car racer. I also liked the relationship between Speed and Rex Racer; especially the one where Rex took speed with him at the race track and they had the same intuition as when to jump. Royalton's entrance into the film is your typical wolf-in-sheep's clothing done in good taste. I liked Racer X's entry into the story as well; he is as mysterious in the film as he was in the cartoons. The film deals with doing something that means a lot to you, no matter what the consequence is; in Speed Racer's case, it is car racing. Speed Racer, Rex Racer, and their Pops all love car racing, and all they want to do is have a good, clean, fun race. It is something that Royalton and Speed's family doesn't agree with, and that's where the battle between good and evil ensues. Finally, I liked the unraveling of Racer X's true identity at the end and how he convinced his family that he, as Rex Racer is dead. *End of spoiler*
Overall, Speed Racer is truly an entertaining film.
