"Speed Racer" Movie Review
by Oliver B. Johnson III

2.5 out of 4 Thumbs

Maybe it's the surge of electricity in the summer Blockbuster air, maybe it's the fact that I'm writing this long after reading the slue of sub par reviews, maybe I'm just a little crazy, but all I can say about Speed Racer is "can I get some fries with that shake!" (I think that's what the kids are saying these days)  I have always said there is one test, one standard that you should hold a racing movie to; when the hero nears the final turn, in that last race, sweat dripping from his brow, are your hands griping the armrest of the velvet seats to the white of their knuckles?  If they are, than that's all you need to know.  Does Speed Racer pass the Race Test?  Can I get a "hell yeah!"  We have seen the Underdog story time and time again, weather in real life or on the big screen, but when it's done right it touches us, and Speed Racer does just that.
 
Writer-Directors Andy and Larry Wachowski, also know as the Wachowski Brothers, are most known for the movie "Bound"; I jest of course, these two brothers brought us the Matrix.  I know nothing about the old cartoon show Speed Racer is based on, so I can't tell you how true this movie was to the original.  But I can't imagine the original being anything like what I saw on the screen.  These cars were moving so fast, I swear I felt the wind on my face.   There are many critics out there complaining about the CGI (computer generated images), they say it doesn't look real, it looks like a cartoon, they even say it was too much eye candy.  I have always had a problem with these arguments on so many levels.  While I'm sure there are times where CGI is meant to look "real", I can guess Speed Racer wasn't one of them.  What I love about movies like "Sin City"; "300"; "Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow", all these movies are done with the actors on a green stage; the world around them is added later;  even though we are seeing the future of film making, more than anything its a blast from the past.  These movies are more like stage plays than anything.  The actors have to use their imagination to be able to see the world around them, and more importantly we must look deep into our imagination to make the world around them breathe.  When these two things are put together, there is nothing more real then a Computer Generated Image, no matter how much of a cartoon it looks like.  There was a scene in the movie that spoke to this idea of future past.  Speed Racer drives past a wall with still images of a zebra at such speed it creates a flip book, making the zebra appear to run.  It shows us that CGI is just a glorified flip book.  Can movies like this really give back the imagination the our society seems to lose with each passing day?  Well in the words of Speed Racer, "Racing is all I know how to do, and I gotta do something."

So even though every major critic has bashed this wonderful movie, a movie about a underdog fighting the system by staying true to his family and values; even though it "bomb" in the box office, 20 million dollars; even though you probably don't like Japanese cartoons, I suggest going to this movie (at an IMAXX if possible), sitting back in your seats, forgetting everything you know, and letting your imagination enjoy the ride.  Remember, you don't climb into a race car to be a driver; you do it because you are driven.