Ahmed
BrentonSpeed Racer
June 22nd 2008 08:19
The best way I find that I can gauge the entertainment value of a movie is to measure the rate at which the popcorn in my bucket is depleted, in that sense Speed Racer delivers and oh boy how it delivers. Its action packed race sequences push action movies to the next level, really the people who worked on Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean and almost any other 'blockbuster' action movie should be ashamed.
...
The following trailer does not do the movie any justice, in fact, watching this movie outside the cinema is at best one quarter of the experience, not saying that as if it's a bad thing but you don't know what you're missing out on.
I was genuinely shocked when I found out that the Wachowski brothers (of Bound, The Matrix and V for Vendetta fame) directed the movie, so I guess I did them a great disservice by thinking this movie was going to suck. My empty tub of popcorns and bladder full of piss only thirty minutes into the movie should be proof enough the movie rocked.
...during the races.
With the exception of a fight scene and a very brief bullet time sequence the core plot feels more like a means to catch your breath between the races.
I don't really want to talk about the plot, but if I must I must. The plot centers around the main character called ‘Speed Racer’ (actual name), whose estranged older brother ‘died’ in a terrible racing accident. He finds out the racing industry is all a bought and paid for sham. Great, so shit happens, he becomes allies with this ‘mysterious’ racer called ‘Racer X’ who is basically the George Clooney rendition of batman in that movie where Schwarzenegger was the bad guy to oust the villain, a big time CEO executive who affectionaltely recalls how he started building his empire in his foster parents basement on a 'Commodore 64'.
The villain, how to describe him? A typically, comically evil bad guy, don’t expect anything deep or philosophical. There’s no hiding who the bad guy is right from the very start and he has no motive besides the desire to make money, in short, he’s a simple man.
Other characters include Speed Racers dad, his girlfriend, mother, younger brother and his monkey friend and an Australian mechanic. This about wraps up all the characters you can regard as mildly significant to the plotline which is, as I keep saying, insignificant.
The plot and characters are simple, easy to understand and digestible just like edible Lego blocks.
But the races, oh god, the race sequences wreak of awesome. I cannot believe how cool the Wachowski bros. managed to make it while still keeping the same cars and weapons from the anime. One scene involves a racer with a tire shredder going at speed racers wheels, Speed Racer uses a metallic shield and they basically go back and forth, in a sword/shield fight controlling the movements of their respective implements with joysticks.
And I’m not even going into the catapult bee hives and jumpy spring tricks littered throughout the movie.
The races are complex well choreographed action scenes the likes of which have never been seen before. It’s like, the Pod Race sequence in Star Wars Episode One except faster and longer and more awesome. It’s almost as if you’re riding on a rollercoaster, cheesy Sound FX aside it sure feels like it.
It's a shame this movie didn't make bucketloads in the box office, even if it's source material is weaker than a certain other popular cartoon back in the day (*cough* Transformers *cough*) it is overall one of the most entertaining movies by far.
...
The following trailer does not do the movie any justice, in fact, watching this movie outside the cinema is at best one quarter of the experience, not saying that as if it's a bad thing but you don't know what you're missing out on.
I was genuinely shocked when I found out that the Wachowski brothers (of Bound, The Matrix and V for Vendetta fame) directed the movie, so I guess I did them a great disservice by thinking this movie was going to suck. My empty tub of popcorns and bladder full of piss only thirty minutes into the movie should be proof enough the movie rocked.
...during the races.
With the exception of a fight scene and a very brief bullet time sequence the core plot feels more like a means to catch your breath between the races.
I don't really want to talk about the plot, but if I must I must. The plot centers around the main character called ‘Speed Racer’ (actual name), whose estranged older brother ‘died’ in a terrible racing accident. He finds out the racing industry is all a bought and paid for sham. Great, so shit happens, he becomes allies with this ‘mysterious’ racer called ‘Racer X’ who is basically the George Clooney rendition of batman in that movie where Schwarzenegger was the bad guy to oust the villain, a big time CEO executive who affectionaltely recalls how he started building his empire in his foster parents basement on a 'Commodore 64'.
The villain, how to describe him? A typically, comically evil bad guy, don’t expect anything deep or philosophical. There’s no hiding who the bad guy is right from the very start and he has no motive besides the desire to make money, in short, he’s a simple man.
Other characters include Speed Racers dad, his girlfriend, mother, younger brother and his monkey friend and an Australian mechanic. This about wraps up all the characters you can regard as mildly significant to the plotline which is, as I keep saying, insignificant.
The plot and characters are simple, easy to understand and digestible just like edible Lego blocks.
But the races, oh god, the race sequences wreak of awesome. I cannot believe how cool the Wachowski bros. managed to make it while still keeping the same cars and weapons from the anime. One scene involves a racer with a tire shredder going at speed racers wheels, Speed Racer uses a metallic shield and they basically go back and forth, in a sword/shield fight controlling the movements of their respective implements with joysticks.
And I’m not even going into the catapult bee hives and jumpy spring tricks littered throughout the movie.
The races are complex well choreographed action scenes the likes of which have never been seen before. It’s like, the Pod Race sequence in Star Wars Episode One except faster and longer and more awesome. It’s almost as if you’re riding on a rollercoaster, cheesy Sound FX aside it sure feels like it.
It's a shame this movie didn't make bucketloads in the box office, even if it's source material is weaker than a certain other popular cartoon back in the day (*cough* Transformers *cough*) it is overall one of the most entertaining movies by far.
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