Speed Racer The Movie Burns The Tracks

One of the most popular cartoons to appeal to both American and Japanese kids way back in the sixties was Speed Racer. The show was such a big hit such that it had spawned several remakes and adaptations in both Japan, its country of origin, and the US. And of course, there's the obligatory Hollywood film.

For those not familiar with the franchise, Speed Racer (Known as Mahha GoGoGo! or Mach GoGoGo! In Japan) follows the adventures of a young man known as Speed Racer, as he joins races using the Mach 5, a car built by his father. His is joined by his family and and his girlfriend in his adventures, and is often aided by the mysterious Racer X, who turns out to be his brother (you see, that soap opera plot twist also happens in cartoons).

Now, here's the rundown of the movie. The project was directed by the Watchowski bothers, who were critically acclaimed for the now classic Matrix trilogy. The film pretty much close to the story of the original series, with a few changes to suit the film. There are also some new characters introduced exclusively for the movie, like villain-turned-ally Taejo Togakahn (portrayed by Korean actor Rain).

The movie tries its best to emulate the look and feel of the cartoon. All of the cast were made to appear in the same way that they do in the series. One thing you may notice though is that Speed Racer's (Emile Hirsch) traditional outfit is often under a racing jacket, though this is a rather a minor nit picking. One thing that makes the movie really interesting it the way it was able to capture the fast talking style the Speed Racer cartoon is known for. Good thing though that the dialogs are still intelligible in this manner.

And of course, since this is Speed Racer, the Mach 5 and racing scenes are pretty much the stars of the show as the actors are. The Mach 5 is definitely the one that fans imagined it would like in real life. Interestingly, the car never ran on any real tracks during the course of the movie. All of the racing sequences were done through the use of computer special effects, this paves the way for outlandish tracks and impossible stunts.

Sadly however, the racing scenes are also the movie's weakest aspects. While the scenes do look real enough, the implausibility of the stunts and tracks and the cartoonish way that they were executed would definitely shy away movie goers who were expecting serious racing action. Also, some of the races feel repetitive and boring.

The story is also pretty much watered down in favor of the race scenes. The lengthy dialogues used for the fast talking scenes also don't improve the story. Though this can be forgiven a little, since the movie is very much aimed at the younger audiences than older fans of the show.

Overall, Speed Racer might not be the fast paced racing movie that you would expect, but it is still an entertaining movie to take the kids to.

Image source courtesy of Insider.com