Sidewalks On The Corner

The iconic Japanese anime classic from the late 60's makes an eyepoping return -- this time on the big screen.

Follow up:

SPEED RACER
Warner Bros. Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of action, some violence and language
Run Time: 128 Minutes
URL: www.speedracerthemovie.com

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Benno Fürmann, Hirojuki Sanada, Rain, and Richard Roundtree
Directed by: The Wachowski Brothers
Produced by: Joel Silver, Grant Hill, Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
Executive Produced by: David Lane Seltzer, Michael Lambert and Bruce Berman
Screenplay by: The Wachowski Brothers

Studio Synopsis
From writers/directors/producers Larry and Andy Wachowski, creators of the groundbreaking “The Matrix” trilogy, and producer Joel Silver comes the live-action, high-octane family adventure “Speed Racer.”

Hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized—the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill.

Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed’s thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company’s maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret—some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won’t drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line.

The only way for Speed to save his family’s business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival—the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)—to win the race that had taken his brother’s life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

“Speed Racer” marks the Wachowski brothers’ first writing/directing collaboration since “The Matrix” movies. Joel Silver, who previously worked with the Wachowskis on “The Matrix” movies and “V For Vendetta,” is producing the film under his Silver Pictures banner. Grant Hill, Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski are also producing, with David Lane Seltzer, Michael Lambert and Bruce Berman serving as executive producers.

The behind the scenes creative team includes director of photography David Tattersall, production designer Owen Paterson, editors Zach Staenberg and Roger Barton, and costume designer Kym Barrett. The music is by Michael Giacchino.

“Speed Racer” stars Emile Hirsch (“Into the Wild”) in the title role; Christina Ricci (“Black Snake Moan”) as Speed’s girlfriend Trixie; John Goodman (“Evan Almighty”) and Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (“Dead Man Walking”) as Pops Racer and Mom Racer; Matthew Fox (TV’s “Lost”) as the mysteriously masked Racer X; Benno Fürmann as Inspector Detector; Hiroyuki Sanada as Mr. Musha; Asian pop superstar Rain, making his major feature film debut, as a rival driver named Taejo Togokahn; and Richard Roundtree as Ben Burns. Rounding out the main cast are Australian actor Kick Gurry as Sparky; Paulie Litt as Spritle; and Roger Allam as Royalton.

Based on the classic series created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida, the live-action “Speed Racer” will showcase the kind of revolutionary visual effects and cutting-edge storytelling that have become the benchmarks of the Wachowski brothers’ films.

“Speed Racer” is a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, of a Silver Pictures Production, in association with Anarchos Productions.

Richard's Take
I’m 41 years old, and I grew up watching the Speed Racer animated series when I was a kid. I loved Speed Racer so much that I made my own toy car with a number 5 stick to the side and made the sound effects when it jumped. Speed Racer was so great that when the local TV station moved the show to Sunday mornings, I missed church service for it. Although I was a bad kid, I couldn’t get enough of Speed and his car.

Flash forward to the film, “Speed Racer” is a big screen adaptation with the latest computerized imagery and a palette of rich full of color that will give a painter a major headache. The film is in the true sense, “a live action cartoon.” I have to give the The Wachowski brothers credit; they did their very best in creating a film that looked like you are watching characters from the old TV show. They even got Speed’s blue shirt and red scarf outfit correct, as well as his moves in the final sequence of the TV series’ opening credits (that was really funny).

Even with all the attention to details, "The Matrix Trilogy" duo and producer Joel Silver did what most recent producers and directors do, they let the special effects take over the film. Now, of course, this was their intention to bring an artsy crafty film to the table; they did succeed on that front.

The parts I hated was actually the racing scenes. Imagine this: stick your face very close to your Hot Wheels race set and watching the five out-of-control cars speed pass you. This is how I felt watching the film with Sidewalks’ J.P. Langston. The race scenes were so quick … with every imaginable scenario (cars jumping, cars with weapons, cars that can flip around without a dent) that you can’t really follow the action. I couldn’t even care what they were doing; the setup was so terrible that you didn’t even know who the other drivers were and why they were racing. It was all non-stop special effects. Don’t get me wrong, the computerized shots were incredible – it would make the Pixar’s “Cars” blushed with envy. I just wished they came up with scenes that would balance the drama with the racing.

On the acting front, great job in using Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer. He looked exactly like Speed from the cartoon series. The casting department, wardrobe and makeup also did a fantastic job with the other actors looking like their TV counterparts, with nods to Christina Ricci as Trixie, Speed's girlfriend, and John Goodman as Pops Racer, Speed's father. I also have to say that Lost’s Matthew Fox looked exactly like the cartoon figure of Racer X, right down to the chin. The biggest scene stealers were the little ones: Paulie Litt as Spritle, Speed's younger brother, and chimpanzee Chim Chim. The duo had the most comedic moments that helped carried the film, although there were at times a number of scenes that could have been left on the cutting room floor, such as Spritle eating too much candy and walking around Royalton Industries in disguised.

After viewing the film, I couldn’t decide if I really liked it or not. As I said the computerized imagery and casting were A+, but I wished the racing scenes had more substance. Something I can root for, instead of disco-inspired, roller coaster race tracks. For the kids, they will love the colors. This generation of teens will like the film’s action. The old fans of the TV show will enjoy the silver screen visit from old friends, but I think we will go back to watching the TV episodes – it had a story with racing and a cool car.

J.P.'s Take
"Speed Racer" is the perfect playground for Andy and Larry Wachowski to once again show off their superb direction and special EFX wizardry. The story that was presented is really just to fill the time allotted to push the movie along. Don't get me wrong there is a story and it's pretty easy to understand. There are so many characters, however, that you may get lost in the shuffle of a handful of subplots. But what makes the film so appealing are the visuals. Visually, “SR” hosts a nice combination of eye-popping EFX and vibrant colors which were definitely stunning; for a minute there, I thought I was on an acid trip. The cars were bouncing around like a giant pinball game, which made the pod races in "Star Wars Episode I" look like a soapbox derby. The Wachowski Brothers had taken a page from the drifter’s handbook while directing the virtual cars as they slipped and slide around the track. The only real problem with this film is that there were too many scenes like that; it made my head spin.

As dizzying and outrageously cool as the EFX were, the characters were pretty cool if a bit campy, which I believe is the quality the Wachowski Brothers were going for.

All the actors looked exactly like their cartoon counterparts, and they all acted like their cartoon twins as well. John Goodman looked and acted like Pops Racer, while Emile Hirsch is the spitting image of Speed Racer, and Matthew Fox as the robotic Racer X. To me, Fox looked a little stiff in his performance, but maybe that is how he was supposed to be portrayed. Christina Ricci was the only one I felt fit the mold for Trixie, Speed’s girlfriend. They even threw in the monkey Chim Chim, and Roger Allam was a real super jerk as Royalton. There is just one word that comes to mind when describing the acting in this film: hammy. All the actors hammed it up with exaggerated lines and caricatured acting.

As for the story, it's typical cartoon mellow drama, which again was the desired result. At just over two hours the story somehow lingered on, because just when you thought it was over, up pops another "fast and furious" race sequence. In the beginning of the film, 15 to 20 minutes was spent telling the story of young Speed Racer through flashbacks of his early childhood and from there the real story begins, and then it ends the same way with flashbacks. The Wachowski Bros. did exactly what they set out to do -- entertain. However with not much story to tell, they should have chopped the film down to at least 90 minutes -- maybe 100 minutes -- instead of the tiring 129 minutes (that's 2 hours and 9 minutes). I say that because there were some scenes they could have been dropped.

Over all not a bad movie, it's visually entertaining and not much else. But unless you are a serious "Speed Racer" fanatic and are willing to sit in the theater for over two hours then "race" to the theaters to see it. For others, wait to rent it at "Netflix"