speed racer

forget what the critics say, this movie is a lot of fun! if you like to see crazy car races or strange visual styles, then you will fall in love with this.
i'm not at all familiar with the old tv show, so i went into this not really knowing anything about it. the commercials and all the advertising has been pretty terrible, and almost kept me away. but i knew it was directed by the wachowski brothers, the same guys behind the martrix and that's enough for me to check it out.
the story is very basic: a boy loves to race, a big corporation wants to make sure he looses because he wont make them money. that it. all the rest is just details.  the best part of this film, by far, would be the candy colored special effects. they are so over the top that its in a whole other stratosphere. the best way to describe the movie is that its a live action cartoon. the actors are real, but everything else is a beautiful pastel dream. there is definitely a crazy madcap feel to all the racing and action. every scene just has an amazing kinetic sense to it that just makes everything pop!
my major complaint with it would be the pacing. the film is super fast- the racing and car battles get the heart rate pumping, but over all its actually slow. even the times when the excitement should be palpable, it feels like its just poking along. the story is so basic, yet they find a way to fill it up with so many unnecessary subplots, and they get a little bit confusing due to lack of explanation they become a jumbled mess. also, all the random asides with the little brother and his monkey were funny, but really annoying.
now, don't get me wrong, i'm not saying this is a great movie, i'm just saying that its fun.

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