Monday, June 09, 2008

Summer movie reviews #1 -- Speed Racer

I've already seen four movies this summer season, and will definitely see more. This is rare, rare for me -- I probably didn't see four movies in all of 2007.

First up, Speed Racer.

This film is a total popcorn flick, a live-action cartoon. Those who remember the anime series on TV decades ago -- like me -- will remember it with humor and some fondness. It was silly and cool.

The film comes barreling right at you, full throttle, gorgeous firecracker colors in huge swaths all over the screen, and loud loud loud. There is a plot, sort of, but it's not very important, nor is the story. This is about insane racing over, around, and through impossible tracks. Many of the original tropes are here -- the sound effects, the Mach 5's gimmicks, the annoying kid brother and chimpanzee (sigh). The acting suits the material, and even John Goodman (as Pops Racer) is subsumed into the color-saturated landscape (and it's hard to bury Goodman). Pure, energetic adrenaline.

Don't expect a lot, because you won't find it. Pure, simple fun is what Speed Racer delivers, and it does so very well.

Particularly thrilling: the race across the desert. Simply pulse-pounding.

Three stars out of five.

Snap review from a 3-year-old who is car-obsessed: "great!"

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