Saturday, May 24, 2008

Now Playing: Speed Racer

The Wachowski brothers always intrigue me. I mean, these guys brought me Matrix as well as some respectability to Keanu Reeves' career when he really needed it. So when I saw their names attached to Speed Racer, I had though "wtf?" and added it to my list. A few caveats: I did not watch Speed Racer as a kid, so I can't compare it to that; I did watch Astroboy, which I hear is of a similar genre; I normally don't go in for anime in general.

Taking all this into consideration... I actually thought it was pretty good. No, really! Casting was done well and the even the "surprise twist" was handled with some panache. But let's get down to why people really watch this movie, shall we? The effects. I am impressed. The seamless integration of digital effects with CGI and old-fashioned pen-and-ink and real actors was amazing. This is sort of what I pictured Transformers would be like: mind-bending reality that still retains its cartoony feel without becoming cheesy. Really excellent. I would recommend watching it in theatres if you are remotely interested in checking it out in order to take advantage of the screen, the sound and the digital projection. Seriously.

So, what to rate it? Iron Man got 4 stars. Speed Racer may not have been as well acted, but it was just as (if not more) entertaining... But it's no award-winner that should get 4.5 or even 5 stars... hmmm.

For the entertainment factor alone - and not to compare its apples with Oscar oranges, Speed racer gets 4 out of 5 stars. Check it out - really! - especially if you have kids or are stuck with some that need entertaining. Hell, check it out if you just want to feel like you're living in the future, even if for only two hours and fifteen minutes.

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