Speed Racer (2008)

and that would be, entertain.

I can't describe how many time i thought 'whoah!' it's one of those moments that could only ever happen in cartoons or 'whoa!' that was anime style crazy! This film set out to create a literal live action adaptation of a cheesy retro cartoon anime. That's exactly what it did.

Lets start with the PG rating, this was appropriate not because the film is aimed at kids but because it makes the material on screen that much enjoyable without feeling embarrassed about watching a watered down 12A movie turned out bad.

Fans of anime will seriously lap this up despite what the recent comments have said. Not only has every care been taken to preserve elements of the source material but it also has those cool retro AND modern anime moments. Japanese good and bad guys with crazy anime hairstyles, crazy anime/cartoon style kung fu, motion lines just like in mangas, crazy death defying races, cheesy as hell dialogue which fits in perfectly in context! Performances were top notch given it's a predominantly 'kids' PG film and that they were filming against green screen.

I also commend the watchowkis use of such a strong colour palette.They didn't tone it down or diverge form the theme and each scene had a contextual wash of colour.Serious or more intimate moments had darker shadows while remaining colourfully vibrant.

To the haters again i say ,'what exactly where you expecting? The Matrix?, people getting there throats slit?,political commentary on capitalism and corruption? Go into this movie expecting high adrenaline scenes and all campy fun that only a kids anime adaptation can provide, but don't just to go and watch it just to 'see what the fuss is about' until you actually know BEFOREHAND what the fuss is about!

I don't have 100% praise for this movie however, in that towards the end of the film they got a little overboard with the editing and i was really let down by the 'END BOSS' type drivers...speed seemed to have a harder time in the middle race in the film where the other drivers were far more menacing. It seemed like cannonball taylor ansd the yakuza driver, as well as the grey ghost were just a flash gone by and speed just beat them without any problems at all. lets hope they make more of a prescence in the extended/directors cut