Speed Racer (2008)

Speed Racer is a 2008 sports action-comedy film written, co-produced and directed by the Wachowskis and based on the 1960s anime and manga series of the same name. Starring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Benno Fürmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain and Richard Roundtree, it is an American-German venture produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, Silver Pictures, Anarchos Productions, Velocity Productions and Studio Babelsberg, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Plot
Born into a family business of race cars, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is one of the track's hot stars. Sitting at the wheel of his Mach 5, he consistently deflates the competition. When Speed turns down an offer from the head of Royalton Industries, he uncovers a secret. Powerful moguls fix the races to boost profits. Hoping to beat the executive, Speed enters the same arduous cross-country race that killed his brother.

Why It's On The GO!

 * 1) It's one of the most underrated racing movies.
 * 2) Awesome racing scenes.
 * 3) Michael Giacchino's score is fantastic.
 * 4) Cool direction from the Wachowskis, the directors of the Matrix franchise.
 * 5) Unlike those infamous cartoon-based-movies, it does stays true faithful to the classic anime it is based on.
 * 6) Great casting, like for Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci and Matthew Fox.
 * 7) Many likable characters, mainly Speed Racer, Trixie and Racer X.
 * 8) Beautiful and colorful cinematography.
 * 9) Excellent action sequences.
 * 10) Breathtaking and visually astonishing special effects.
 * 11) Sparkle and Chim Chim are funny characters.
 * 12) The final race scene. Enough said.
 * 13) Lots of funny scenes like the one in which Pops Racer beats up a ninja and refers to him like a "Non-ja".
 * 14) The plot twist that Rex is Racer X and that he faked his death to protect his family is well-done and perfectly executed.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) One of the biggest problems with the movie is that it tries to be too alike the original anime, which doesn't help the movie as its own thing.
 * 2) The runtime is a bit too long for the film, which clocks in at over 135 minutes.
 * 3) The screenplay could’ve been better.
 * 4) While good, some of the CGI hasn't aged well.

Reception
Speed Racer received mostly mixed-to-negative reviews by critics but received mostly positive reviews by fans alike and has garnered a cult following with some commentators calling it an "underrated" film, receiving praise for its action sequences, Michael Giacchino's musical score, cinematography, and the cast, but criticized its computer-generated imagery, screenplay and runtime. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 40% approval rating based on 212 reviews, with an average rating of 5.15/10. The website's critics consensus says, "Overloaded with headache-inducing special effects, Speed Racer finds the Wachowskis focused on visual thrills at the expense of a coherent storyline.". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 37 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Trivia

 * Shia LaBeouf, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Zac Efron were all considered for the role of Speed Racer.
 * Elisha Cuthbert, Kate Mara, and Rose McGowan were all considered for the role of Trixie.
 * Keanu Reeves turned down the role of Racer X.