Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is pretty much a young Elvis behind the wheel of a homemade hotrod. He comes from an honest, hard-working family and the love of his life is his grade-school sweetheart and confidant, Trixie (Christina Ricci). But growing up he learns a tough lesson from his older brother Rex and from the racing industry, a world that in the hands of directors Larry and Andy Wachowski, glows in rainbow neons, is full of futuristic race courses, cartoonish racecar drivers and retro-futuristic cars that battle one another like kung-fu masters.Visually, this contemporizing of the late Tatsuo Yashida's campy, anime cult-favorite TV series of the 1960s is mesmerizing, replete with skylines, techno nightlife and race scenes that assault the senses. It's also full of the kind of edits, inventive action scenes and slow-mos that made the duo directors household names with "The Matrix." Some of the racing scenes swirl with psychedelics and at the end of one race, the tires on Speed's famous Mach 5 drip with melted rubber. The special effects only slightly overpower the story in which Speed must grapple with his past, his all-encompassing passion for racing and staying true in the face of corporate greed. The lessons learned are not heavy handed and the heart-warming relationship between a young Speed Racer and his older brother Rex is bound to strike a heavy chord with any adult who years ago may have once placed high on a pedestal his own faultless older brother.Fans of the TV series will also be pleased by the spot-on staccato rhythm and ill placed excitement several of the characters pour into their lines, clearly in keeping with the style of the cartoon. John Goodman as Pops grunts and groans his way through the movie, Matthew Fox as Racer X is serious and stilted, and when Speed faces some close calls, Hirsch's cries are appropriately over the top. The camp continues with a slough of baddies that resemble those goofy toughs in Paul Bartel's "Death Race 2000." There's Snake Oiler, Cruncher Block, Cannonball Taylor, the Grey Ghost, a team of Viking and military-type drivers, a pack of ninjas and Al Gore look-a-like Royalton (Roger Allam), all of whom are out to get Speed. It is Royalton who unveils the biggest threat to Speed, the new Royalton GRX car equipped with a controversial transponder that can accelerate a car's top speed. As Pops chucks a ninja out a window, Ricci delivers the movie's best line saying, "Oh my God, was that a ninja?"The movie occasionally draws yawns, particularly with Royalton's scenes including an extended tour of his racing factory. Speed Racer's little brother Spritle (Paulie Litt) and his pet chimpanzee, Chim Chim. And it would have been interesting to do something more with the Mom character played by Susan Sarandon. She does a fine job as Speed's No. 1 fan and moral foundation, but adding some attitude to her homemaker role might have been a fun way to update the story.Whether there'll be a sequel to the movie is not yet known. But maybe the Wachowski brothers should leave well enough alone considering the eye-rolling response to the awful and unnecessary Matrix follow-ups.[[In-content Ad]]
