I liked...SPEED RACER

[RobertScorpio]

So I got the my third BLUE RAY title yesterday, SPEED RACER. I went so far as to hook up by DLP projector (it projects an image nearly 80 inches wide..which is really cool.) We made some popcorn and we all sat down to watch. I was prepared to see a shitty movie because of all the shitty reviews I read..well..

The movie isn't perfect. It has its issues. But you know what? I liked it. The visuals, though over the top one might say, really made the movie. My kids totally enjoyed it. And, so did I. I am a big fan of the old cartoon series, I have them all. And I felt SPEED RACER did a pretty god job at modernizing it and still retaining the feel of the cartoon. I can't wait for some of you to thrash this thread, but oh well...such is the life of a BBS poster.

Speed Racer deliverd, and on BLUE RAY, looked awesom!!!

Rob
Scorpio

 

[Dac]

Being a whole quarter of the audience in the cinema when I went to see it...I completely agree.

Its absolutely insane, makes no sense and is just an explosion of colour, but you know what, I dont want to see a Dark Knight or There Will Be Blood every time I go to see a film.

Its fun and silly but its presented in a way that allows itself to be fun and silly...unlike a certain Mr Jones' fourth outing.

If I had a Blu Ray player, I'd be buying Speed Racer on it.

 

[EnterpriseF]

I can't say I feel the same. The whole thing looked like a video game. Thank God I only rented it.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Being a whole quarter of the audience in the cinema when I went to see it...I completely agree.

Its absolutely insane, makes no sense and is just an explosion of colour, but you know what, I dont want to see a Dark Knight or There Will Be Blood every time I go to see a film.

Its fun and silly but its presented in a way that allows itself to be fun and silly...unlike a certain Mr Jones' fourth outing.

If I had a Blu Ray player, I'd be buying Speed Racer on it.

Exactly...it made no sense. It was just fun..weird combination. And in some respects I think the plot was hard to follow for the targeted audience..kids. In fact, the scene where he was racing against RACER X's memory was hard to explain to my kids, while it was happening...and I also wish RACER X would have told them the truth since I doubt we will ever get a sequel!!

Rob

 

[Gojirob]

Being a whole quarter of the audience in the cinema when I went to see it...I completely agree.

Its absolutely insane, makes no sense and is just an explosion of colour, but you know what, I dont want to see a Dark Knight or There Will Be Blood every time I go to see a film.

Its fun and silly but its presented in a way that allows itself to be fun and silly...unlike a certain Mr Jones' fourth outing.

If I had a Blu Ray player, I'd be buying Speed Racer on it.

Exactly...it made no sense. It was just fun..weird combination. And in some respects I think the plot was hard to follow for the targeted audience..kids. In fact, the scene where he was racing against RACER X's memory was hard to explain to my kids, while it was happening...and I also wish RACER X would have told them the truth since I doubt we will ever get a sequel!!

Rob

I always pictured this scene :

Racer X has just helped return Speed, who looked like he had died stopping the film's villain, to the family. He tries to leave, and Mom, with a firm look on her face, says 'You still have a place at this table.' X tries to obfuscate, but she says 'I wasn't even 20 when I had you. Do you think a woman forgets her first child?' He unmasks, says how it would be nice to come home, and eats with his family. Pops seems on the verge of tears, which of course he won't allow. The film ends with the brothers each climbing into a car, talking friendly snap at each other before revving up.

 

[DWF]

It was an incredible and I couldn't believe it was 135 minutes long some of it just rolled by and Christina Ricci looked HOT.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I noticed the occasional positive reviews around here so I took a chance on renting it. Ewwwgh. It verged on being unwatchable. Sometimes even when a story, characters, and premise are utter junk, a movie can be worthwhile for the visuals alone, but even in that department it failed. The visual style was garish and ugly. Compare it to, say, Pushing Daisies for an example of how to do that style much more elegantly, tastefully and satisfyingly.

NOT RECOMMENDED!!!! Do not fall into the trap I did and listen to people who actually liked this steaming dog turd. Consider yourselves warned.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I noticed the occasional positive reviews around here so I took a chance on renting it. Ewwwgh. It verged on being unwatchable. Sometimes even when a story, characters, and premise are utter junk, a movie can be worthwhile for the visuals alone, but even in that department it failed. The visual style was garish and ugly. Compare it to, say, Pushing Daisies for an example of how to do that style much more elegantly, tastefully and satisfyingly.

NOT RECOMMENDED!!!! Do not fall into the trap I did and listen to people who actually liked this steaming dog turd. Consider yourselves warned.

I have to disagree..the movie did really well in Japan, and no wonder why. It was aiming for Anime not Tim Burton, which is what Pushing Daisies does...oh well, we all have our likes and dislikes...I liked it..

Rob

 

[the Dagman]

I rented it and liked it as well. I was one of those who watched the original series when it first aired, and the story of the movie wasn't all that different. Inspector Detector often enlisted Speed's help to "save the world" or foil some kind of crime that only he could do while driving the Mach 5. The movie was like live action 60s anime. I watched the thing 3x before I sent it back. Yes, it was over the top. But so was the source material, and that was a major part of it's appeal in the first place. It's just an excuse for crazy car races and gadgets. Expecting any sort of realism or story sense is just not understanding Speed Racer for what it is.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Film critic Mark Kermode apparently liked the film too, and he's not an easily pleased guy. Mind you, he has been wrong about some films... but not many.

 

[marillion]

My wife and daughter had no interest in this, so I took my 8 year old son.. I was a fan of the cartoon and found this to be a fantastic update. Did it have some flaws? Maybe, but I thought it was faithful to the show's origins and made what now looks outdated and obsolete, new again.

Suffice to say my son LOVED it.. I have the movie on Netflix, as I want to see what it looks like on TV before buying it.. It's one of those films that may only look very impressive in the theatre, unless of course you have a home theatre (which I don't... yet...)...

 

[USS Mariner]

I have to disagree..the movie did really well in Japan, and no wonder why. It was aiming for Anime not Tim Burton, which is what Pushing Daisies does...oh well, we all have our likes and dislikes...I liked it..

Rob

How the fuck is this even close to anime?

 

[Psion]

Back in May, I said:

I was never much of a Speed Racer fan growing up ... I watched the cartoon and liked the Mach 5, but could take it or leave it even as a kid. My best friend was a fan, though, and I treated him last weekend to an IMAX showing. He wasn't sure he wanted to see it, based on things he'd seen in the commercials, but he loved it anyway. Then I took my wife in the middle of the week; she had a crush on Speed as a little girl and was excited by the idea of a live-action movie, but had no desire to risk getting motion sick in an IMAX showing. She loved it.

Me? I loved it too. It's not a deep movie, but it is very stylish. Once you get past the disjointed exposition in the beginning and get used to the psychedelic palette, the film takes off. I think what I liked most about it was it didn't strive to be anything deep. It's a racing movie based on a cartoon series and doesn't aspire to be much more. Speed's demons weren't any more sophisticated than they were in the sixties, and the villains' motivations are all about greed and power ... the same as they were back then.

Watching "Speed Racer", the movie, is surprisingly relaxing. Years lift away and suddenly you're a kid again, sitting way too close to the TV and leaning closer every time Speed gets into danger. All the familiar touches are there ... the 'nyoch-nyoch-nyoch' sound of the jacks, the musical cues, the Mach 5, with a cast that looks like they were genetically destined for their parts. No one on this planet could have played Pops Racer like John Goodman. Matthew Fox was lost until Rex Racer came along. And Emile Hirsch, dressed in his blue with white trim polo shirt and red bandanna around his neck, is Speed Racer. Nostalgia probably plays a lot in some fans' acceptance of the movie, and I guess it does in mine, too.

It's a shame this movie flopped at the box office. It deserved more than that. I put the blame on Warner's marketing department that focused more on quick cuts emphasizing hyper-kinetic racing than on the things that would have truly sold this movie: Speed himself and the Mach 5.

I might see it one more time before it's wiped away from the marquees. And when it comes out on disc, it'll probably be the reason I buy a blu-ray player. Still, I hope it comes up from behind and captures a bigger audience, it isn't the best movie I've ever seen, but I'm still rooting for it.

Go Speed Racer, go!

I still feel the same way about it ... I'll probably grab the Blu-Ray disk now, and after Christmas look into inexpensive players. For the moment, this visually stunning picture is the only film I can think of that really requires the highest fidelity video for full enjoyment. All the others, even special-effects extravaganzas like "Star Wars" do just fine with plain-old DVD.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I have ID4 on regular DVD (which the Blue ray will play) and today I got ID4 HIDEF. What I think improves is the sharpness AND the brightness of the colors/blackness of the black..hard to put into words...but thats how I see it..

Rob

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I saw it second run for $1. And found it fairly entertaining for what it was. But I can see why people would not.

 

[Sephiroth]

the story was fairly close to the anime, i didn't like the crazy grand prix and weird super-engine tech and that Fugly Mach-six, Speed Racer was all about the treacherous cross-country races and the villanous villans, but overall i liked the movie

 

[BigFoot]

I haven't seen the film yet, so I can't comment on it.

But I will just point out that the HD disc standard is called Blu-ray, not Blue ray (not the hyphen and the last of an E).

 

[zakkrusz]

Speed Racer was one of the few good live action anime adaptations that I've seen. I went to it expecting cheesy garbage (the norm for most anime/live action films) and surprisingly it was actually pretty darn good. I ended up liking it a lot. Not the best movie I've seen this summer but certainly the best attempt at a live action film from anime that I've watched. Seeing it gave me hope that these types of adaptations can actually be done right and enjoyably so now I'm actually looking forward to many of the others slated for the future.

 

[rafterman1701]

I liked it. It was fun. Sure, some of the colors were garish and the visual style wasn't for everyone, but it's a live action cartoon.

 

[Kirkman1987]

I liked it well enough. It actually was pretty close to the style of the cartoon, and I enjoyed the hyper visuals.

Wouldn't buy it, but it was worth seeing once. I'm not sure it would be nearly as good on a regular TV though......a big screen experience for sure.