Speed Racer is a surprisingly fun movie

I must admit that I didn’t want to watch Speed Racer. Worse, when I saw some promotional footage I found the manic pace and presentation mind-numbing. In fact, when the opportunity came to watch Speed Racer, I preferred to stay home and I literally took out a Matrix Revolutions DVD and watched it late into the night!!! (that’s nostalgia for you)

Anyway, so just today I got to see Speed Racer and struggled for the first few minutes getting exactly what I expected… manic presentation. I shuddered to think that I would have to subject myself through this for another hour. But then, the story slowed down a little and suddenly it made sense. I was able to follow the plot… and basically it turned out to be a simpler more palatable story.

By the end of the movie, I was not only appreciating the pace of the film, but left feeling satisfied with another summer-fare.

So what’s the problem? Well, while I enjoyed the movie… I found myself wishing for a little more realism. The cartoony filming became tiresome quite quickly and I found myself wishing for a more realist race. OK, fine, the jumps and the effects were cool… even in the end… but the whole background, the graphics, were too overloaded for my taste… and ultimately… I found myself blanking them from my vision (and hopefully memory).

All in all… it’s a movie I DID enjoy… but one I won’t be rushing to see again, any time in the near future.