Speed Racer (www.the-usher.com)

"Go Speed Go"

All of his life Speed Racer (Hirsch) has wanted to drive racecars and in his debut season he is taking racing by storm. When billionaire racing team owner Royalton (Allam) approaches Speed to sign for him, the young driver turns him down to stay with his family team but Royalton reveals that racing is fixed and Speed will not stand in the way of his team winning the biggest race, the Grand Prix. Determined to not give into corruption and with the help of the rebellious Racer X (Fox), his girlfriend Trixie (Ricci) and his family, Speed Racer decides to take on the corruption and bring real racing back to the track.

It's been a long time since the Wachowski Brothers directed a movie but can the boys behind 'The Matrix' trilogy start off a new big screen franchise?

After making an impact with their sexual thriller 'Bound' and then hitting box office gold with 'The Matrix' trilogy, fans have wondered what the writer/director siblings would do next. While they produced and wrote 'V for Vendetta', it wasn't a true Wachowski Brothers movie but now they have teamed up again with producer Joel Silver to bring the cult Japanese manga and anime 'Speed Racer'. Originally entitled 'Mach GoGoGo' in Japan, the animated series became a cult hit in the US when it was translated into English in the 1960s and repeated for decades to follow but could a live action, big screen adaptation have the same success?

What the Wachowski's have done well is recreate the world of 'Speed Racer'. Here we have the extravagant, over the top, futuristic motor racing with Speed driving the immortal 'Mach 5' car that has gadgets, weapons and speed accelerators that James Bond would be jealous of. The races themselves are spectacular, filled with excitement and imagination as Speed makes a dramatic impact on the racer circuit. We also have an extremely colourful world that recreates the look and feel of the original manga and anime but unfortunately the story doesn't reflect the quality of the visuals themselves.

For a movie that is aimed at a younger audience, there is not enough to engage them. Were the races themselves are stunning pieces of cinema it is the plot in between that really doesn't engage the younger viewer. With a running time of over two hours, this means that film struggles to keep their attention during the rather obvious plot points between races, which is a shame as the characters and the fantastic races deserves a lot better.

The cast make the movie all the more watchable however. Emile Hurst is perfectly cast as Speed Racer. The talented young actor makes the character an instant hero and one that the audience can get behind. Christina Ricci is also well cast as Speed's girlfriend and fellow race fiend Trixie. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon are Pops and Mom Racer and Matthew Fox makes an excellent Racer X, the mysterious masked racer who aids Speed on his race to glory. Roger Allam also makes suitable villain as billionaire racing team owner Royalton. It is Paulie Litt as Speed's younger brother Spritle who steals the film however, and his high jinx with his best friend Chim Chim the chimpanzee are, at times, hilarious.

'Speed Racer' is a movie that just misses out on becoming a firm family favourite. The predictable plot and the length of the film, distract from the excellent race sequences that draw you into the world of Speed Racer and what it is like to be on the track. While this might not be the start of a world beating franchise, there is still a lot to enjoy here and fans of the original show won't be too disappointed.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 2:35 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. This highlights the stunning visual effects and excellent sound you'd expect from the Wachowski Brothers.

BONUS FEATURES

Spritle in the Big Leagues (14.34 mins/Standard Definition)
Paulie Litt takes you on a behind the scenes tour of the Berlin set for 'Speed Racer'. Here we see the Art Design workshop, the cars, the sets and the visual effects for the new Wachowski Brothers movie from Spritle's unique point of view.

Speed Racer Supercharged (15.43 mins/Standard Definition)
Here we are introduced to the WRL (World Racing League), the teams that compete, the cars and the racers that drive them.

Speed Racer: Car-Fu (27.38 mins/Standard Definition)
Executive producer Joel Silver, producer Grant Hill, visual effects supervisor Dan Glass and stars Emile Hirst, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Matthew Fox, Susan Sarandon and Paulie Litt talk about the cars in Speed Racer. Here we see how they were designed and an indepth look at Speed Racer's car, the Mach 5.

Speed Racer: Ramping Up! (9.58 mins/Standard Definition)
Executive producer Joel Silver and stars Emile Hirst, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Matthew Fox, Susan Sarandon, Roger Allam and Paulie Litt talk about their characters in 'Speed Racer'.

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment for 'Speed Racer' is a little disappointing. While the featurettes cover most aspects from the movie's production, from a younger point of view, they are in standard definition, they don't go into enough detail for older fans and the Wachowski continue to not appear in extras for their movies. The lack of a commentary is no surprise then but this is still a disappointment. You would be right to expect more from a Joel Silver production.

BLU-RAY

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2008