[Si] TV

The Wachowski Brothers have decided to tackle a family friendly adventure this go-round with Speed Racer, based off the 1960s Japanese anime series. Speed (Emile Hirsch) is a troubled youngster who has racing in his veins. After the death of his older brother, he tries to stop the evil Royalton (Roger Allam) from destroying his family's reputation. Along with the help of the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox), and Taejo (Korean singer Rain), Speed defies all the rules when he races for his life to prove his family's worth and win the Grand Prix. 

Speed Racer starts out with some back story to our characters and how Speed has always loved fast cars. While his mom (Susan "Lion-O" Sarandon) and pops (John Goodman) don't always agree with their son, they still support him. With his sweetheart Trixie (Christina Ricci) by his side and driving his late brother's Mach 5 racing car he's determined to stop Royalton and show the world that he's the best driver.

It's a visually stunning movie that captures the essence of the cartoon. The story sequences of the film that were shot with sets and props look normal. Foregrounds are in focus, while backgrounds are fuzzy. But during the racing sequences, everything is in focus. It's this sense of depth that really captures the look of how a live action anime would appear on screen. The colors are so vivid, and sense of motion so fast, that some may have a hard time keeping up with the action. It's not that it's hard to follow; it's just that it's fast-really, really fast. The desert race in the middle and the final race were some of most innovative, exciting and engrossing filmmaking I've ever seen. You seriously cannot take your eyes off the screen.

Explosive visual effects aside, some scenes dragged too long. For example, some scenes with Trixie could have been shaved but that's only because Ricci doesn't need to be on screen unless she's showing off her bodacious assets. Seriously, her cranium is too large for her body since she lost all that weight and it looks like her head is being propped up by Popsicle sticks taped to the back of her neck.

Despite the long runtime and the wonky plot, Speed Racer was just too much of a visual treat to ever dislike. The Wachowskis once again broke new ground in conventional filmmaking to give the viewer the fastest, prettiest film out right now. We would give Wachowskis' a couple of firm handshakes and give them kudos on a job well done, but they creep us out. Perhaps a Yahoo! e-mail greeting card would be best.

Latino Review Rating: A-