Pope Flick Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Has gotten a completely bad rap from a bunch of haters. I went to see it the other day since the visuals looked liked the "can't miss on the big screen variety" and imagine my surprise that it wasn't just good, but damn good. If you are 35-45 and remember it being the cartoon that blew your mind back in the day because it was unlike any other, then you simply owe it to yourself to see it. It's an adult take on what it did to your mind as a child. The kids in the theater loved it as well. Note: this is not a film that ever begins to take itself seriously. It is not very deep. It is, in fact, not much more than 300 with race cars. But one of those cars is...the powerful Mach 5! And when the odds are against him, and there's dangerous work to do, you bet your life Speed Racer will see it through...there's the unexplained Monkey, and the perfect amount of international ninja intrigue. In short, it's a 2 hour live action version of the cartoon, and has been unduly hated upon by people. Whoever looked at that guy from Lost and said "he looks like Racer X" deserves a raise. Seriously - you'll own this on Blu Ray within a few years. Do not miss it! I haven't seen the new Raiders yet, but I left the theater feeling there's no way it could be as good as Speed Racer, and from what I've read it seems I'm right. Perhaps it's not a high bar to get over, but the Wachowski Brothers filled this film with something fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Whenever the critics say it's bad I usually know it'll be decent. I think the only movie they were ever right on was Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. That movie was painful to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Wow, getting 35% on RottenTomatoes.com right now. Unfortunately, with us getting to so few movies actually at the theater these days, this one will probably slip through the cracks, only to make it to our Netflix queue in a year or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 I plan on going Saturday afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DO Jaded Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 (edited) My nineteen year old daughter went to see it and she loved it. She is usually very critical of that type of movie, so her endorsement is enough for me to want to see it. Now I just need to find the time when I'm not doing yardward, or just work work, to go see it. ETA: Not that your endorsement is any less valuable PF (okay, maybe a little less than my own kin, but don't let that bother you). Thanks. Edited May 28, 2008 by DO Jaded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonorator Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 zero motivation to see this thing. heck, after seeing the trailers, i feel like i have seen it because they put the coolest effects in the trailers. knowing that there is no meaningful plot or drama leaves you with just the effects, which have been plastered everywhere already. most reviews say that you quickly tire of the bombardment of effects and since i'm already tired of them without even seeing the movie, why would i pay to go in? this and indy both suffer from the same problem, which is running rampant in the theaters today. blast 'em with effects and what you consider to be jaw dropping scenes, blow out the merchandising, plaster the trailers and interviews all over the media ... blitz, blitz blitz!!!!! and in all the hype, the need for a compelling story and characters is lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vote Quimby2 Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 It was a pretty fun turn your brain off type movie. however, the main star is pretty limited in the acting department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 My brother had the season three of the show on DVD and I borrowed it to let my 6 year-old son watch it. He LOVED the episodes. As he sat there for three hours watching 13 episodes of nostalgia a tear came to my eye. We went to see the movie last week and it was a great experience. Agree with Pope Flick's synopsis. If you have a young son, run out to Blockbuster and rent some episodes before seeing the movie. It really enhanced the experience for him as he was already familiar with the characters and the cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 It was a little long (I believe it runs 2.25 hours) but it was still so good that it kept the attention of my 3 year old the entire time. That's saying a lot! My wife and I really enjoyed it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 I wanted to see it in IMAX, but the guy who had already seen Ironman said he wanted to see it again, and that was a pretty convincing argument. My wife wants to go see Indiana Jones instead. And she definitely gets to decide this time. That's it, that's twice as many movies as I usually get to a theater for in a single year, so I'm out after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skilly Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 zero motivation to see this thing. heck, after seeing the trailers, i feel like i have seen it because they put the coolest effects in the trailers. knowing that there is no meaningful plot or drama leaves you with just the effects, which have been plastered everywhere already. most reviews say that you quickly tire of the bombardment of effects and since i'm already tired of them without even seeing the movie, why would i pay to go in? this and indy both suffer from the same problem, which is running rampant in the theaters today. blast 'em with effects and what you consider to be jaw dropping scenes, blow out the merchandising, plaster the trailers and interviews all over the media ... blitz, blitz blitz!!!!! and in all the hype, the need for a compelling story and characters is lost. A sample from Tonorator's Netflix Queue: 1. Atonement 2. The English Patient 3. P.S. I Love You Come on baby, lighten up! It's summertime---time for some good old-fashioned no-brainer popcorn flicks. That being said, I am somewhat surprised at the positive reaction to Speed Racer. I will most likely spend my money to go see Indy, but will definately check out SR when it comes out on Blu-ray. Probably the only other movie I will see this summer will be Batman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDFFFreak Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 (edited) I will say that it's not as bad of a movie as everyone (critics, box office numbers, etc) will have you believe. That said, it's not that good either. Go in with extremely low expectations for an involving story and keep in mind that you are basically seeing a live action cartoon. This way you have a shot at enjoying it. By no means will I be talking about this movie in the years to come as a good, fun flick. It just wasn't that great, but made better by low expectations. Edited May 29, 2008 by TDFFFreak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 I will say that it's not as bad of a movie as everyone (critics, box office numbers, etc) will have you believe. That said, it's not that good either. Go in with extremely low expectations of involving story and keep in mind that you are basically seeing a live action cartoon, you have a shot at enjoying it. By no means will I be talking about this movie in the years to come as a good, fun flick. It ust wasn't that great, but made better by low expectations. Are you 35-45? If not, I'm not surprised. There's a nice nostalgic factor at work here, that you don't get if you're in your 20's. Without trying to sound like "cartoons back in my day..." but the fact is that until Speed Racer came along, every other cartoon was Mickey Mouse/Bugs Bunny. The edgiest thing was MAYBE the Super Friends. But when Speed Racer came along and dudes DIED in the opening credits sequence, well then, that orgy of color and WOW! that left you non-plussed leaves us who were there at the time going "Oh yeah, I remember that!" If you saw Speed Racer near the first time you saw Ren & Stimpy or the GIJoe/Transformers cartoons in the 80's it won't be the same for you. It clocks in a little long as savage says but most films are guilty of that these days anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDFFFreak Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 (edited) Are you 35-45? If not, I'm not surprised. There's a nice nostalgic factor at work here, that you don't get if you're in your 20's. Without trying to sound like "cartoons back in my day..." but the fact is that until Speed Racer came along, every other cartoon was Mickey Mouse/Bugs Bunny. The edgiest thing was MAYBE the Super Friends. But when Speed Racer came along and dudes DIED in the opening credits sequence, well then, that orgy of color and WOW! that left you non-plussed leaves us who were there at the time going "Oh yeah, I remember that!" If you saw Speed Racer near the first time you saw Ren & Stimpy or the GIJoe/Transformers cartoons in the 80's it won't be the same for you. It clocks in a little long as savage says but most films are guilty of that these days anyways. I am 35 and remember the cartoon fairly well. I just couldn't get behind it as much as you did, but by no means is it an awful movie IMO. I was waiting for a "HA HA!" somewhere in the dialogue. I want to see what they do with the Thundercats... All this said, I was less disappointed by Speed Racer than I was by Indy 4. Edited May 29, 2008 by TDFFFreak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 I am 35 and remember the cartoon fairly well. I just couldn't get behind it as much as you did, but by no means is it an awful movie IMO. I was waiting for a "HA HA!" somewhere in the dialogue. I want to see what they do with the Thundercats... All this said, I was less disappointed by Speed Racer than I was by Indy 4. I'm by no means saying it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I read so many poor reviews of it I was expecting another Matirx2 or 3. Not even close as SR is WAY better than those 2 and it left me wondering why it got so many BAD reviews. Look at the % of people who saw it and enjoyed it here. By no means scientific, but not a 1 1/2 star film either. Twice that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 (edited) I echo that it was too long. I have to admit that a big reason I enjoyed it so much was that my kid was really into it. I do agree that it was better than I expected however. My son kept wondering why Speed drove the Mach 6 most of the movie instead of Mach 5. Edited May 29, 2008 by Puddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 We went to see it a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Pope...why have you forsaken me? I tried texting you that I was in town last week and got no response? No worries, three other Huddlers bailed on me too. Last time I drive to LA... And, I thought Speed Racer was stupid as a kid, and I'm pretty sure it is still stupid now. But...maybe I'll give it a chance knowing you watch these things with a little different eye... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 And, I thought Speed Racer was stupid as a kid, and I'm pretty sure it is still stupid now. I can only hope that a car pulls up next to your Mercedes and a power saw comes out from underneath to cut your tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 Pope...why have you forsaken me? I tried texting you that I was in town last week and got no response? No worries, three other Huddlers bailed on me too. Last time I drive to LA... And, I thought Speed Racer was stupid as a kid, and I'm pretty sure it is still stupid now. But...maybe I'll give it a chance knowing you watch these things with a little different eye... Hey - I was out of town in DC of all places, tho I don't recall getting a text... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 I really want to see it. When the previews first came out, I thought "" but after seeing a few more, I wanted to see it in the theater. The special effects look insane. I mean, if people l loved 300 because of the visuals [lets be honest the story isn't very strong] then i believe this movie will be just as good in that respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 No worries, three other Huddlers bailed on me too. Last time I drive to LA... That seems to happen regardless of the city you're in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 Pope...why have you forsaken me? I tried texting you that I was in town last week and got no response? No worries, three other Huddlers bailed on me too. Last time I drive to LA... Hey - I was out of town in DC of all places, tho I don't recall getting a text... Well, Soup has enough trouble with a calendar... guessing text messaging isn't his forte either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loaf Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 went today with the Nephew. We both loved it. I could've done with more cars and Ricci but that's besides the point. Great FX, horrible acting. Perfect mindless 2+ hours... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 Finally saw it. Absolutely awesome. Granted, if you're not a Racer fan, I'm not sure you'd like the movie. One of the absolutely best translations of a childhood cartoon that I liked to the big screen decades later. Come on "Starblazers"! Tobey Maguire owns the rights to do a live-action remake of Robotech. I'm looking forward to that one if it ever gets off the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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