See this movie on the biggest, best screen you can, because by the time it hits DVD it will lose a lot. All of Speed Racer's achievements are technical: the visuals are nothing short of staggering, when seen on high-grade digital projection. Who is this movie aimed at? I should make a point here.
Most of its original audience are far too old to cope with the epilepsy inducing visuals and MTV speed editing. Forty years after the show was made, thirty since it was popular in the US, and fourteen years after its aborted television revival, the reboot hits our screens. The original Speed Racer, which ran for only a short time, was basically a campy sixties cartoon that lived on as cult television. I'm not sure there has ever been a movie like Speed Racer.Īnd what continues to baffle me is how this movie ever got green-lighted. Speed finds support from his parents and his girlfriend Trixie and enters The Crucible in a partnership with his one-time rival, Racer X, seeking to rescue his family's business and the racing sport itself. With the offer to Speed denied, Royalton wants to ensure that Speed will not win races. Speed also uncovers a secret that top corporate interests, including Royalton, are fixing races and cheating to gain profit. The owner of Royalton Industries makes Speed a lucrative offer, Speed rejects the offer, angering the owner. Speed is loyal to the family business, run by his parents Pops and Mom. The story begins with Speed Racer who is a young man with natural racing instincts whose goal is to win The Crucible, a cross-country car racing rally that took the life of his older brother, Rex Racer.