Speed Racer

The Wachowski Brothers achieve a divine vision of psychedelic visual ecstasy--you won’t believe the sheer amount of color on the screen at any given time—while digging deep into a campy comic/dramatic tone that works for audiences of all ages. Emile Hirsch leads a flawless cast as the title character who carries the death of his car-racing brother Rex Racer as a constant inspiration to win races for his family’s racing business. Anti-corporate themes abound as the sport’s predatory company Royalton Industries tries to bring Speed and his family to the dark side of greed. Far-out racing sequences, ninja attacks, and a budding romance between Speed and his girlfriend Trixie (perfectly played by Christina Ricci) attend the trippy visual fun. Like a revved-up turbo mix of Warren Beatty’s "Dick Tracy" with 1982’s "Tron," "Speed Racer" is a blast from start to finish.

Rated PG (A) (Five Stars)