Speed Racer

2008 • 134 minutes
4.3
1.65K reviews
42%
Tomatometer
PG
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

Hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized-the legendary Rex Racer-whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed's thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company's maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret-some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won't drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line. The only way for Speed to save his family's business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival-the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)-to win the race that had taken his brother's life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible. MPAA Rating: PG (c) 2008 Warner Bros Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Rating
PG

Ratings and reviews

4.3
1.65K reviews
A Google user
April 6, 2015
Visually the movie stays true to most of what we knew about Speed Racer. Mach Go Go Go, though, is a different matter altogether. Adapted from the Speed Racer dub that was originally Mach Go Go Go, it has all the elements that you'd expect if you've seen the old show. What becomes disappointing is the visual direction as well audio mixing in general. Every racing sequence had little surround mixing to bring out the visual. It was as though the audio mixing was done primarily on a stereo+subwoofer setup. If you're looking for something that can be entertaining both visually and aurally, this is not it. Granted, you won't hear it in a digital copy. Still, it is not worth having either way.
13 people found this review helpful
Hayley Rose
July 19, 2017
Surprisingly incredible! I went in vaguely remembering not enjoying this movie when i glimpsed it back in 2008. But upon re watching it in 2017, I realized that this movie is simply ahead of its time. It makes aesthetic choices that can be found in the highly stylized, but critically acclaimed "Scott Pilgrim vs The World" while maintaining a uniquely anime influenced image. It's not an amazingly original tale, nor is it a groundbreaking art film, but it pays homage to the original, while not leaning too heavily on nostalgia to drive it's plot forward. Will watch it again soon.
ann hooker
August 30, 2015
This movie can go either way. If you want something serious, speed racer live action, you might be disappointed. But if you want something that is speed racer done in true speed racer fashion, then this is it. A little hokey, but then so was the TV show. It stayed true to the episodes that it was based off of, and if you ever watched he TV show, you would recognize the episodes that I am talking about. A good watch if you just want to have fun and I found that I enjoyed it far more then I had any right to.