Star Wars Guy

Don't know that this really requires a spoiler tag, but I don't think it was the theme song, however it was other 'menacing' music from that show during the cartoon that Spritle and Chim Chim were watching. I remember thinking that the music seemed very familiar when I watched that scene.

PixyJunket

I peeped this out over the weekend and it was awesome. The use of color in the movie was outstanding. Christina Ricci was delicious. This was the best portrayal of a cartoon in live action EVER, they really pulled the look and feel of this movie off, it was amazing. I'll probably grab another shot of it at the theater and then get the Blu-Ray later in the year.

hapgilmore

I saw this in IMAX on Sunday afternoon (theater was surprisingly PACKED btw). Visually, its one of the best movies I've ever seen. The editing and camera tricks were just awesome. However, story wise, its a convoluted mess. Too many characters (mainly bad guys) with too much stuff going on = storyline that was hard to follow (something a kids movie should NEVER be). Overall I enjoyed it but a stronger script would have helped a lot.

jeffkjoe

We WALKED OUT OF Speed Racer.

Yes, it's cool to watch, but it's SO BORING and REPETITIVE!

sye46

people don't realize that this is based on a cartoon. As another poster said, this is the most accurate portayal of a cartoon to live action movie ever. The colors, the car fights, the weapons, the action sequences, the announcers voices and reactions.... everything matched the cartoon to a T. The movie is suppose to be somewhat cheesy. I loved it and will definately by it on DVD.

Groucho

Subject header of this thread is slightly inaccurate.

sracer

Well... I just returned from watching it on the big screen.

I grew up on Speed Racer cartoons in the 60's and early 70's. Speed Racer and Lost In Space were the two shows that made me run home from school and ditch my friends. I LOOKED like Speed as a kid, and as an adult I bore a striking resemblance to Pops for a while. My Dad and Grandfather were go-kart racers (driving out to Long Island every weekend to race) so as a kid I could really identify with Speed... if even only as a fantasy.

When I heard that there was going to be a live-action movie based on Speed Racer my reaction was, "oh great... yet another cynical money-grab by soul-less trash looking to cash in on a cult title."

I expected the worst. What I got was...

...a full-length motion picture that accurately captures the heart and soul of the original show. Care was taken in the artistic licensing. There were many things that were new and contemporary, and things that were old and comfortable. And they all meshed well together. Those tip of the hat nostalgic nods were infused into the film. They weren't just tacked on as nudge-n-wink cameos to appease the fans of the original.

It might sound corny, but it seems like the makers were lovers of the original too and respected it. I thought that "The Thunderbirds" was another that was well done (not as good as Speed Racer though). "Lost in Space" is an example of a cynical moneygrab made by people who had contempt for the original property.

The casting was excellent. The tracks were too. Every major element that makes Speed Racer Speed Racer was in there.



Even though the special effects were a bit over the top, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though I'll admit that part of my enjoyment was influenced by nostalgia.

GatorDeb

sracer, are you named after this movie?

Tarantino

So...horrible reviews from the DVDTalk staff...favorable reviews from the user base...I'll have to check it out on DVD, I suppose.

= J

NiCK Crush

i loved it.

-NiCK

Star Wars Guy

Reports this morning are that the movie didn't do as good as originall thought. Instead of doing $20.2 milion as initially reported, it only made $18+ million.

It's too bad since an overwhelming majority of people who actually saw the movie, really liked it. I guess we can scrap any hopes of a sequel now.

RichC2

Theres a first.... heh.

toddly6666

I definitely wouldn't call this the worst movie of the year. I was sort of mixed on this one - I don't think I've ever seen a movie such a boring beginning with such an exciting end. This movie had one of the most boring first half ever - I was dozing off. I woke up when Speed's family was confronted by the ninjas. The second part of the movie was really exciting. The car racing scene on the mountain totally reminded me of the cartoon. It may be the type of movie that's actually better on DVD after second viewing.

The main problem with Speed Racer is the way the film is cut. There should be a shorter director's cut of the film with events happening in order, instead of the jumping around all over the place. And there is too much back story and too much of the Asian family stuff. If they somehow cut that out, it would be a better movie.

Watching Speed Racer the "theatrical cut" feels like watching a "Producer's Unrated DVD cut" with extended scenes thrown in which throws off the pacing of the film.

PixyJunket

Were the DVDTalk reviews pretentious? That's never happened before either.

Labor

I saw the movie over the weekend and really just loved it. A bit overlong like many have already said, but otherwise it was wonderful. It really captured the spirit of the show in an authentic way that very very few other comic/cartoon adaptation ever have imo.

I usually don't really care much about Box Office takes, reviews and what not, but I honestly find it disheartening to see the reception that the movie has gotten. I hope the movie finds a better home once it hits Blu-Ray/DVD

sracer

After the original cartoon, yes. I've used that name for forums, emails, from the very beginning of getting online. "Lancelot of the Information Superhighway" was my tagline up until just a few years ago.

chris_sc77

Who s the "Overwhelming Majority" ?
Fans of the show who saw the film or what?
On IMDB it has a ratings score of 6.6/10,
Box Office Mojo has the Average User Reviews rating of B-
YAhoo user reviews have a B average rating.
YAhoo critics reviews have a C average rating.
Rotten Tomatoes only has 35% favorable critic reviews.

fumanstan

I'm not sure about overwhelming majority, but I do get the feeling that more people enjoyed it then thought it was a pile of crap.

Star Wars Guy

Ok, overwhelming may be a tad strong, but the RT community has 77% favorable, and most of the review on Movieweb.com's user review group really liked it. As for critics, I discount everything they say as most don't share my taste in movies and I've yet to see many positive reviews from critics about Speed Racer. Myself, I give it 3.5 out of 5 overall. I enjoyed it for what it was, a popcorn flick.

elengineer

I saw it IMAX again (if it was just the movie itself, I probably would have only seen it once and waited for the Blu-Ray. Since, IMHO the flick makes for an excellent IMAX experience, I just had to see it again...besides, the IMAX ticket price is nearly what a normal theater would charge ((thieves!)), thus..a second viewing).

You got it! It was the background music associated with the mummy episode and/or the pterodactyl one. It was right at the beginning of the anime S&CC were watching.

Man, after reading some of the stuff floating around, I just don't get the outright hate some people have for this flick. Yeah, in IMHO the movie was marketed wrong, and the marketing materials made it seem like this movie was going to be a real steaming pile that would do its best to crap on the original material. Yes, it also draaaggggs in the beginning. Yes, I also felt %$$ on by Matrix Revolutions too.

Honestly, I expected it to be dreck going in. Surprisingly enough, it was well worth my $$ to see it, and I will be getting the BD when it hits the shelves.

I just don't get all the hate. wow.

Also, for those folks saying that

I stand by my prediction of this being a massive cult hit down the road.

fitprod

I finally went to see Speed Racer during a matinee, becasue I actually try to form my own opinion from actually viewing the film. For me, since this film has been critically torn to shreds at this point, my expectations were incredibly low, and to be honest, it missed them...

Yes, the art desiging was stunning and properly represent the original show, but across the board, it was just a lifeless piece of film making. It was all about, look what I can do! Not, how does this help move the story along.

There is no question about it, this film is at least 30 minutes too long, it may actually be an hour too long. The acting was wooden, true to the horrible dubs that we have been exposed to over the past twenty years, but I expect a little more out of real actors.

Would I recommend this to anyone? No, especially if you were not impressed by the trailers.

This will sell a nice chunk when it is released on Blu-ray and DVD, but it may have one of the lowest previously viewed values we've ever seen in the market, from everyone that buys this sight un-seen and decides to get rid of it.

fitprod

will travel

I have NEVER sceen the cartoon but decided to check the movie out because I thought the previews look good.

And you know what?
I thought it was a good movie.
Nice visuals. Enjoy watching all the racing scenes.
I thought the movie was well cast. Especially Matthew Fox as Racer X.
And Ricci was darn CUTE as Trixie.
Get a Solid 'B' from me.

toddly6666

This movie is the type of live-action cartoon not for everyone. Growing up, I loved the Alvin and The Chipmunks cartoon, Garfield cartoon, Scooby Doo cartoon, and Flinstones cartoons, but you couldn't pay me to see the live-action movies of those flicks - and those films did financially well...Speed Racer is just a fair movie and a good film adaptation of a cartoon, but it should be at the same level as respect (if there is any respect for them?) as the above listed flicks.

Mopower

Well Speed Racer wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen. That's about all I have to say about it.

notkevinbacon

Decided to see it last night...

1. I am not a Wachowski bros fan... I enjoyed the first Matrix moderately... hated, hated the sequels... I know they didn't direct V, but that was awful too... Bound is alright, but nothing I need to see again.

2. The memories I have of SR are pretty vague, I was never what you would consider a fan.

3. I fucking loved Speed Racer the movie.

It has it's flaws... many of them. Some painful forced "kiddie" humor, I have no problems with kid movies, but I am not sure the Wachowski's have the knack for a kid's flick. The racing scenes needed to be a little bit more clear as to what was going on. The kid who played young speed was awful.

The pacing was bad, but by the end of the movie I didn't care. If anything I wanted a little bit more! I am not expecting to see a sequel to this, but I would be all over it.

I haven't seen (and most likely will never) What Happens In Vegas, but I can guarantee you SR is a far superior flick. I can't believe this tanked so hard.

It's not a better film than Iron Man, so to speak... but I came out of SR glowing, even more so then after seeing IM. I was expecting Iron Man to be a solid movie and it certainly was... I wasn't setting the bar too high for SR, but it blew me away.

Summer 2008 is 2/2 for me now.