I don't usually talk about movies in this blog of mine, but after watching a movie for THREE times (yes, 3!), it would be kinda wrong for me not to blog about it. Heck, I wouldn't mind watching it again even now. To say that Speed Racer is that good is an understatement - its just . freaking . awesome.
"Speed Racer is ahead of its competitors in every possible way..."
Speed Racer is shot entirely in front of a canvas, that means most of the things that viewers see on screen are computer-generated images (thats CGI for the more IT literate). Unlike most movies which looks to impress (or even fool) us with photo-realistic images, Speed Racer is completely unabashful with its use of CGI. Everything looks as fake as can be. For the most part, the film employs a cartoony look to it. At certain points, the film could even pass for a pop-up art in a picture book, with 2D images layered on top of one another in the background. The visual style is a unique and fresh take on CGI - far different than that in conventional movies. Despite its lack of realism, the visual style is fits the film perfectly, given the nature of it's source material. I can't seem to imagine the film done any other way.
Speaking of realism, while what is shown on screen is far from real, the story is quite the opposite. Beneath the overly colourful visuals and seemingly lighthearted tone of the film is a pretty heavy story. I won't go into the details of the story, but suffice to say, some of the themes that the film brings forward got me thinking, "hey, what if this is the case real life too!".The actors and actresses are also commendable for potraying believable characters (when they need to anyways) despite having oddly unreal names. I mean, Pops and Mom Racer?? What kind of names are those?
Perhaps what completely win me over is the way the movie is delivered. True to it's name, the movie is fast. I was amazed by how much backstory I was exposed to in the film's intro, during the course of a single race. The movie has a series of flashbacks and lengthy one on one dialogue scenes but they never seem to bore me thanks to the amazing presentation and delivery. I really can't explain this, its something you have to see for yourself to appreciate. There is never a dull moment in Speed Racer, and for a movie that goes for 135 minutes (thats approximately 2hours and 15 minutes), thats saying a lot.
If you were to watch it critically (as I did), you could see that the film is a full package. An immersive universe, over the top action sequences, family drama, humor, a wii-bit of romance, mysterious characters, moral values, a likable (and also hatable) cast of characters and a chimpanzee, all delivered in a slick style that easily outclasses any movie I have ever seen. Theres just no reason not to like this movie. If by some case that you don't, then you must be a bad person. In a world overrun with conventional and generic movies, Speed Racer slips over and under the competition and serves as a testament of how truly innovative a film can be. Let me just say it again, Speed Racer is just. freaking . awesome .
Now begins the countdown to its impending November dvd/blu-ray releases.
*Go Speed Racer, Go! is the theme song of the Speed Racer anime and its real-life silver screen adaptation
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