Movie Revue: Speed Racer!

The Racer family is all about racing (who'd have guessed?). Their middle son, Speed, is the hottest driver in racing--and has no corporate sponsor. Royalton Industries offers him a lucrative deal, but the Racer family doesn't trust the big corporations. When Speed turns Royalton down, he's told that the corporate sponsors (who control everything) will never let him win another race. Speed sets out to prove them wrong by entering the dangerous cross-country race that (may have) killed his older brother Rex--who may or may not be the mysterious Racer X.

Johnny says: It was very funny. I especially loved Chim-Chim (the monkey) and Spritle, the youngest kid. Basically, they were the comic relief. I would probably give it...hmm...four and a half stars out of five!

Monica says: I LOVED this movie. The whole time, one thought kept going through my head: holy *beep* that was awesome! I honestly did not know the Wachowski brothers could direct a PG movie (what? The people who brought you "The Matrix" and "V for Vendetta" can do a family movie??) but it was just amazingly cool. The driving scenes were action-packed (and kind of ridiculous, but in a really fun way). Surprisingly, the characters were well-developed and I could tell how much the whole family cared about each other. And Royalton was a slimeball. I'm sure the actor is a wonderful person in real life, but his character made me want to reach into the movie screen and slap him. Or possibly something more drastic. I recognized him from "V for Vendetta" and he was a slimeball in that movie too. Anyway, the acting is very good. Overall, the movie had some good messages, about overcoming challenges, staying true to your family, and fighting corruption, and it was just FUN. Probably the most fun I've ever had at the movies.

Also, the debate about Racer X's identity reminded me of a scene from The Princess Bride. "Racer X sounds like Rex, so they must be the same person! But wait, that's too obvious! They can't be the same! But wait! What an amazing twist it would be if everyone was led to believe that he wasn't and it turns out that he is!"

(Therefore, I can clearly NOT choose the cup in front of ME!)

Annnnnnnd, after that rambling review, I give this movie four and a half out of five stars. Some of the dialogue was kinda dumb, but that's the only thing.

Go see Speed Racer. NOW.