There is something unique about this movie. The first time I finished it I was curious. The second time, I was fulfilled. I do not know how many times I watched it in between my most recent viewing, but I really liked it this time.It is just a good movie.

When I first saw The Matrix, I was absolutely taken by the visuals. I admired how complex the plot was, but thought it fell short of meeting the expectations set forth by its ideas. Those thoughts just deepened as I made my way through the trilogy of films. Now, I will say I absolutely want to revisit them, but I could never shake the feeling that the writing of the Wachowskis's was too self-serious. Speed Racer does not have that problem and it is all the better for it.The fact that Speed Racer never takes itself too seriously, in addition to the Wachowskis's commitment to the aesthetic of the Speed Racer cartoon, makes the film worth giving a shot. I will admit that if you do not like CGI, you likely are not going to enjoy this film. I will also say that I am not sure I have seen a movie that used this much CGI as effectively and as fun as Speed Racer does. The racing scenes are awe- inspiring for the spectacle of colors and movement and the fight scenes lie somewhere between exciting and ridiculous never giving into a dull moment. For better or worse during the film, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, and that is one of the highest praises I can give to any movie.

The Wachowskis (Bound, Cloud Atlas) have come a long way since directing The Matrix franchise, in fact both brothers have made the transition to become openly transgender women, Larry is now Lana and Andy is now Lilli, this process started happening around the time of the release of this film, when they were still credited as The Wachowski Brothers (Lana was still Larry then). Basically in near- distant future, eighteen-year-old James "Speed" Racer (Into the Wild's Emile Hirsch) has always had a love and life for automobile racing, since he was in school, he is now the youngest driver in the WRL (World Racing League) with natural racing instincts. Speed's ultimate dream is to win the Casa Cristo Cross Country Rally, also known as The Crucible, this race took the life of his older brother Rex (Scott Porter). Speed is loyal to his family's independent business, Racer Motors, run by his parents, Pops (John Goodman) and Mom (Susan Sarandon), Speed is using his brother's car, the Mach 5 and his own Formula One car the Mach 6, both designed by his father. The owner of conglomerate Royalton Industries, E.P. Arnold Royalton (Roger Allam), makes a lucrative offer to sign to race with him, and have an astoundingly luxurious lifestyle, Royalton is angered when he declines. Then Speed uncovers a secret that many races are being fixed, top corporate interests, including Royalton, are cheating to gain profit, having denied his offer Royalton wants to ensure that that Speed will not win races. Speed has the support of his parents and his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci), he enters The Crucible, and he is going against his one-time rival, the mysterious masked Racer X (Lost's Matthew Fox), Speed seeks to rescue his family's business and the racing sport itself. In the end Speed wins the race, Royalton's crimes are exposed, and a flashback reveals Racer X is in fact Rex, he faked his death and changed his appearance with plastic surgery as part of a plan to save his family and the sport of racing, he chooses not to reveal his identity to his family, Royalton goes to jail and the Racer celebrate Speed's victory, Speed and Trixie kiss. Also starring Paulie Litt as Spritle Racer, Benno Fürmann as Inspector Detector, The Wolverine's Hiroyuki Sanada as Mr. Musha, Rain as Taejo Togokahn, Shaft's Richard Roundtree as Ben Burns, Edge of Tomorrow's Kick Gurry as Sparky and Run Lola Run's Moritz Bleibtreu as Grey Ghost. Hirsch does well as the young racing hero, Goodman and Sarandon get their time as the parents, and Allam is a suitably dastardly villain, this film is based on a cult 1960s anime show, which would explain why the world in which the characters inhabit is digitised, the backgrounds and fast-paced race sequences are filled to the brim with vibrant colourful special effects CGI, this adds to the spectacle of it, all the family will watch and enjoy entering a different dimension, a most fun sports action comedy. Very good!

Sit down, suspend your disbelief, and watch this visually insane and surprisingly affecting film. In the spirit of the classic anime, it's full of fun characters like Snake Oiler and Inspector Detector, cool cars, ridiculous racing, and a warm family core. At the very least, you have to appreciate this as an exercise in fearless film-making. The visual vocabulary of the cuts and pans and wipes, the way the characters move in and out of frame, is incredibly unique and original. And it's, shockingly, mostly successful. This got lost among a flood of blaring Technicolor green-screen films like Shark Girl and Lava Boy and the Spy-Kids films. Also there was, and still is, a social backlash against the Wachowski's because of the Matrix films. In terms of the film-making risks I mentioned above, this was unfairly dismissed. This is for fun, it's a family film, (In the best ways), and it doesn't take itself too seriously. If you're too cool for it, you're only cheating yourself. There will be more fresh, ice-cold milk at the finish line for the rest of us.