Speed Racer is a cartoon come to life. Of course, life is relative as this is a borderline animated film, what with all of the CG backgrounds and special effects. Frankly, I feel this is the only way they could have done it while retaining any of the feel of the animated series.

Stepping away from the look, the other factors that made the film work are the dialogue and the performances. While neither element can be considered "good" in the traditional sense, within the context of the hyper-real universe of Speed Racer they all fit in perfectly. The good guys are all good, the bad guys are all bad, and the words they speak would be equally at home if they appeared in comic book-style bubbles over their heads.

Emile Hirsch is fine as Speed, putting life in the blue shirt and red neckerchief. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon are fine as Pops and Mom Racer. Matthew Fox is nicely stoic as Racer X. However, there was an actor who did a great job of stealing scenes — that would be young Paulie Litt as Spritle Racer, Speed's little brother. He brings this odd grown-up child feel to this troublemaking youngster with the pet chimp. He was quite funny, and not in the annoying way that one would normally suspect. Last but not least, Christina Ricci is quite fetching as Speed's girlfriend, Trixie.

Bottom line. I am sure there will be those who have the exact opposite reaction that I did. I get the impression that you will either love it or hate it. It is a weird movie, but, for me, it provided an exciting blast of cinematic energy that had not been on the screen this year, until now. It is also safe for the family. There are a couple of minor language uses, and the violence is mostly comical and fantasy based. Speed Racer is not perfect, but it is well worth spending some time with.

Recommended.