Speed Racer: The Movie
 

Am I the only person who's seen this...?

(Okaaaaay, I bet I'm the only person who's seen it twice.)

This pic has been knocked around a little, and I can even see where some of the criticism is valid, but I and everyone I know personally who's seen it was blown away. Maybe it's a generational thing, and maybe you had to "be there," but I thought it was a clever, eye-popping update of an anime that maybe you did have to be there to know how cool it was in its time.

Personally, I found the story compelling enough, too, and I thought it did a nice job of fleshing out the Racer family background.

Anybody else not hate it?

...aaaaaand, I'm guessing that's a no.

I can say only that I was so surprised by how much this movie overperformed my expectations that I went to see it again in IMAX, which is an experience I can recommend.

Actually, I can also say that if you think you might eventually want to see it at all, you should see it on the big screen while you can, because it's dying a death at the box office and may not be long for the world in that regard. This is definitely a film that was made to stretch the boundaries of a really well-equipped theater.

If nothing else, you might want to see it because it's a cult classic in the making. Seriously, dudes, people are going to be watching this one at midnight, stoned, for years to come.

I watched the cartoon as a kid, (Oh, let's be honest; I was OBSESSED over this cartoon as a kid) but had no desire to see this movie at all. It just looked really, really BAD to me. With a capital "B" even.

Maybe I'll catch it on TV one day, even if that might not be the best way to see it.

Yeah, I got that too, especially having been "obsessed" with the anime! But I went because the last trailer actually looked kinda interesting, and I was a little blown away by how not-bad it really is - especially if one was obsessed with the anime.

But maybe it's just me. Judging by the reviews and box office, it probably is.

Penny, you can count me in as a fan of this movie. I thought it looked interesting, and was not put off by the horrible press.

To be honest, even if you were not a huge fan of the movie I didn't feel it warranted that much negativity.

It had the mood of the cartoon, a lot of the actors captured the look of the cartoon characters and it was visually stunning. Absolutely stunning. I saw it on IMAX and would recommend it -- definitely a treat for the eyes.

Plus, it had a plot! That's actually a bonus when compared to a lot of summer blockbusters of the recent years.

(I totally agree with you on the midnight viewings of the future. Count me in as someone who would go.)

So that's you, me and Simone who loved it. Three people means OMG WEER NOT KRAZEE!!11@! :lol:

ETA: As a sidelight to the corporate-skulduggery and race-fixing "A" plot in SR, here's a very interesting recap from Wired of one of the biggest espionage scandals in recent racing history, complete with a dénouement that raises more questions than it answers:

Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Formula One Racing World

Yeah yeah, here's the loser following up to herself again - but I really wanted to share one of the most seriously amazing fanvids I've seen in I don't know when. It's a Speed Racer movieverse vid (surprise surprise) that puts together a perfect song with a set of clips that really captures both the movie's headlong pace and its unstuck-in-time storytelling techniques.

The truly amazing thing about it is that the artist put together a 3:20 vid from perhaps 10 minutes of available footage from trailers and clips. It really is a small marvel of skill and ingenuity, and I think it's something worth studying.

To the tune of "Our Velocity" by Maxïmo Park -- share and enjoy:

Our Velocity

I realize I am late to the party, but I haven't been to the board much of late. Anyhow, I was chomping at the bit to see this one when it was released last may. I was definitely a fan of it as a kid.

I enjoyed this movie! If we have an ST screening, then I'd so be there. I even felt all touched about the Racer X part of things and wonder if he'll ever tell his family.

Someone somewhere else pointed out that the bad guy looks like Al Gore. Too funny.

So... not understanding the hate the movie has gotten. I enjoyed it.

See that, folks? That's four whole people! Jeez, one more, and that'll be...all of us, right? :lol:

I just watched this movie ondemand the other night. I had low expectations, considering the "it sucks!" reviews from my friends and the world at large. BUT, I loved Speed Racer back in the day, so I thought I'd give it a look.

I didn't hate it--in fact I enjoyed the hell out of it. I geeked out when someone said "cool beans!" and Matthew Fox's Racer X had me all kinds of hot and bothered--especially during the ninja fight. And don't get me started when Speed jumped out of the car and did the pose! I giggled like a child!

So yeah. I'm a fan. It has cringe-worthy moments, but that just makes it all the better for me. I wouldn't recommend it for epileptics, but I made me dad watch it and he liked it too--he just didn't want to admit it.

So that's five people. Under the rules of the Stranger Convention of 2001, I do believe that means all of us are. :lol:

At this point, I'm done arguing this movie's case, because I've become convinced that either You Get It or You Don't, and too many people decided they hated it before they even saw it (or, more accurately, decided not to see it because they'd already decided to hate it). But I thought I'd share a link to an especially wonky yet endearing review from Deep Focus that sums up my own thoughts about it rather well.

Wait, wait, might be six. LOL

I totally rented it simply because you spoke so highly of it, Penny. I wasn't even going to see it at all.

But it turns out, I really like it. I wish I could have seen it on the big screen to really get all the effects but I laughed at parts, and other parts I just marveled at.

I might end up buying it if we ever get Blu-Ray.

You probably could call that an investment. People who know much more about Blu-ray than I do have called this one the penultimate Blu-ray demo disc. Even from my lousy little red-laser DVD player (attached to a 40" Sony Bravia), it's almost like 3D. It's as if you can reach into the screen and pluck out the cars and skyscrapers and actors.

I think you hit the nail on the proverbial head with that statement. I totally don't get why it was panned. I enjoyed the movie. Period.

Thanks for the link, too. I went to read it.

That is what I read too, which would be why it would be one of the few discs I would get on that format. I'm still not sure it's going to surpass DVD, you know?

And it looked good on my plain old tube tv with my 10 year old DVD player. LOL