Speed Racer

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Speed Racer

PG

2008

2h 15m

Action

Adventure

Comedy

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

42%

Tomatometer

219 Reviews

60%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Born into a family business of race cars, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is one of the track's hot stars. Sitting at the wheel of his Mach 5, he consistently deflates the competition. When Speed turns down an offer from the head of Royalton Industries, he uncovers a secret. Powerful moguls fix the races to boost profits. Hoping to beat the executive, Speed enters the same arduous cross-country race that killed his brother.

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Critics Consensus

Overloaded with headache-inducing special effects, Speed Racer finds the Wachowskis focused on visual thrills at the expense of a coherent storyline.

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William Goss

Film.com

05/29/2013

Amid the overly earnest tone, (almost) squeaky-clean humor and familiar messages about teamwork and integrity is the rare film family that's as strong at the start as they are by the end.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

10/18/2008

2/5

You have to be 12 to like it, and I have to say there is little or nothing here to remind us why we were all quite so excited about The Matrix.

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Tom Charity

CNN.com

10/18/2008

Twelve-year-old boys should be wowed, but for the rest of us, it will depend on your appetite for eye candy.

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Carson Timar

ClapperCast

Nov 15

Not only do The Wachowskis bring one of the best visual identities ever seen in film, but the emotions are operating on just as high a level.

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Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Willamette Week

Apr 3

Behold the racing stripes and lipstick so red they’d make Technicolor blush, and live-action performances (by almost everyone but star Emile Hirsch) reaching for the transcendently unrestrained hysteria of action anime.

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Tina Kakadelis

Beyond the Cinerama Dome

07/25/2023

The Wachowskis’ style is very distinctive, and while The Matrix series is far grittier than Speed Racer, they share the same belief that good people and love are the answer to changing the world for the better.

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Jadan S

Jan 4

One of the very few Anime to Live-action films made that not only honors the original show, but improves upon it.

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Bruno D

3d

Es una película muy aburrida 😒

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Garrett C.

@Darnyflarshnift Nov 16

This is the greatest movie to ever exist! Anyone who thinks this is bad doesn’t understand it and film in general!

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Mitchell S

Nov 8

I don't like how the whole movie looked like either a Spy Kids movie or a low budget little kids show. And most of the themes and plot points I've seen done better in the Cars movies. I was more invested in Michael Giacchino's score than the movie itself.

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Julian Rex M

@Julian_M Oct 12

With all the visual, narrative, and thematic smarts of a slickly edited TikTok, The Wachowski's Speed Racer fails to achieve the surrealist charm it aspires to, instead settling in exhausting, loud, kiddie-action territory.

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Amber J

Oct 12

I think people that don’t appreciate this film are unimaginative. Firstly it’s not meant to look realistic not only was technology worse compared to nowadays but they chose a deferent approach for the visuals. I find the cartoonish style fun well also visually pleasing. I can’t believe some people are complaining about the acting when the actors did a great job considering the quirky nature of the characters. The racing it’s is so interesting not only do you have to do your laps but literally fight to finish now that’s cinema. Sure it’s unrealistic but that’s the Beauty of this world. My favourite part is the ending always leaves me with chills and inspires me. I also love the plot twist about racer x I hope it gets the love it deserves at some point.

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Lilly Wachowski

Director

Lana Wachowski

Director

Emile Hirsch

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Synopsis

Born into a family business of race cars, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is one of the track's hot stars. Sitting at the wheel of his Mach 5, he consistently deflates the competition. When Speed turns down an offer from the head of Royalton Industries, he uncovers a secret. Powerful moguls fix the races to boost profits. Hoping to beat the executive, Speed enters the same arduous cross-country race that killed his brother.

Director: Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Producer: Joel Silver, Grant Hill, Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Screenwriter: Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Entertainment, Silver Pictures
Rating: PG (Language|Brief Smoking|Sequences of Action|Some Violence)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 9, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $43.9M
Runtime: 2h 15m
Sound Mix: DTS, Dolby SRD, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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