(3.5 out of 5 stars)

This is one of those kid’s movies that the producers wanted to see adults attend, but this one is only kid-friendly. It is not for all adults as it is very cartoony in its production, it has bright colors, it has a moral to the story, it shows family camaraderie and of course it has race cars.

Emile Hirsch plays the title character and even though he is a good actor, this movie is about the colors and the graphics. Acting is not needed or even asked to be provided by the actors in this film. Hirsch was purely cast based on his look. Matthew Fox as “Racer X” was even more one-dimensional than, well, I have no idea… His part in the movie was useless and unnecessary.

The Wachowski brothers directed this movie and technically, it does contain pieces of The Matrix. There are some martial arts, there are some crazy flips the cars do. The majority of this movie is CG, really the actors are the only live thing about this movie, but that is what makes it so good for kids and less interesting for adults.

John Goodman and Susan Sarandon play the parents while Christina Ricci plays the innocent love interest, all play their part just fine, but are placed aside for the real focus of the movie, the racing. The plot gets more in depth than most kid’s movies and provides a reason why Speed races, what moves him and gets him down; that is what really makes this work for adults.

If I had kids, I would buy this movie for them, but since I do not, I will not. Speed Racer kept my interest with its plot and with its technical prowess, but now will speed its way back to Netflix for the next movie in the queue.

Similar Recommendations: The Flintstones, The Matrix