Speed Racer - Now Playing

Friday May 9, 2008

"Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer!" I think that song is forever stuck in my head, but that's OK, because the movie was much less torturous than I expected. In fact, visually the film was incredibly unique and fantastic. Speed Racer is a live-action movie, but the action takes place within a computer animated world. Thus, the movie retains the feeling of cartoonish whimsy, and it doesn't look like any movie I've ever seen before. Kids especially will love this exciting ride.

The movie has another good point - the story places a surprisingly strong emphasis on the importance of family, and the moral of the film teaches that "cheaters never prosper." Unfortunately, there are also a few content elements that, for me as a parent, were not exciting. Most of the girls in the movie wear exceptionally skimpy outfits, and there is a high amount of violence as well as some language. I am betting that this one was probably on the brink of earning a PG-13 rating. But, as it stands, the movie is rated PG, for sequences of action, some violence and language.