Speed Racer…don’t listen to the critics

I personally have never cared what movie critics say about movies. Even if they hate a movie, I’ll still go see it. How is that person supposed to know what I like? There are plenty of “bad” movies that I actually love. A movie review is OPINION not FACT. It is SUBJECTIVE — based on personal opinion and varying from person to person.

Buuuuuuut…my boyfriend DOES listen to critics. He has been excited about seeing a movie and then decided to skip it because of the reviews. Or he’ll pull the…”Let’s wait until it’s at the dollar theatre” on me. Drives me nuts.

My boyfriend and I were very excited about the Speed Racer movie coming out. We saw the previews and both thought WOW! Then Thursday I heard a bad review on the TV and told my boyfriend. When he said, “Really?” I could hear disappointment creeping into his voice.

We saw Speed Racer on Friday and it is BREATHTAKINGLY AWESOME!!! It is a colortastic treat for your eyes. And very Japanese…as well it should be since the original TV show was a Japanese show brought to the U.S. and dubbed in English. The Wachoski brothers (dudes who did the Matrix movies) did an outstanding job with the writing and directing. The casting and acting are great! It’s a superb blend of the real and the computer-generated. The race scenes are a Technicolor roller coaster that have you clutching your arm rests. There’s just the right hint of romance between Speed and Trixie…and…just enough touching family moments…and…just enough crazy-looking bad guys…and…just enough wild fights including car fights…and…just enough funny antics from Spritle (Speed’s younger brother) and Chim Chim (the chimpanzee) to make you laugh without sending you screaming out of the theatre from annoyance. When we left the theatre the real world seemed colorless and slow. Really slow.

This movie is not for everyone. I don’t think young kids will get it. I don’t think stuffy movie critics are getting it. But if you can handle fast-moving and brightly colored, then give it a try if your parents will let you. (Rated PG for sequences of action, some violence, language and brief smoking) I think you’ll LOVE IT! If you’re a fan of the old TV Show you’ll LOVE IT! We did. And we’re going to see it AGAIN on the IMAX screen.