RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Speed Racer
Speed Racer

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Speed Racer (2008)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
37 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:199

Fresh:73

Rotten:126

Average Rating:5/10

Consensus: The Wachowski Brothers have overloaded Speed Racer with headache-inducing special effects, and neglected to develop a coherent storyline.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for sequences of action, some violence and language.

Runtime: 2 hrs 15 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:09-05-2008

Synopsis: Based on the 1960s Japanese-manga-derived animated TV series of the same name, SPEED RACER follows the adventures of the title character (Emile Hirsch), a young race car driver who sits behind the... Based on the 1960s Japanese-manga-derived animated TV series of the same name, SPEED RACER follows the adventures of the title character (Emile Hirsch), a young race car driver who sits behind the wheel of the lightning-fast Mach 5 vehicle. Aided by his family, which includes Pops Racer (John Goodman) and Mom Racer (Susan Sarandon), and his devoted doe-eyed girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed racks up victory after victory, but still lives in the shadow of his late older brother, Rex (Scott Porter), who died in a race. When Speed garners the wrath of Royalton Industries, he must team up with the enigmatic Racer X (Matthew Fox) to defeat the ruthless corporation. Written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, the masterminds behind the MATRIX films, SPEED RACER replaces the gritty techno patina of that blockbuster series with a polished, brightly hued virtual reality. Though the eye-popping visuals threaten to eclipse the acting, the fine cast gamely makes the most of their green-screen environment, particularly the likable Hirsch, who won acclaimed for his decidedly different INTO THE WILD role, and LOST's always-noble Fox. Adding to the movie's giddy mood are Paulie Litt and his chimp companion, who provide comic relief as Speed's playful younger brother, Spritle, and Chim Chim, respectively. While definitely a case of style over substance, SPEED RACER is a movie meticulously designed to appeal to families and kids, especially the Spritle-like young ones. [More]

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Christina Ricci

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain, Richard Roundtree, Roger Allam, Benno Furmann, Kick Gurry, Paulie Litt, Nicholas Elia

Director: Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski

Director: Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski
Screenwriter: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Producer: Joel Silver, Grant Hill, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
    Trailer #2
    >
    Sneek Peek
    >
    The Cars
    >
  • Racer X
    >
    Speed Racer
    >
    Three Minutes of Speed
    >
    Video Interview
    >
  • RT Speed Racer Revue
    >
    RT Review Revue - Speed Racer, What Happens in Vegas
    >
    First Seven Minutes
    >
    Speed Racer exclusive featurette
    >
  • Building The Cars
    >
1 - 4 of 13

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Speed Racer

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The brothers swamp the fragile story and characters with such a deluge of CGI tricks and elaborate action sequences that it proves hard to care about the humans on screen.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
Mike Goodridge
Mike Goodridge
Screen International

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.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Impressively directed, superbly designed and eye-poppingly colourful, this is an enjoyable action-adventure flick, providing you like things that go vroom.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
05/08/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

This whizzy and outrageously colourful family action romp is a visually breathtaking hybrid of animation and live action. The story may feel about as gripping as a videogame, but the film is pure eye candy.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
05/08/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

You might admire it as a Warholian blur of pop art, gawp and gasp at its Hot Wheels-for-real dynamism, or get a headache.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/05/08
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The directors have been outrageously successful in creating one of the most trippy, visually astonishing mainstream movies ever made, and have even thrown in some good-old-fashioned story-telling and morality into this kaleidoscopic brew for good measure.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies UK | comment Comment
05/01/08
Orlando Parfitt
Orlando Parfitt
IGN Movies UK

What grounds the spectacle, pushing it beyond a two-hour ejaculation of sensation, is its yearning for innocence

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/26/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Fellow critics mercilessly denounced this dazzling, visually inventive adaptation; one of the ten best films of 2008

Full Review Source: Orange County and Long Beach Blade | comment 3 Comments
02/27/09
Fr. Chris Carpenter
Fr. Chris Carpenter
Orange County and Long Beach Blade

Cut from car to driver to announcer to audience and over and over again, ad nauseam. Such pretty racing scenes, so little to actually see.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
11/14/08
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/18/08
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

A flashy, colorful film that packs a ton o’ fun into its fast-paced frame.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
10/18/08
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

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

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
10/18/08
Tom Charity
Tom Charity
CNN.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Even the target audience of 10-year-olds might get jimmy legs sitting for a punishing 135 minutes as the Wachowski brothers projectile-vomit their cotton-candy dreams all over the big screen.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
10/18/08
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

You can feel the kids in the audience tapping their feet, waiting for more action. So, let’s just give the kids what they want: fast-paced excitement, wrapped up in a colorful package.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
10/01/08
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com

The arty blockbuster has arrived, and it's as flashy, accessorized and auto-erotic as can be. Which creates a strange sensation indeed, that it's not just the cars that are smoking, but those Wachowski brothers as well, and whatever's in their pipes too.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
09/22/08
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze

Maybe it's all flash and little substance, but there's no denying the appeal of that flash....

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
09/15/08
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

The Wachowskis blur the definition of "children's film" as much as the original cartoon challenged Western perceptions of "children's television".

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
08/22/08
Shane Burridge
Shane Burridge
rec.arts.movies.reviews

And here we have a prime example of why studios should not be funding the creations of The Wachowski Brothers. While visually dazzling, the film's paper thin plot and the cheesiness of its actors are a huge disservice.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment 1 Comment
07/13/08
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

The appeal of this frenetically-paced fantasy is probably limited to 10-year-olds, gamers and fanboys.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph (Australia) | comment 2 Comments
06/13/08
Vicky Roach
Vicky Roach
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
all

Latest News for Speed Racer

January 21, 2009: Razzies Name 2008's Worst Movie Nominees
No awards season would be complete without the Golden Raspberry Awards (AKA The Razzies), awarded each year to the very worst movies to hit Hollywood. This year's winners will... More...

October 06, 2008: Filme.Acasa: Un blockbuster de arta a sosoit la linia de final. Este sclipitor, accesoriat si auto-erotic. Speed Racer iti face inima sa pulseze de trei ori mai repede. Opens in new window
More...

September 22, 2008: The arty blockbuster has arrived, and it's as flashy, accessorized and auto-erotic as can be. Which creates a strange sensation indeed, that it's not just the cars that are smoking, but those Wachowski brothers as well, and whatever's in their pipes too. Opens in new window
More...

September 15, 2008: RT on DVD: Speed Racer Zooms to Blu-ray!
Get the pop rocks and Coke ready -- Speed Racer is out this week! We'll tell you what new releases to skip over, when Death Proof and Planet Terror are headed to Blu-ray, and... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
8
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
106
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
161
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
74
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
53
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
35
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
31
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
0
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Speed Racer at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Speed Racer at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.