SPEED RACER on the IMAX!

Anyone who enjoys movies as much as I do knows that seeing a film on the big screen in a multiplex is a completely different experience then watching it at home where you can be interrupted by a multitude of different distractions forcing you to press the pause button or heaven forbid jump back a scene or two that you might have missed. So let me be the first to tell you that viewing the new film SPEED RACER on the gigantic IMAX is an experience unlike anything else I’ve seen on the big screen format (with the exception of U2 3D).

Unlike when I saw SPIDER-MAN 3 on the IMAX, SPEED RACER’s action scenes seemed catered to the format. When I saw SPIDER-MAN 3 many of the big action scenes seemed blurred and you ended up missing details of the scenes causing the film to look more cartoonish then it probably should have been (although I have yet to view it a second time on DVD). With SPEED RACER, which is a film meant for speed, not only the racing scenes were clean but the fight sequences and above all the cinematography that makes the whole film look like something that jumped out of a Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton film was clean and concise and above all entertaining.

The enjoyment of the film lies in brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski’s drop dead perfect adaptation of the beloved anime series. It takes the main theme of the original animation and expands upon it creating a film that doesn’t seem like there are just a bunch on scenes tacked on to expand the running time. With this screenplay and their previous one for V FOR VENDETTA, the Wachowski’s have returned my faith in them that has been missing since the days of BOUND and the first THE MATRIX.

Although the ambiance and world in which the Wachowski’s have created may be a little too much for some viewers I urge everyone to have as much faith in this film as you did with the Wachowski’s THE MATRIX because it is completely worth it. There are strong actors all around from Emile Hirsh as the title character to Christina Ricca, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Kick Gurry, Paulie Litt, Roger Allam, and the exceptional Matthew Fox, who I hate to say did a great job bringing the one character I thought they would mess up – Racer X, to the screen. Although there were some changes made to the character he remained in the spirit of the original animation and it added immensely to the overall film.

I suggest that if you’re able to see it on the IMAX then do because it’s an experience you won’t soon forget.