First Speed Racer Review Hits! Edit: RT at 35% now!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Weekend box office numbers are starting to trickle out... Iron Man finished the weekend with $50.5M thanks to a strong bump on Saturday, followed by What Happens in Vegas with $20.0M. Warner hasn't released a Sunday number for Speed Racer yet, though, but it's sitting in third place at $13.6M for Friday+Saturday.

EDIT: Sunday numbers released... Speed Racer has $6.6M for Sunday, giving it $20.2M and second place if those estimates hold.
 
Solo said:
Im saying that if GAF stopped slobbering on their respective knobs for 5 seconds, they would realize that neither has the flawless career that they are made out to have. Which is fine. While Bale still remains a bit overrated in my eyes, and Downey is amongst my favorite actors, both are fantastic talents who obviously have taken some roles along the way simply the pay the bills.
Click to expand...

Looking at RDJ's movie listing since 2000, he's made a lot of great films.
 
Jason's Ultimatum said:
Looking at RDJ's movie listing since 2000, he's made a lot of great films.
Click to expand...

Yes, he has. I think you are missing my point. Either way, its a silly little debate which doesnt matter, and it has nothing to do with Speed Racer, so Ill drop it.

Ouch at those numbers. Iron Man's numbers are pretty good too.
 
Solo said:
Cheebs does take a rather larger investment in BO intake/RT than most, I must say.
Click to expand...
Yet I adore indie movies. Buuut I find the box office fascinating. I love following it, yet a lot if not most of my favorite movies aren't big hits. I just love the boxoffice game if you will.
 
At least Speed Racer made it to second place.



That is so sad that even second place for the weekend is in question.
 
jett said:
At least Speed Racer made it to second place.



That is so sad that even second place for the weekend is in question.
Click to expand...
It's not like its a movie that would have gotten a sequel. You get the movie and the dvd, be happy that it exists.
 
I don't understand how anyone can trust review ratings (including aggregates like Rotten Tomatoes) for action flicks. For me, the key to a mindless action movie is that it not try to pretend it's something more than it is and try and demand intellectual effort it can't pay off on. Speed Racer did a good job of that. It's dumb, mindless tripe with some sweet action scenes. And there was nothing about human batteries, either!
 
maharg said:
I don't understand how anyone can trust review ratings (including aggregates like Rotten Tomatoes) for action flicks. For me, the key to a mindless action movie is that it not try to pretend it's something more than it is and try and demand intellectual effort it can't pay off on. Speed Racer did a good job of that. It's dumb, mindless tripe with some sweet action scenes. And there was nothing about human batteries, either!
Click to expand...

Some?!
 
I just read the EW review this morning. Had to laugh because it said absolutely nothing redeeming about the movie yet gave the movie a C. If I had to rate the movie on the same scale they're using, I'd have to give it something beyond A+, not because I thought it was a masterpiece or anything, just because I like a number of things about it.
 
went to see it today with my 6-year-old son. First trip to the cinema for him.

Absolutely loved the movie. For me, a perfect popcorn comic book type affair. Plot you could write on a postage stamp, characterisation thats wafer thin and stereotype thick, but it was just fun.

slightly slow in the middle part, but more than made up for with the race sequences. its like F-Zero fanfiction porn on the big screen.

I came out of the cinema firstly really feeling good about how my son enjoyed it - your firstimpressions of going to the cinema must be pretty special, but also realising how convoluted and meandering modern action films have become. Hell, even Mark Kermode enjoyed it!

yes, it was style over substance. but sometimes thats exactly whats needed. After Iron Man a couple of weeks ago, this summer has already beaten last years.

oh and it had the new Dark Knight trailer attached to it in the UK (plus indy and hulk)
 
The first 30 or so minutes of this film are terrible. Just sloppy, sluggish storytelling.

Everything else after that is omgfuckingawesome. Some of the most creative action and fun I've seen in a theater.
 
suaveric said:
I don't know what they were thinking when they green-lit this movie. A kids movie about a cartoon from 30 years ago? Why would today's children have any interest in watching an adaptation of a show they've never seen?
Click to expand...


I dunno - fast cars doing insane stuff around tracks that make even fzero and mario kart weep? since when did fast cars ever go out of fashion? I never even saw Speed Racer (don't think it was ever big in the UK) and my son certainly hadn't. Why is it always assumed nostalgia is the only reason people will go and see something? Maybe it just makes a good movie?
 
How can anyone not love this movie? It's so ridiculously cheesy that you can't help but laugh and enjoy yourself. It's basically live-action anime in all its horrible glory, and if you approach it with the expectation of anything but nonsense, you deserve to be disappointed.

I applaud the Wachowski brothers for having the audacity to make Speed Racer, it really made my summer.
 
Cheebs said:
It's not like its a movie that would have gotten a sequel. You get the movie and the dvd, be happy that it exists.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that got everything into this movie that it needed to have. No sequel needed.

Now, Lost in Space, I wish that had sequels.
 
Cheebs said:
It's not like its a movie that would have gotten a sequel. You get the movie and the dvd, be happy that it exists.
Click to expand...

Actually I remember reading WB was planning on turning it into a franchise. I guess those plans are dead.
 
I saw Speed Racer last night with my Mom. It was a lot of fun to watch. The visual style was super creative as well as very innovative editing (loved how they'd split the screen with the announcers moving across the screen with the action scene sharing the screen. Pretty good music score too, which was a great benefit to the action scenes. I almost stayed home to watch Saturday Night Live, but I'm glad I got out to see this while its still around. I just wisht there'd only been more of an audience, only 12 others in the theater. :\
 
Gahiggidy said:
I saw Speed Racer last night with my Mom. It was a lot of fun to watch. The visual style was super creative as well as very innovative editing (loved how they'd split the screen with the announcers moving across the screen with the action scene sharing the screen. Pretty good music score too, which was a great benefit to the action scenes. I almost stayed home to watch Saturday Night Live, but I'm glad I got out to see this while its still around. I just wisht there'd only been more of an audience, only 12 others in the theater. :\
Click to expand...

I went yesterday at 5:55 and every seat with the exception of the first two rows were completely filled. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case with other theaters...
 
I just saw it and I must say I really enjoyed it alot.I mean we don't have movie of the year here but as a summer action flick it works well.The visuals were stunning at first when I saw the first trailers I was a little skeptical but you know what the visuals were kind of a breath of fresh air.

Alot of movies nowadays are trying to be so realistic and this one was just pure eye candy that worked so well.Also the casting was amazing the characters were so well cast and looks so much like the anime (or as close as you can get to live action anime) and the acting wasn't that bad.

The story was fine but a little rushed and cheesy but I mean if you try to look too far into this film then your gonna ruin it for yourself.The only thing I was annoyed by was Spittle and the Chimp they really tried to force them as the comedy and it fell a little flat and felt out of place.

If your looking for a mindless fast paced action film then id suggest checking this out as it is a pretty good flick. 8/10
 
EMBee99 said:
The first 30 or so minutes of this film are terrible. Just sloppy, sluggish storytelling.

Everything else after that is omgfuckingawesome. Some of the most creative action and fun I've seen in a theater.
Click to expand...
Weird, I thought the first 30 minutes moved along very briskly because of the way they interwove the backstory with the first race. I thought it was especially effective in giving that first race more significance and weight in the general storyline, besides just being an effective introduction to movie's eye-candy as well.

After the opening, the rest of the movie settled into a more sedate pace overall.
 
i dont get the hate for this movie.

you know, when I first heard about the speedracer movie being made, i thought to myself....wtf why? the premise of the speedracer wouldnt make for that great of a movie.

anyways, then the trailers came out, and I was actually thinking hey, that actually looks kinda cool, and lol, matthew fox as racer x? he looks EXACTLY like racer x. great choice...and its done by the matrix guys? maybe the effects itself will make it worth it.

then i decide to watch the movie in imax with a few friends who were bored, and I go in thinking, it was gonna be a shit movie (because of the premise) with awesome effects.

and I actually came away enjoying it completely. yea, It was lighthearted and simple, but it was fun. the effects are amazing, and everything was done well and with style. some will say it lacked substance, but who cares, this isnt that type of movie. I appreciate it for what it is. I honestly cant believe I am seeing so much hate for it on GAF though...its like the last place Id expect to hate this movie.
 
kaching said:
Weird, I thought the first 30 minutes moved along very briskly because of the way they interwove the backstory with the first race. I thought it was especially effective in giving that first race more significance and weight in the general storyline, besides just being an effective introduction to movie's eye-candy as well.

After the opening, the rest of the movie settled into a more sedate pace overall.
Click to expand...

My feeling was that a lot of that backstory felt unnecessary, especially the extended tour through Royalton Inc. and the out-of-nowhere Spritle/ChimChim chase through the factory. There was a long stretch of the first half where I was wanting some of that sweet racing action. Once it kicked into the crux, with Inspector/Racer X, I was hooked.

That said, the slow parts made the ending a helluva lot better, but it could have been handled a little better, methinks.
 
Saw it earlier today along with one of my younger cousins. We both loved the hell out of it.

The races and effects were incredible. Loved the characters, and the ending was great, especially Speed going into the finish line out of the explosion, it was just a total visual orgy. The overall visuals, art design and all that were just amazing, I absolutely love the look of the movie. The face wipe editing was great as well.

It could have been a bit shorter, but I didn't mind that that much, though a few of the drawn out parts had the younger kids bored, but they all forgot about that once the movie went into the action. The story is pretty basic as it should be and the whole movie is just so brutally honest and without a trace of cynicism, that I found it hard to resist. Also, Christina Ricci was beyond cute in the movie :D I was also surprised with the rating. The movie really pushed the PG rating to its limit.


Oh, and John Goodman has bigger tits than Susan Sarandon.
 
I don't really get why people are trying to turn this into a "love it or hate it" kind of flick, I had some pretty solid fun despite not falling madly for it.
 
7Th said:
I don't really get why people are trying to turn this into a "love it or hate it" kind of flick, I had some pretty solid fun despite not falling madly for it.
Click to expand...

There really is animosity for this film from a ton of people who have not seen it and just won't give it a chance. I am guessing that is why it tanked this weekend. The trailers really seem to have turned the core geek audience completely off and caused a lot of people to attack it.
 
EMBee99 said:
the out-of-nowhere Spritle/ChimChim chase through the factory.
Click to expand...
That was definitely placed badly, cutting up the scene with Speed and Royatlton like they did. I didn't have a problem with the antics of the chase (it was short and fairly innocuous) so much as how it was fit into the movie.
 
Perez Hilton is saying rival studios are questioning the numbers released by WB for Speed Racer. Apparently, they believe they inflated the numbers so it would seem like it reached no.2.

It would be so sad if that Diaz/Kutcher film actually beat Speed Racer :/
 
Fixed2BeBroken said:
I honestly cant believe I am seeing so much hate for it on GAF though...its like the last place Id expect to hate this movie.
Click to expand...

I feel the opposite, I'm pleased to see how many people on here liked it :lol
 
...I just got back from this with my son who has been hyped to high heaven for the past two months:

we ADORED this movie and it was everything we hoped it would be

...and it really is quite sad seeing the "maintstream critics" reactions to it......I mean shit, they just completely miss the whole fucking point

IGN for once is right on the money

IGN said:
Overall, this anime adaptation is not merely the best film that it could be, it's pretty much exactly what it should be: full of exciting, brilliantly-conceived races, primary-color characterizations and an irresistible sense of fun. Loud, fast and always in danger of veering out of control, Speed Racer is a masterpiece of its kind, and a definitive benchmark for film not only as a special effects extravaganza but as the moment when the Wachowskis went from wunderkind directors to true auteurs. In other words, as a summer distraction, a singular work of art or just as sensory overload, Speed Racer is a movie you absolutely must see.
Click to expand...

....though to be fair, my son and I are fans of the original Anime
 
7Th said:
I don't really get why people are trying to turn this into a "love it or hate it" kind of flick, I had some pretty solid fun despite not falling madly for it.
Click to expand...

I fall into the like category. But while it may not be love it or hate it, it is at least love it, like it, or despise it with the very core of your being.
 
I don't hate it either. In fact, I don't think anyone who has actually watched it really hates it much. I just find it funny that people that LOVE the movie are so surprised or butthurt that it's bombing so badly or that the reviews are so bad. It seems pretty obvious why to me.
 
We should forward this thread to the mainstream media, so they can explain themselves.
 
duckroll said:
I don't hate it either. In fact, I don't think anyone who has actually watched it really hates it much. I just find it funny that people that LOVE the movie are so surprised or butthurt that it's bombing so badly or that the reviews are so bad. It seems pretty obvious why to me.
Click to expand...

No, I loathed it. It was abysmal. That fucking monkey, and everything that wasn't a race was embarrassing.
 
i hope some word of mouth gets around and people who dont feel like seeing an epic movie (Prince Caspian) give it a chance next weekend. im going to recommend it to friends who have grown tired of the epic fantasy movie genre.

as i said before, i believe part of the reason this movie didnt do as well as expected is because it came out right after iron man.

WB should have release it in april when there was no comp or the beginning of june after Crystal Skull came out.

oh well, as long as the blu ray comes out this year ill be happy.
 
Riskbreaker23 said:
i hope some word of mouth gets around and people who dont feel like seeing an epic movie (Prince Caspian) give it a chance next weekend. im going to recommend it to friends who have grown tired of the epic fantasy movie genre.

as i said before, i believe part of the reason this movie didnt do as well as expected is because it came out right after iron man.

WB should have release it in april when there was no comp or the beginning of june after Crystal Skull came out.

oh well, as long as the blu ray comes out this year ill be happy.
Click to expand...
To be fair, I doubt WB expected Iron Man to be anything more than decent to mediocre going by the usual B grade Marvel movie fare (ghost rider, daredevil, fantastic four, etc).
 
I think I'll skip this one and wait for the next great racing film...
The Fast and the Furious 4. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are back, don't deny that you want to see it.
 
Despite the ratings Speed Racer looks like a movie I might take my nephew to watch if I have time (the last movies I've taken him to watch were also car movies, such as FF3:Tokyo Drift and Transformers).
 
It's a saturday-morning cartoon adaptation that actually stays true to the source material: ridiculous plot, cartoon villains, random diversions from the storyline into ninja attacks, frenetic pacing, primary colors, dialogue in front of kinetic abstract backgrounds, and so forth. More than any other film I can think of it's a live-action cartoon.

Bravo to the filmmakers for attempting to re-create the source material for the cinema rather than re-inventing it. Somehow they (mostly) succeeded by tossing the last ten years of Hollywood's signature approach to comic and anime source material right out the window. It's fitting that the directors of this film created the Matrix, among the most influential films in shaping the style of today's "geek" adventure movies.

They helped create the current blockbuster fad and now they're trying to kill it. Good for them.
 
Evlar said:
It's a saturday-morning cartoon adaptation that actually stays true to the source material: ridiculous plot, cartoon villains, random diversions from the storyline into ninja attacks, frenetic pacing, primary colors, dialogue in front of kinetic abstract backgrounds, and so forth. More than any other film I can think of it's a live-action cartoon.

Bravo to the filmmakers for attempting to re-create the source material for the cinema rather than re-inventing it. Somehow they (mostly) succeeded by tossing the last ten years of Hollywood's signature approach to comic and anime source material right out the window. It's fitting that the directors of this film created the Matrix, among the most influential films in shaping the style of today's "geek" adventure movies.

They helped create the current blockbuster fad and now they're trying to kill it. Good for them.
Click to expand...

I'm actually glad Speed Racer turned out the way it did and looks it way it does. I mean years ago when it was just a rumor I had pictured in my mind a terrible fast and furious like stupid racing movie. Since F&F was all the rage back then.
 
I really liked it. Like others have said, it was extremely faithful to the original cartoon. Besides that, the way it was film was crazy and awesome. The little kid did bug more than he should of, but that and the runtime are my only big problems with it.
 
The movie was fucking trash. I saw it for free and felt ripped off.

First off, the graphics. I don't care if they were going for a stylized look or whatever. It looked WAY too fake and didn't mesh at all with the live action. The acting itself was horrid, as was the plot. I'll be perfectly honest, I felt embarrassed just sitting there.

Considered walking out halfway through but stuck through to the end. Easily the worst movie I've seen this year.
 
just got back, thought it was great. the beginning was slow by the middle i was like ok this is decent at least. I thought it was over after the rally but the finale just pushed it over the top. AMAZING. The visuals were insane.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Ken Burns’ American Revolution hits this year
14
302
EverydayBeast replied
TMNT the movie released 35 years ago today!
2
51
2K
T8SC replied
Jurassic World: Rebirth Review Thread
2 3
113
956
Ristifer replied
First look at DCU’s Lanterns on HBO MAX
2
51
2K
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt replied
Japan breaks internet speed record with mind-blowing 1.02 petabits per second
32
94
Reizo Ryuu replied
Top Bottom