Film: Speed Racer

The Wachowski Brothers do their awesome thing with the classic Anime. For over two hours we follow Speed (yes, that is his name) as he climbs the ranks in professional car racing, while discovering the shady world of race fixing as he does so.

The first thing to really hit you are the visuals. Almost fantasy-like, you can see what they were trying to do with the use of bright colours and cartoon backgrounds. The acting wasn't all that in itself, but the cast should noted for making such good use of the virtual stage. That said, Paulie Litt as Spritle was an amazing young actor and I thought Christina Ricci's Trixie was utterly gorgeous (which in itself is scary).

Fast and frantic, we were spoiled by the action. Unlike other films Speed Racer isn't stingy and has a number of equally impressive set pieces, some too fast to register properly - in a way that makes it very Matrix-like in structure. It's also similar to The Wachowski Brothers' masterpiece in other ways too, particularly with its blink-and-you'll-miss-it plot.

Needless to say, I loved Speed Racer. It was a pleasant surprise from the identikit and sometimes shallow action flick of today, and I can't wait to revisit it at home with a pause button. Until then I recommend that you all watch it as soon as possible.