Go, "Speed Racer," Go! -Thaddeus

I've pretty much given up on anime.

It was once a fairly prolific interest of mine, and I still have my favorites, but the fan culture -- heavily populated by yapping loons who tout any ol' thing made on the islands of Japan a "must see" -- has pushed me out beyond the edge and into impossibly deep caverns of disinterest.

And even before that, I never cared much for "Speed Racer."

With all that understood, I'm going to tell you right now that, if you have any joy in your heart (or a combination of ADD and adrenaline addiction), it would be criminal to miss out on what turns out to be a fun-filled, and possible seizure-inducing, ride.

Somehow, the Wachowski Bros. -- the (in)famous minds behind "The Matrix" trilogy -- took what I mark as the seminal nonsensical anime and forged it into an engaging and vibrant visual entertainment explosion.

The world is unabashedly animated, brightly colored and smooth-edged. And, in keeping with the anime atmosphere, the character interactions are largely melodramatic -- especially when the blatantly cartoony villains are anywhere near the scene. Yet somehow, the Racer family dynamic manages to feel quite genuine, thanks in no small part to the casting of Susan Sarandon and John Goodman as Mom and Pops Racer.

This movie is packed with fun characters. There's definite chemistry between Emile Hirsch (as the eponymous hero, Speed Racer) and Christina Ricci (Speed's girlfriend, Trixie). Paulie Litt runs amok through much of the movie as Speed's younger brother, Spritle, with his pet chimp, Chim Chim, in tow. And finally there's Matthew Fox as Racer X, who has all the badassitude of a racecar-driving Batman.

"Speed Racer" is downright daring in its cinematography. Motion line backdrops with spinning or sliding closeups in the foreground and all sorts of flashy cuts and transitions pay homage to the anime roots in a surprisingly successful way. I found the whole enterprise much easier to swallow than the similarly referential comic book paneling of Ang Lee's "Hulk," which is the only thing I could come up with as a comparison.

The races themselves are unbelievable in the best possible way. Even from the earliest trailers, I was reminded of the crazy-fast, futuristic rallies of "F-Zero GX" for the Gamecube, with the twisting tracks over neon backdrops. The cars are constantly jumping and flipping over one another, yet I never found myself bored with the effect -- high-speed car jumps are, apparently, always cool.

There were also ninjas and gangsters.

And since I tend to balk at using simple numbers to represent something as complex as my interpretation of a piece of quality entertainment, I will now do whatever the hell I want until somebody manages to stop me.

So, yeah... I found myself making this face a lot:



Bottom Line: if you're looking for an lovingly-crafted, live-action cartoon adventure... look no further than "Speed Racer."

-Thad out.