On "Speed Racer"

From The Dispatch:

The film is best known, and most distinguished, by its flashy, cartoon-like visuals, which are both stunning and maddening. Sometimes it looks like a run-of-the-mill video game, at other times it's breathtaking. It's that kind of inconsistency that plagues "Speed Racer" in nearly every aspect. It jumps from manic silliness to some exciting action scenes to headache-inducing video-game special effects to moments that border on moving - it was up and down, and I was in and out the whole time, sometimes hating it, sometimes actually getting into it and going with the flow. It has a schizophrenic nature that prevents it from adding up to a satisfying whole. Add that to an aimless subplot about Speed's older brother who was killed in a racing accident when Speed was just a child that doesn't really work, and you have a film that is an uneven experience at best. The Wachowskis simply bit off more than they can chew and made a film that is about 30 minutes too long, and a little too busy, for its own good.

Click here to read my full review.