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Perhaps I'm in the "company of old men" (I'm 37) but I have zero desire to see this. I almost get dizzy watching a 30-second spot on TV for this! I can't imagine not getting dizzy watching this on a six-story high screen for 135 minutes. Blech! (Bring on Indy already!!)

dp -- c'mon, it IS too long....and, it has nothing to do with my age... i was ok with the 'loud', the 'fast' and the 'colors' but no one i spoke to after the screening failed to mention the length (and that includes the kids of friends)......
i was at the same early screening you were (at the steve ross)....by midpoint, there was practically no juice left in that audience and at the end of what most hoped would be the final race (alas) ONE tiny little voice in the back of the theater halfheartedly said, 'yea'...it was laughable.....and did you notice the faces of people as they walked to their cars?...or overhear any conversations?...not a lot of happy campers.....
i certainly didn't hate 'speed racer' and i truly admired the visuals but i sure didn't think it was a very good movie....for any age audience...
that said, joel silver assures the dvd will be out in time to sell more hd-tvs than any other holiday season ever.......

I agree completely that it's 10 minutes too long.

And yeah, I heard a lot of conversations. Including with the 11 yr old I was with who is still talking about it.

But your point is not the one I am speaking to here. Like you say, you didn't much like the movie. But you aren't whining about it like so many critics I've heard and read today.

He doesn't count as a cranky old man, but Armond is dropping another bomb:

"Has TV won? Speed Racer kills cinema with its over-reliance on the latest special effects, flattening drama and comedy into stiff dialogue and blurry action sequences."

Not saying I agree, just pointing it out. In the same piece, his Iron Man review seems to be missing a paragraph or two.

Ding Dong, the cinema is dead.

Warner Bros. is honestly the only studio with a pulse this season, everything else is looking refried.

i do believe that paramount stands to trump wb this season....jus' sayin'.....

Again, can't wait to see this tomorrow on the IMAX. Based on the strangely negative reviews, I want to see it even more.

So Hulk (2003) doesn't suck, the haters are just too young for it, and Speed Racer (2008) doesn't suck, the haters are just too old for it. (Won't see Speed until tomorrow afternoon, with the family -- it's the one movie we've been anticipating most).

I'm sure kids will enjoy this, and its overwhelming earnestness might appeal to some adults and geeks.

But, man, the teenagers... the teenagers are going to be relentless with this, if those first seven minutes available online are any indication. I watched that clip, and just cringed imaginaning the typical Valley Friday-night multiplex crowd of boisterous multiculti kids balking, swearing, and mocking, starting roughly from the point where the younger version of Hirsch starts imagining himself admidst the cartoon cars. I could picture the text screens popping up and derisive laughter and profanity starting right then and there.

Poland defends the childish love of eating cotton candy at the circus.

Sorry, not for me.

Wow, that was the crankiest old-man thing I've read all day. And I consider myself a very cranky person.

I hope this movie becomes a surprise hit like Alvin and the Chipmunks. I didn't see that movie, but it got so many people on the message board I frequent to say such things like "I can't believe this is making more money than There Will Be Blood!" Comedy gold right there.

OK, David, as they say on Law & Order: You left the door open for this line of questioning. How old are you?

Brack: that's some good shit right there.

DP is 100% right here and it's just going to take a little time for people to realize that.

I'm 43, Joe. Not a secret.

I think Speed Racer will be fortunate to get to $130m domestic... there's too much competition coming for it to be leggy, even for little kids. Narnia is a problem.

But it could do double that overseas.

Of course, Joe, the "old man" idea has nothing to do with age.

I know old men who are 20 and young ones who are 80. Spent some time with Surfwise's Doc Paskowitz the other day... and he is younger than some of his kids though he's in his 80s.

Wow, yeah... Overseas. I just... Totally forgot to even take into account Speed Racer's overseas potential. Which may prove to be some of the most interesting Box Office data this year.

IMAX tonight.

I've also been rewatching the original SPEED RACER cartoons -- and I think they are still very innovative and stylish for a daily show.

Compared to The Flintstones, Looney Toones and Scooby-Doo at the time-- SPEED RACER really stood out. There was just no other cartoon show like it in style, attitude and execution.

Just look at the first shot of the first episode -- the camera starts low on the tire, then lifts into the air in a single shot/take. Or the "bullet time" camera movement on Speed in the opening credits. Plenty of POV angles, low road shots, high above shots -- etc. It's practically a film grammer school in cartoon form. If you took an episode and shot it on film -- shot for shot -- it would still be pretty stylish for television.

I think what the creators did what they had to work with was pretty amazing and groundbreaking. The episodes, which I haven't seen since the '70's, have completly re-captivated my interest in this series. With the knowledge of camera angles and editing I have today -- I now see I was being educated in film grammer at a young age without ever realizing it.

I think what Dave is saying is more in line with how all the bitching and "criticism" sounds the same coupled with the old "if it's too loud, you're too old."

I mean, sure./ Maybe it is too long/too loud too whatever. But when all the "critical" voices sound the same, what's the point?

I don't think this could happen but... Is it at all possible that Speed Racer might come in third this weekend?

Modernknife, you nailed it. When I hear people complain about how cheesy the original was, they have no idea what kind of Hanna Barbara ghetto us kids were in. SR captivated me with its pure cinematic style and yes, the first use of "bullet time" effect. That's why this film is going to do great. Who cares if smug texting teens don't like it? It's made for 10 year olds, not 18 year olds nor cynics.

This inexplicable situation reminds me of last November, when Beowulf was released. If you recall, many critics who gave mixed to negative reviews to Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf seemed overwhelmed by the visuals to the extent that they couldn't or wouldn't acknowledge that there was actually a story and characters involved in the animated carnage. Even many of the positive reviews seemed to concentrate only on the spectacle. Whether it made critics feel cool to feign moral superiority to shout to the heavens that this film was all style and no substance, or they just didn't have the ability to multi-task, they seemed to ignore the very movie they were sent to review.

They didn't notice a relatively compelling and emotionally potent story, which used the original epic poem as a blueprint for a sober, meditative story about the myth of heroism (granted, the story eventually came to resemble the King Arthur legend more than the original bare-bones poem). They didn't notice that the film was not non-stop action, but rather had a handful of action set-pieces that were supported by real actors doing real acting (John Malkovich and Anthony Hopkins gave their best performances in years). In essence, it was a real movie of real quality that happened to be delivered in a visually groundbreaking way.

We now have the same pattern in the negative Speed Racer reviews (as well as some of the positive ones). "There's no story!" "The characters are non-existent!" "It's non-stop racing!" Yes, the movie is a visual marvel and it's easy to just drink in the picture show. But the visuals only work because of a strong story and sympathetic characters that surround them.

Again and again, critics carp that too many blockbusters are all about the CGI or the action set-pieces. Yet, twice now, we've have visually groundbreaking adventure films that actually have the gall to at least try to be good movies, and the critics at large seem determined to ignore everything but the very flash and dazzle that they then decry.

Ironically, when Beowulf came out on DVD, many critics seemed to react in shock at discovering the very things that they ignored or missed in the theatrical experience. "Oh wow, on this second viewing, I noticed the story and the characters!" This also happened during the respective theatrical and DVD release of the first Matrix.

But being overwhelmed by the theatrical experience, be it in regular theaters or IMAX, is no excuse. Critics are supposed to be able to see the forest for the trees. It's one thing to not like the characters or not care for the story, it is another thing to ignore them and then criticize their absence. If they can't even be bothered to pay attention to the elements of the movie that they are reviewing, then they have no business being critics.

Scott Mendelson
http://scottalanmendelson.blogspot.com/

ps - how does one fix their TypeKey account so that the Posted by displays my name and also links to my page? I don't like cheaply posting that link below my name either. Thanks. (JckNapier@Gmail.com)

It didn't work for you, Scott?

Oh, I am a complete idiot. I just noticed what you were talking about. I guess having kids does make you stupider. I thought you meant the URL in the TypeKey home profile page, of which there was none. Thanks for your help, Jeff, and may I never have to copy and paste the address again! Let's see if this works...

Scott Mendelson

I agree David, it's definitely not a movie for people with an old fuddy duddy attitude. It's solid entertainment, and some absolutely spectacular visuals. It's a shame critics seem to have completely ignored the story, which wasn't original by any means, but was handled well and believably enough.

SPEED RACER is a work of pop art. I had a rocket blast from the opening swirll to the final chord of music over the logo at the end. So much thought and creativity in this blender. Plenty of choice selections and moments for fans of the original show.
Spritle and Chim Chim popping out of the trunk to save the day? Big smile. If it wan't in the film, I would have been disappointed.

Plus what a great gift to see and HEAR Peter Fernandez at the opening race. Yes you DID know Rex Racer!

Can't really believe all the negative feedback -- but then again, remind me why mainstream critics really matter?

The battle between content vs. technique found some new notes of visual grammar in this one. The opening 15 minutes, whizzing in and out of characters I felt really took the idea of "vertical editing" (or the idea of cutting away to an interior thought) took the next step. Almost blending the same kind of funky fad spirit of split-screens from the late 60's into a new 21st century cinema language. I haven't seen transitions this fresh and exciting since Russell Mulchay's original HIGHLANDER.

Love the colors too.

One (call it fanboy) nitpick -- I wish Chim Chim would have gotten the same "origin story background" treatment. While watching the film, my mind raced to the thought of young Rex Racer winning Chim Chim in a race/fight (kinda like Philo Beddoe) and Pops yelling when he finds out -- until he discovers how useful Chim Chim is with fetching tools. It was just so refreshing to see a real monkey on screen in the role. But I was always curious how he got into the family.

I'm keeping my hopes up for foreign -- cause I really want to see the sequel where Speed and Rex take on the CAR ACROBATIC TEAM. Go Speed Go!

My major gripe was the heads floating back and forth, in and out became unbearable. By the end, I wanted to see action not manipulated by wipes. It's some kind of pop masterwork, but a flawed one.

Still, for critics to bash this and let crap like SHREK, MADAGASCAR, etc slide through unscathed makes no sense. At least the Wachowski's are striving for something new. I think some critics are mad the film dares take itself seriously and doesn't nudge-nudge-wink you to death.

It's for KIDS!

You mean Speed Racer isn't a hyprocritical oaf of a movie that will be unfunny in five years because it's filled to the brim with stupid pop culture jokes? Why, never...

Joe, I don't think the What Happens in Vegas crowd is going to be big enough to make it #2. Surely. I'd be repulsed if it were.

On the Domestic/International issue, remember how the argument raised last year about how Ratatouille was the worst performing Pixar film since "whatever it was" but then, thanks to international, went on to become one of the most successful. Yeah...

Yeah, but "Rat" at made $200m domestically, nothing to sneeze at.

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