Speed Racer (2008)
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An ambitious young racer must navigate corporate corruption and a mysterious masked ally to protect his family's legacy.
The story
Speed Racer is a young man passionate about automobile racing. His parents, Pops and Mom, run Racer Motors, which involves his brother Spritle, their pet chimpanzee Chim Chim, mechanic Sparky, and his girlfriend Trixie. He also idolizes his late older brother Rex, who was killed racing in the Casa Cristo 5000, a deadly cross-country rally. Now starting his own career, Speed is rapidly gaining fame with his brother's Mach 5 and his own T-180 car, the Mach 6, while focusing on racing and family. One day, E.P. Arnold Royalton, CEO of Royalton Industries, offers Speed a luxurious lifestyle in exchange for racing with him; Speed declines due to his father's distrust of corporations.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After Speed refuses a lucrative offer from the corrupt E.P. Arnold Royalton, Royalton retaliates by sabotaging Speed's car and suing his family's company. To fight back, Speed teams up with Inspector Detector and a mysterious, masked racer known as Racer X to compete in the Casa Cristo 5000. During the race, Speed discovers that Racer X might be his long-lost brother, Rex. Although the race is fraught with peril and sabotage from corporate interests, Speed eventually triumphs and exposes Royalton's crimes. In a final twist, it is revealed that Rex faked his death and underwent plastic surgery to protect Speed, choosing to remain in disguise to keep his brother safe. The film concludes with the Racer family united and the corporate villains imprisoned.
- First release year
- 2008
- Runtime (minutes)
- 135
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- The Wachowskis
- Writers
- The Wachowskis · writer
- Cast and characters
- Emile Hirsch · Speed Racer; Christina Ricci · Trixie; John Goodman · Pops Racer; Susan Sarandon · Mom Racer; Matthew Fox · Racer X / Rex Racer; Benno Fürmann · Inspector Detector; Hiroyuki Sanada · Mr. Musha; Rain · Taejo Togokahn; Richard Roundtree · Ben Burns
- Genres
- sports; action; comedy
- Themes
- family loyalty; anti-capitalism
- Tone and mood
- avant-garde; pop-art; experimental
- Premise and plot tags
- racing; corporate conspiracy; identity mystery
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1966 manga series by Tatsuo Yoshida
- Franchise connections
- Speed Racer
- Content notes
- animal cruelty
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure, though it later gained a strong cult following among filmmakers and audiences.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 42% · scale: percentage · review count: 219; Metacritic · score: 37 · scale: 100 · review count: 37
- Awards and nominations
- Teen Choice Awards · Movie: Action Adventure · 2008 · nomination; Teen Choice Awards · Movie Actor: Action Adventure · 2008 · nomination; Teen Choice Awards · Movie Actress: Action Adventure · 2008 · nomination; Golden Trailer Awards · Summer 2008 Blockbuster · 2008 · nomination; MTV Movie Award · Best Summer Movie So Far · 2008 · nomination; Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Award · Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects and Foley in a Feature Film · 2008 · nomination; Visual Effects Society Awards · Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture · 2008 · nomination; Golden Raspberry Awards · Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel · 2008 · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was shot entirely against a green screen in Berlin.; The film was based on a 1966 manga series.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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