You can now watch the first seven minutes of Speed Racer in High Definition over on Yahoo! Movies.
Speed Racer is sure to polarize audiences. I saw the film with a group of five people, and the resulting opinions were across the board. One of the guys expected to hate it and ended up loving it. And for another one of my friends, it was the complete opposite. Speaking for myself, I was expecting very little going into the screening, and I had a lot more fun than I ever could have expected. The Wachowski Brothers have created a live action anime that is bright, and sometimes visually assaulting. A nudge over two hours, you will leave the theater extremely exhausted from ADD overload. The Wachowski Brothers have created a film unlike anything that has ever been seen before. You have to respect this film from a pure filmmaking perspective. I would even go as far as saying that Speed Racer is a great movie. But at the end of the day, it’s still just a great movie about Speed Racer. And yes, it could have been 25 minutes shorter.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I’m in.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I have to say you do make this sound more appealing. Not because it’s you, but because you seemed to have described what I sort of saw in the trailers. And I could see what the W. Brothers are trying to do with this chosen style of film.
I’m still on the fence about it, but it doesn’t sound as bad as some have sad I guess.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
@Peter
If I’ve loved all the trailers do I stand a pretty good chance of liking the movie?
May 8th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
it’s a tough job the wachowski bro’s have, as every film they put out is expected to be unlike anything we have ever seen - mostly because they choose to make those types of movies. i’m excited to hear that this is that type of film. i think im in the same boat as peter, not excited or expecting much, but looking forward to seeing something i have never seen before.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
If you were excited from the trailers, the only warning I need to give you is that the story is very thin, even for a family film. You’ve been warned. Expect pure spectacle, and you might have fun.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Thanks Peter. I’d really love for the Wachowski’s to get back to their roots and make deep, meaningful films like the original Matrix. I really loved the dimensions of philosophy, religion, technology, etc. that it had.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Wow.. This movie looks horrible.. and the CGI is sooo shitty.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I still have mixed feelings about this movie. I like the artistic style that the movie’s going for, but there’s still a missing element. Then again, I can’t judge from 7 minutes worth of footage.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Jeremy,
While I loved The Matrix movie and the horrible sequels don’t exist to me. Those films are far from being “deep”.
But I would love for the W. brothers to get behind the camera like this and try to do new inventive work.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
sounds like desperation on WB’s part
May 8th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Allynd Dudnikov
Sorry, but you’re an idiot. First of all, Digital Domain did the visual effects, one of the top CGI companies out there. So shut your mouth.
Second of all, it’s supposed to have a cartoony look on purpose, it’s a LIVE ACTION ANIME.
Thick headed much?
May 8th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
just saw the clip, looks pretty sweet. I love Giachhino’s score.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
hated all three Matrix films, i’m sure this one will be just as bad. too much CGI, not enough story.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Saw the movie Tuesday night at a special preview. I went in with low expectations. I’m not a Speed Racer fan, but my wife and I had a lot of fun watching it.
The effects and editing are nothing short of revolutionary. I don’t want to see a lot of movies try this approach (calling it A.D.D. is an understatement), but the W-bros got this one right. Story-wise the setup is spectacular, the middle could use some trimming, and the end was satisfying. I loved the Matrix and hated the bloated sequels. Speed Racer, by comparison, is all fun.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I don’t know why everyone is bashing this movie. I understand, the very first glimpse of Speed Racer that we saw wasn’t that great. We all thought it was a shitty CGI sandwich. And then the second trailer came out and it was amazing. Everyone is stuck on the first trailer. Why? I don’t know about you all, but that first 7 minutes pretty fucking awesome. The colors are ridiculously vibrant and a lot of it looked straight out of the cartoon.
Whatever Matrix drama everyone is in, why don’t we just wait until tonight to really judge this whole situation.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I had no expectations whatsoever and after seeing
that 7 minute clip I must so it doesn’t seem so bad.
I’m shocked because I absolutely hated every trailer
I’ve seen for this thus far. I’m not a fan but I’ll have
to see this . . . on DVD.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I will check this out at the busget theater.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I’m watching this tomorrow.
@ Peter, sounds to me like you enjoyed it but you don’t feel confortable admitting it.
Makes me wonder if films like Tron, and The Wizard of Oz were released in this time and day how everyone woiuld just be talking about how stupid it looks and how they think it looks fake.
Learn to let go you stupid mouth breathers.
Sheesh
May 8th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I saw the movie yesterday, and i must say i was really surprised. I think that critics are being too harsh on it. It’s not brilliant or a masterpiece, but it’s definitely got something that amazes me. I’ll see it again i must say, and i really liked the visual aspect of it. The Wachowski definitely made it their own.
And as you’ve said, some people will HATE IT and others will LOVE IT. I liked it xD GO Speed Racer GO!
pd: the song may be awful, but it’s too catchy :S i have it playing over and over again on my head U.U
May 8th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
yeah. Some people don’t need all that visual onslaught I bet, some have waited for it. It’s all good.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Jeezus: No, I fully admit, I had a lot of fun with the movie, but to compare it to Tron or Wizard of Oz is ridiculous. This film is all style no substance. Don’t get me wrong, the style of this film is amazing at times, and more than keeps your attention. It’s worth-seeing purely on a spectacle level. But the story is very weak, and the two plus hour running time feels long, and I love long movies.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
well I figured that much. There wasn’t too much to the plot of the cartoon either.
May 8th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
How can anybody say this movie’s effects/CGI looks bad? Just from the trailers and this clip, it seems pretty f’in amazing. It may not be your cup of tea when it comes to effects, but the workhere seems to be undeniably perfect.
Like a lot of people have said already, i’m impressed with this world they’ve created. It doesn’t look like anything i’ve seen before, and that in itself is something to applaud.
May 8th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Face it… There a very few films worth seeing in the theater anymore. Whether its a good or bad film…. I think it looks worth making the decision in a big screen theater. I mean lets face it. Other than a video game, we’ve never seen anything like this film before… I think that justifies buying a ticket. So its a 2 hour+ roller coaster ride…. I’d rather find out that I think this film is awesome now, then in 6 months when its only available on Blu-ray. Personally, I don’t think the W.Bros make bad films..just bad sequels. Anyways.. Isn’t this Larry’s first Post op directorial debut? thats worth seeing it alone.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
In the future I’ll be able to say.. I hated it on the big screen.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I am really trying hard not to watch this 7-minute clip since I’m going to theater by midnight 2night… Just can’t wait
and to all non-sayers, seriously, what do you expect?? you wanna see a freakin’ NASCAR race with the same boring-ass tracks??
May 8th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I think that what they have done is looking really good. I saw a clip somewhere yesterday that detailed the way they were compositing the scenes together. A lot of work and vision involved and I think the time spent is showing up on screen. New, creative, and cool.
The Giacchino score is a bonus.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
smart idea putting up these 7 minutes: i wasn’t going to see this at all, now i’m going 2morow afternoon.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Yes I agree it was a good idea to put the 7 minutes online. I would never go see it if it weren’t for that. But the IMAX is unappealing. Unless its in 3D, there isn’t any point in seeing a movie like that in IMAX. Same goes for I Am Legend…
May 8th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Just got back from the theater and I loved it. As a fun, family oriented fim, you can’t really do much better, especially with summer approaching. Visually it’s amazing, and the “talking head” shots that constantly buzz through the movie are sure to be ripped off by other films in the future. I’d even go as far as saying I liked it more than Iron Man.
May 9th, 2008 at 8:40 am
What’s so ground breaking and artistic about this? It looks like Spy Kids 3. And that kid has got to be the worst child actor since the dread Jake Lloyd. Why are people bending over backwards to defend this while obviously not enjoying it that much - nobody wants to miss the Van Gogh boat I guess.
May 9th, 2008 at 8:44 am
The parallels to TRON people keep making are weak. TRON took place inside a computer so there is a logical reason that is organic to the story for it to look synthetic. What’s this movies excuse, we could so we did?
May 9th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I can’t wait to see this movie…
As much as it sucks paying for a ticket at a pricey theater, I think that’s going to be the way to go…
It doesn’t look like a smaller screen or dvd/blu-ray can do this much eye-candy justice!
May 9th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I watched it last night at midnight, and maaan , did it deliver
true, the story is paper thin and corny, but for the context it was actually pretty well done. I personally hated all these critter sidekicks back in all the toons, but this movie actually made me like the chimp!!!!
Everything has already been said about the stunning visuals… but like the movie breaks almost every rule in film making text book (regarding time and shot selection) and this is not just “because we can do it”, but it all makes sense in the context
again, it’s a totally love it/hate it movie
but I dare to say I liked it way more than Iron man and I absolutely would go watch it again one more time. At least this movie is trying something new…
ps. this is NOT PG… some sequences are way more intense than a kid can handle
ps2. this is the only movie in my book that should be watched frame by frame