Speed Racer

At the IMAX theatre on Navy Pier, Chicago. Cost: $15

WOW! Maybe it was the 80ft screen, maybe it was the superb surround sound, but WOW! That was some film!

It is visually stunning. I thought that Sin City had pushed the boundaries and blurred the lines between genres, but this is something else. I don't know how quite to some it up. How about technopsychadelic?!

It looks like a cartoon or a CGI movie, but it has the feel of live action, if that makes sense? It has a glossy sheen and vibrant colours that I assume mirror the cartoon on which it is based. I have very vague recollections of the cartoon; only a few signature moves and his outfits ring any bells with me...oh, and the monkey.

To match the look and feel there is a story adequate enough to engross you and it has an unrelenting pace that belies it's 135 minute running time.

I don't know if this is typical of American audiences, but the whoop and holler a bit and there was a round of applause at the end. It is also reassuring to know that even in other countries, nay continents, I still get stuck behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar or Sideshow Bob - this time it was the latter.

The cast were excellent. Emile Hirsch reminds me of a young Ewan McGregor. Christina Ricci looked amazing and wasn't in it enough for me. Susan Sarandon seemed to be attempting to get her bosom into every shot - no complaints there. Even the kid wasn't too annoying. My only reservation John Goodman as Pops. His presence served to remind me of another cartoon / live action movie, The Flintstones, but maybe there are only a few big fat American actors about. Actually, I have another reservation, but it's more of a personal one; I don't like seeing monkeys in human clothes. Perhaps it's due to those PG Tips adverts when I was a kid.

A final word then, or four: GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

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