You know, from the moment I saw the trailer, I thought the Speed Racer movie was in trouble. Much too high-concept, too Joel Shumachery. Would have benefited from simple, straightforward storytelling.
Anyway, the collective verdict is out for Speed Racer, with a bunch of negative key reviews and a 36% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
My favorite review is from Roger Ebert, who concludes:
"Speed Racer" is a manufactured widget, a packaged commodity that capitalizes on an anthropomorphized cartoon of Capitalist Evil in order to sell itself and its ancillary products."
I myself will sadly have to wait until the movie comes out on DVD. Any movie that a reviewer warns "I'm being serious when I caution epileptics to avoid this film" is one that I will probably not see in the movie theater. You know, because of the migraines and vomiting (which brings me back to Batman Forever and Joel Schumacher...)
But hey, maybe the kiddies will like it?
