Those who have seen the trailer will know the drill. This is a fast, loud, ruthlessly coloured exercise in pushing CGI to its absolute limit. Combine the superb visuals with a bombastic editing style, aggressive sound design and a rousing score by Lost composer Michael Giacchino, and you have one hell of an assault on the senses. Theirs is a Tarantinoesque world once removed from reality and given a fresh lick of multicoloured paint. The sky is a pure blue with perfectly formed clouds, parks are green and litter free, city skylines glitter with life and promise. It’s a living, breathing cartoon, and a universe of hugely impressive detail. But the throttle can’t hide some of the engine problems. Andy and Larry, though undeniably talented, are seemingly, maddeningly incapable of bringing a film in under two hours. Far too much is going on here, with too many characters involved in too many sub-plots, and the film would have been a far smoother ride without such difficulty trying to keep up. Yet, however overplayed, the good/evil dynamic does work, and provides Speed with the black and white foresight of right and wrong and the film with its moral compass. Love over money, family over greed; they’re not new messages, but at least they’re delivered with conviction. Indeed, there is, rather surprisingly, more to Speed Racer than the spectacle, and much of this has to do with the casting… It’s refreshing to see such solid support from actors brought in and not underused. Parents John Goodman and Susan Sarandon provide convincing character moments and help ground the film in at least some form of reality. Speed’s commitment to his family informs his decision-making, and genuine emotion is summoned when the car is in the garage and the film changes gear. Smart dialogue and clever visual gags break up the action and keep the kids laughing, and even when the over-the-top fight scenes break out into manga sequences inspired by Spirtle’s love of cartoons, the changes work. Though contending with occasionally shallow content, the script provides enough humour, humanity and purring hummers to fit the ‘family film’ quota. And, importantly, a family film is what the Wachowskis have made. Though overlong, confused and weighed down with an overabundance of characters and flashbacks, beyond the sheer velocity of the thing, what really surprises is that there’s actually something going on behind the wheel. It’s encouraging to see that, in a world of extreme Technicolor and fantastical design, the Wachowski Brothers have found some heart. Check out Russell Clark’s review of Speed Racer here.