He doesn't want to work. He just wants to race in his car all day. Speed Racer was born to rev engines and burn lots of rubber. When a corporate bigwig named Mr. Royalton tries to get Speed to race for his corporation, Speed turns him down. A bitter Royalton tarnishes Speed's racing record and the young racer is booted out of the racing association. But then an opportunity arises for Speed to race again and to stick it to Mr. Big Corporation. Speed -- along with the Racer family, galpal Trixie, and the oh so mysterious Racer X --join forces to bring down the sinister forces tampering with the purity of car racing.

The first thing that hit me about this movie was the color. So many pretty colors, bright and vivid and sugary sweet. If you like eye candy "Speed Racer" will give you such an enormous buffet that you'll probably end up with a cavity in your pupil. The cinematic salute to Crayola along with the slick CGI finish gives "Speed Racer" a dazzling real life cartoon look. Then there are the mesmerizing car races. Imagine those insane Hot Wheels tracks brought to full size life with loop de loops, ice caves and gaps in the tracks that cars have to leap over.

As for the cast, I found myself more intrigued by the supporting cast than the star of the show, Emile Hirsch (Speed). Seeing John Goodman (Pops Racer) on screen again was like reuniting with an old friend. He's a seasoned and trusted pro who delivers the drama as well as the laughs and even some action scenes. Welcome back, Dan Conner, welcome back. Susan Sarandon (Mom Racer) is my MILD (Mother I Would Like To Date). Mom Racer is hot. Yes, she's sweet and supportive but Sarandon adds a lot of cinnamon to that apple pie role.

Christina Ricci and the writers are very successful in updating "Trixie" for the 2000's. She's girly but in a sassy and sharp way. Plus, she is no wallflower when it comes to joining in a fight. Ricci works that bob like a pro, too.

Rounding out the cast are the comic duo of Paulie Litt (Spritle) and  chimps Kenzie & Willy (Chim Chim), the boo/hiss inducing Roger Allam (Mr. Royalton), and the ultra-secretive Racer X played by Matthew Fox.

I give a lot of kudos to the Wachowski Brothers for updating and expanding the Speed Racer universe while preserving some of the anime's signature style. However, I do feel the movie was a tad longer than it should've been. I'm usually an advocate for the two hour movie. I say if I'm going to pay $8 bucks I want the whole shebang. Don't make an 80 minute film and then release it on DVD with 20 deleted scenes. I want it all in there from the getgo. But this movie didn't need that much time to introduce the main characters and set up the plot.

One glaring example was a scene where Royalton explains to Speed the ugly business side of car racing. Royalton goes on this spiel about mergers and profit margins and stock trades. While my brain is struggling to comprehend all this, my eyes are looking at the kids in front of me. Had to be from like 6 to 12. I'm wondering if they're understanding what Royalton is saying and if they can understand how this fits into the plot and how it affects Speed's character. It reminded me of that infamous scene between Neo and The Architect from "Matrix Reloaded". I think the filmmakers were trying to please both adult and child audiences but it wasn't a seamless blend. One minute it's a fun family movie, the next it's an intense drama about corporate shenanigans and shady dealings.

Though "Speed Racer" doesn't take the grand prize it's still an entertaining and visually stunning piece of work. While Speed himself is kind of a bore his supporting cast are more than capable of keeping things revved up. And the international flavor is very refreshing, too. It may not be the best blockbuster of the summer but you'll definitely remember it...along with the infectious theme song rebooted by Ali Dee & The Deekompressors.