I was never a big fan of Speed Racer growing up.  Looking back, I can probably connect that to the fact that I’ve never liked Anime.  Having said that, I’ve seen at least of couple of episodes and know the theme song by heart, which was enough to qualify me to see the big screen version of Speed Racer.

The Racer family revolves around racing.  Pops Racer designs and builds the cars.  Rex Racer, (Speed’s older brother), races them, and young Speed idolizes his older brother and is totally preoccupied with racing.   When Rex is killed in a cross country rally, the Racer family almost falls apart.  But they pull it together and Speed grows up and fills his brothers shoes as the racing Racer of the family.

When an evil racing sponsor offers the Racers the opportunity of a lifetime and Speed turns him down, we are introduced to the seedy underbelly of the racing world.  Races are fixed and racers are eliminated all in the name of big business.  The mysterious Racer X is waging a one-man war against the racing bosses and recruits Speed to help.  Which brings us to two thrilling race sequences - the earlier mentioned cross country rally that killed Speed’s brother and the Grand Prix.  Will the good guys defeat the racing profiteers?  Will Speed win the ultimate race?  You’ll have to see the movie to find out.

I was excited to be able to take my two boys, (ages 6 and 8), to see Speed Racer since it is rated PG, (unlike most of the summer fare which is PG-13), and they loved it.  My six-year-old wanted to see it again as we were leaving the theater.  Aside from some minor foul language, a middle finger, and some possibly scary situations for really young kids, the movie is a winner in the family feature genre.

Directed by the Wachowski brothers, (the Matrix), the film has a truly unique look and feel to it - one that may not work for all viewers, but I found it very cool to watch.  The racing scenes are thrilling, and you want to stand up and cheer for Speed in the final race.  The fight scenes are fun to watch, but you really need to suspend your disbelief before walking into the theater.

The ensemble cast helps make the movie work so well, with John Goodman and Susan Sarandon and Pops and Mrs. Racer.  Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights) plays Rex, LOST’s Matthew Fox is Racer X, Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow) plays Trixie and Emile Hirsch is Speed.  Comic relief is provided by Paulie Litt as Speed’s younger brother Spritle and his simian companion, Chim Chim.

Speed Racer has humor, drama, action and, of course lots of racing.  It’s a fun, family film that mom and dad should like just as much as the kids do, which is a rare thing, and it gets a solid B rating from me.

If Iron Man is any indication, this summer could be one of the best ever for movie buffs. The first movie of the summer tends to set the tone, and Iron Man has stormed out of the gates, earning rave reviews from both fans and critics, and washing the bad taste of last summer’s big May movie, Spider-Man 3, out of all of our mouths.

Iron Man is a Marvel comic book character that made his debut in 1963. The character is still alive and kicking in the comic book world, most recently as a central figure in Marvel’s Civil War mini series, as a member of the Mighty Avengers, and in two of his own monthly comic books.

Comic book fans have been anxiously awaiting the Iron Man movie ever since the cast was announced, and, especially after some footage was screened at the 2007 San Diego Comic Con. Well, the wait is over, and the movie is absolutely worth the wait!

Robert Downey, Jr., plays Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist who has made a fortune developing weapons for the US government. He lives a lavish playboy lifestyle, with a scotch in one hand and a super model at his side. While in the Middle East for a weapons demo for the US government, his convoy is attacked and he is taken prisoner by bad guys using his company’s weapons. The bombing results in shrapnel slowly destroying his heart, so another captive, (a scientist/surgeon no less), hooks him up to a car battery and creates an electro-magnet to keep the pieces from killing him. Stark’s captors want him to build missiles for them, but he has other plans.

Long story short, Stark creates a suit of armor that helps him escape. Back in the U.S. and still reeling from the fact that his weapons have fallen into the hands of the enemy, he swears off weapons manufacturing and goes to work on a new suit of armor that will help him defeat the bad guys. Little does he know that the baddest of the bad is one of his closest friends, (see the movie to find out who it is).

Iron Man is one of the best super hero movies ever for a variety of reasons: First, Robert Downey, Jr., was born to play Tony Stark and he steals the film. He brings humor, drama and action to Tony Stark/Iron Man, and makes him a character that the audience can care about and identify with. He is surrounded by an A-list supporting cast, including Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, (Stark’s assistant), Terrence Howard, as his friend, Jim Rhodes, and Jeff Bridges and his mentor, Obediah Stane. All of these actors bring their comic book characters to glorious life on the big screen.

The story is simple, yet compelling, thanks to a great script and dialogue. There are some great moments for comic book fans, but you don’t have to be a fanboy or girl to dig the movie. *Note to comic book fans and regular viewers alike, make sure that you stay in the theater through the end of the credits for a very cool cameo that sets the stage for future Marvel movies.

The special effects are outstanding, most notably the Iron Man armor developed by Stan Winston Studios, (Aliens, Predator, Terminator, Jurassic Park). There is nothing that looks fake or hokey. The action sequences are well done and thrilling.

The one chink in Iron Man’s armor could be the music. The score is cookie-cutter Hans Zimmer fare, similar to what you would hear in many Jerry Bruckheimer films. There really is no Iron Man “theme,” but the score does function fairly well as background music and helps move the action forward.

This is the first movie financed completely by Marvel under their new Marvel Studios division, and it’s a home-run. One of the cool things that this sets up is the possible interaction among different Marvel properties in the same film, since certain characters are in films under the Marvel Studios banner. There are rumors flying that Tony Stark shows up in The Incredible Hulk, (another Marvel Studios film), due in June. And, Marvel announced future Marvel Studios projects this week, including Iron Man 2 and Thor in 2010 and Captain America and an Avengers film in 2011. The future looks bright for Marvel Studios and comic book fans.

Iron Man is rated PG-13 for language and violence and gets a solid “A” rating from me.

Marc Bowker
Sideshow Movie Collectibles