Speed Racer – Blu-ray Disc Review

September 18, 2008 – 9:51 AM - Posted by: Justin Sluss

Tags: Andy Wachowski, Christina Ricci, Digital Copy, Emile Hirsch, John Goodman, Larry Wachowski, Susan Sarandon, The Wachowski Brothers, Warner

has an average rating of 6.5 on IMDb
1080p in VC-1 on a 25gb disc
Dolby Digital 5.1 @640kbps
are decent with Digital Copy included
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– 2008
– 135 minutes
– Warner
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Overall Verdict – Screams out “Double Dip”

Buy it for $24.95 @ Amazon.com

— Review written by: Justin Sluss & Danielle Byington —

Clip from the bonus materials:

The Movie Itself is written/directed by the brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski and based on the animated series written by Tatsuo Yoshida. The movie revolves around Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch of “Into the Wild“, and “The Girl Next Door“), an exceedingly talented driver, with the support of his family and their own company, Racer Motors. The beginning of the film gives viewers flashback after flashback, to illustrate the history of what the Racer family has been through, and some insight of their values and feelings towards professional racing today. The core of their past concerns Rex (Scott Porter of “Prom Night“, and “Music and Lyrics“), the eldest son who lost his life for his desire to race. Speed had a close relationship with Rex, admiring him in every aspect, and though Speed initially had a deep interest for the sport, it is most likely his brother’s legacy that provokes him to drive.

It is when Speed’s name makes headlines after a win at Thunderhead that the play-dirty E. P. Arnold Royalton (Roger Allam) comes to the family in a gentleman-like act, to win their approval in his proposition to Speed to sign a contract with Royalton Industries. Royalton lures in talented drivers such as Speed with smiles, flashy lifestyle, and dazzling promises; all typical cards he plays to blind the up-and-coming star-racers. Behind the deceit is a world that has no care for true-hearted racers, but instead a world of blackmail, and power-greedy deeds being cast and held over the heads of the drivers, choosing who wins and who loses. Upon this revelation, everything about Rex’s ordeals in the past becomes clear to Speed, and with every cell in his body he wants to bring down Royalton Industries. With the aid of the Racer family, his longtime girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci of “Monster“, and “Sleepy Hollow“), and ally drivers also done wrong by Royalton Industries, Speed will drive the track that took his brother’s life to bring justice to the sport of racing.

The film definitely holds true to the classic style of the original animated series. The cast is well suited to the iconic characters of what is regarded as one of the first Japanese animation series to “take-off” in the U.S. John Goodman’s portrayal of Pops Racer is ideal, even down to the grunts, and the cartoonish antics of Spritle (Paulie Litt of “Jersey Girl” and television show “Hope & Faith“) and Chim Chim really add to the wit found in the animated series. Also, in regard to the “PG” rating, the film holds a continuity of fiction/cartoon when even during an explosive car-collision on the track, drivers are ejected from their vehicles thanks to the “quick-save device” wrapping the drivers in a gel-like bubble for their safety. The story is in many ways a depiction of someone small standing up to “the system” and its wrong-doings, in the cliche motive of the honor of their family, and receives a “3 1/2 Star Rating“.

— Synopsis written by: Danielle Byington —

Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the VC-1 codec, in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio on a BD-25 Disc (25 gigabyte Blu-ray Disc). It comes to most of us a real surprise Warner decided to only give this a BD-25 treatment when BD-50 has honestly been the “norm” now for almost a year but it doesn’t actually result in the video quality suffering. The amount of detail here is impressive at times but also a bit blurred out through some obvious DNR (Digital Noise Reduction) and other various filters to acheive a plastic or “cartoony” look. That being said, this is the movie-adaption of what was a Japanese cartoon so it’s only appropriate to a degree. The color palette here is beyond what the word “VIBRANT” could ever begin to describe and fleshtones are semi-accurate (due to the visual style). The black level is solid and whites are very bright here delivering a presentation that certainly does “jump off the screen at you” — I will admit. The obvious usage of DNR and other filters is really nothing to shun here but I did spot a few little occurrences of compression problems (i.e. pixilation and/or artifacts — in this case a little of both).

Overall the visual presentation here is absolutely beautiful and the utter definition of “EYE CANDY” but it comes with a few very tiny flaws and the unusual choice to be put on a BD-25 disc instead of a BD-50 disc. All and all “Speed Racer” earns itself a “4.5 Star Rating” for video quality. Those of all ages will likely have fun giving this at least one watch but it’s really probably going to actually find it’s audience with the younger crowd it was targeted at.

Audio Quality on this release is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 @640kbps. Sadly Warner didn’t feel it was worth opting for a lossless track (Dolby TrueHD) on this title and what results is honestly nothing short of a disappointment in the sound department. The audio is not horrid, however this film could have benefited from a more significant audio format in so many ways; the various auto sound effects that are copious through out the movie, several explosions on the race track, the roaring of the fans in the stadiums, and the updated score by composer Michael Giacchino have all been left in a minimal presentation. Dialogue is basically the only element not affected by this, and is heard clearly, primarily through the front center channel. Audio was perhaps left to the DD 5.1 format in regard to being on a BD-25 Disc containing a 135 minute movie, and nearly another hour of bonus features, and again with the targeted younger audience whom will most likely be more impressed by a visual spectacle than that of impressive sound. Overall, audio on this release receives a “3 Star Rating“.

Bonus Materials are all presented in Standard Definition (though the back of the case states, “May be in Standard Definition”, which I think suggests “double-dipping” in the future) and Dolby Digital 2.0.

• “Speed Racer: Car Fu” (28 minutes) interviews those involved with the art department branches of production, discussing the designs of the tracks, the cars, and the acrobatic movement of the cars to bring together a perfect blend of 1960′s Japanese animation and modern CG animation.
• “Spritle In The Big Leagues” (14 minutes) follows Paulie Litt behind the scenes of the 65 day shoot of the film exploring the props, art, and costume department, and more.
• “Speed Racer: Supercharged!” (16 minutes) is a CG animated feature giving viewers details about the cars of drivers such as Snake Oiler, Taejo Togokahn, and Racer X, and the tracks raced in the movie including the Fuji Helexicon, and Thunderhead.
• “Digital Copy” is included which lacks support for Mac users and/or owners of iPod. The “Digital Copy” Warner provides here on a DVD-ROM only includes .WMV (Windows Media Video) files of the film for PC (Microsoft) users. One file for the PC (SpeedRacer_PC_EN.wmv) is sized at 1.28gb while another Portable (SpeedRacer_PORT_EN.wmv) file is sized at 648mb. The PC file runs at a 4018kbps bitrate and the Portable file runs at 705kbps in the WMV codec. This does honestly suck that we don’t get a .MP4 for iTunes and iPod. Warner needs to learn to do “Digital Copy” from studios such as FOX, Lionsgate and even Universal. The only portable device this likely would playback on would be a Microsoft Zune, I’m guessing but then again I don’t own one. I own an iPod (or two) like most every other person alive.
• “Exclusive Bonus Disc: Speed Racer Crucible Challenge” allows up to three players with a selection of three drivers (Speed, Racer X, or Taejo), and four levels of difficulty (easy, medium, hard, and mystery). Viewers race on one of four segments of the Casa Christo track (which is nicknamed “The Crucible” in the movie). There is very limited participation, in that you do not actually get to drive or race, you simply press either the up, down, left, right, or center button to make a choice of what move to make a few times, and each track last about 30 seconds.

Overall the bonus materials are pretty disappointing here actually. The “Digital Copy” (if you even want to give it that official title) lacks a Mac iTunes (iPod) capable version of the film. The 3 featurettes and lousy DVD game just really don’t cut it for fans of The Wachowski Brothers but I guess it will for the younger audience.

Blu-ray Disc packaging:

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