I went and saw Speed Racer yesterday, and let me just say that it was simply, AWESOME! I had not been as excited about a movie since Transformers, of last year. Speed Racer is everything that a live action anime movie should be. From the highly stylized environments and special effects to the storyline, Speed Racer is a great attempt at adapting an anime.
Before going to see the film, many reviews that I had read were about 50/50. Some praised it for being exactly what it should have been, others criticized it for being hyper stylized; personally I think that some of the people chosen to review it simply hate the type of movie that it is, while others simply adore it... Personally I think that the story was somewhat weak when it came to details, not weak enough in the sense that it was hard to follow thus causing problems, but sometimes I noticed that there were things that could have been better explained.
On the other hand though, the visuals and the style were very much so great! From the filming style that allowed both the cars and the track to appear in the foreground (as mentioned by Emile Hirsch in a recent interview) to the overall "retro future" style, the cinematics are indeed awesome!
I think is is also important to note, that the acting is not as over-the-top as you may think it to be. I believe all of the actors did a great job. From Emile Hirsch's portrayal of the demon on wheels, to Rain's portrayal as a fellow racer, all of the actors who participated did a wonderful job of bringing the characters from the series to the big screen!
I must also mentioned that I liked how "worldly" the movie felt. The film included a cast of people from all over the world and did not make their characters into silly stereotypes. I like how the Wachowskis included dialogue and images from other languages, instead of going for the "English is the best and other cultures must be unfairly portrayed" kinda style that I believe we see too much in our American made media.
(The "Go Speed Racer Go" music video, which includes English, Japanese, Spanish, German and other languages in its lyrics.)
Overall I really cannot recommend this film enough, it is a great attempt at making something that is purely awesome! I cannot wait for the DVD release because I simply cannot wait to see it over and over again! I hope that you all will give this a try at least once, it doesn't have to be now, just remember that it is pretty awesome!
Score: 4.5/5 
Please note that I do not consider myself a "fanboy" of the orginal Speed Racer cartoon/anime. I have never actually seen a full episode of the show. I make this note because I try to keep my reviews unbiased.
