Best Movies of ‘08: #3

Speed Racer

Speed Racer
Screw the haters—go, go Speed Racer, my favorite blockbuster spectacle of 2008.  This film has been endlessly bashed by critics who couldn’t handle its admittedly hyperkinetic visual style.  As far as I’m concerned though, the Wachowski Brothers set the tone for the movie in the first five minutes when they cut to a shot of the young Speed (who grows up to resemble Emile Hirsch) sitting at his desk in school, fantasizing that he’s driving faster than the speed of light.  And the rest of the film’s incredible races possess that same childlike exuberance, where the rules of gravity, physics and aerodynamics are completely abandoned for the sheer joy of speed.  The Wachowskis also deserve credit for crafting the only summer spectacle that didn’t take place in the real world.  Much as I liked The Dark Knight and Iron Man, I ultimately prefer blockbusters that can transport me to another reality rather than those that try to work its colorful characters into this one.  The two hours I spent watching Speed Racer provided the most pure fun I had at the multiplex all year.  And isn’t that one of the main reasons we go to the movies in the first place?

Click here to read my #4 pick