Part of this weekend’s 8th birthday festivities for my son Brian included a “friend party” on Friday. We took him, and five of his friends (all boys, unsurprisingly) to go see Speed Racer and then go for pizza afterwards. In short, the movie was a blast and the boys were a handful.

Disclosure: I am a Speed Racer fan. In fact, one of my earliest memories is seeing part of an episode when I lived in Chicago (about 2.5-3 years old). I have also wanted a Mach 5 since before I could drive.

Having disclosed that, I think that is why I liked it. I had heard and it is quite obvious that the Wachowski brothers also love Speed Racer. They produced a live action movie that has all the styling and impact of the animated series. The story is thin but any more “meat” would have felt strange. Emile Hirsch did a nice job as Speed and the rest of the characters were well cast (it doesn’t hurt that I like Christina Ricci).

I may have to go see it again when it hits our budget theater and will most definitely pick it up when it is released on Blu-ray probably around Christmas.