Addendum to Review: Speed Racer

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Granted, this addendum to my review of this year's Speed Racer is a bit removed in time from the original posting; yet, all temporal distances aside, this reflection is nevertheless to me an important addition to make to the history of this blog, for rare is the happenstance, when a sturdy position uptaken by me on a film is in retrospect and in small circles corroborated by a fellow in the minority. Speed Racer, if I recall correctly (and I do), received a "solid B" grade from me and was praised by me for its adventurous, colorful, and pop-art stylings, as well as for its nimble original score by Mr. Giacchino, in addition to its dazzling special effects that were to be expected; Speed Racer, I claimed, was not only a great contribution to the burgeoning comic-book--adaptation genre but also a great piece of filmmaking in general - great in the sense that it brought life and vibrancy upon the screen in a way that was not overly gratuitous, overly cheeky, or overly wrought: It had compelling visuals, as well as compelling audials, and was not audacious, nor slushy for its predictable storyline. Bottom line: I thought, though far from perfect, it was clearly good filmmaking - especially during the summer season. And now, with the DVD's release upon us after some long months, it is exciting for me to hear my thoughts of it, which were intricately and categorically renounced and denounced by nearly every other film critic or film reviewer out there, self-possessed or officially recognized, be remended, repaired, and considerably agreed upon by other pensive parties out there - namely, Paul Matwychuk of "The Moviegoer" and, Paul's link, Dennis Cozzalio of "Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule," who each go to impassioned lengths to reconstruct the virtues of the film that they found, as I did those I had found, for the benefit of the remembrance of the film and for all that may see them (i. e., the writings). Many thanks, sirs; I've stood by review contently in solitude and now I'm happy to be in your company for it.