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Speed Racer poster

Speed Racer

2008 ยท 135 min ยท movie
โญ 6.1 (84,295 votes)

Speed Racer is a young man passionate about automobile racing. His parents, Pops and Mom, run Racer Motors, which involves his brother Spritle, their pet chimpanzee Chim Chim, mechanic Sparky, and his girlfriend Trixie. He also idolizes his late older brother Rex, who was killed racing in the Casa Cristo 5000, a deadly cross-country rally. Now starting his own career, Speed is rapidly gaining fame with his brother's Mach 5 and his own T-180 car, the Mach 6, while focusing on racing and family. One day, E.P. Arnold Royalton, CEO of Royalton Industries, offers Speed a luxurious lifestyle in exchange for racing with him; Speed declines due to his father's distrust of corporations. Angered, Royalton reveals that key races have been fixed by corporate interests, including himself. As a show of power, Royalton has one of his drivers crash Speed's Mach 6 during a race, and also has Racer Motors sued for intellectual property infringement. Speed can retaliate through Inspector Detector, head of a corporate crimes division, since fellow racer Taejo Togokahn has evidence to indict Royalton but will only share it if Speed and the masked Racer X race for his team in the forthcoming Casa Cristo 5000, which could raise his family's racing business stock and block a Royalton buyout. Speed accepts but keeps it secret from his family, and Detector's team makes defensive modifications to the Mach 5 for the race.

After driving together and working as a team, Speed begins to suspect that Racer X is Rex in disguise. His family discovers that he has entered the race and agrees to support him. With Trixie and his family aiding him, Speed defeats many brutal racers bribed by fixer Cruncher Block and overcomes obstacles to win the race, while Detector's team arrests Block. However, Taejo's plan is revealed to be a sham, as his true intention was to boost his family's company to secure a higher price for Royalton's buyout. Enraged by this news, Speed confronts Racer X, suspecting he is Rex. Racer X removes his mask, revealing an unfamiliar face and stating that Rex is dead, but advises Speed to stay true to himself and find his own reason to race. Speed returns home, planning to leave, but Pops expresses pride in him and admits his own stubbornness drove Rex away. Taejo's sister Horuko unexpectedly arrives with Taejo's rejected invitation to the Grand Prix. The Racer family unites and builds a new Mach 6 in 32 hours.

Speed enters the Grand Prix with Inspector Detector against great odds; Royalton has placed a $1,000,000 bounty on him, and he faces future Hall of Famer, five-time WRL champion, and two-time Grand Prix champion Jack "Cannonball" Taylor. Speed overcomes a slow start to catch up with Taylor, who cheats using a spear hook to tie the Mach 6 to his car. Speed reveals it to the cameras, exposing Royalton's crimes, causing Taylor to crash and lose, and eventually winning the race. As Racer X watches from afar, a flashback montage reveals him to be Rex, having faked his death, secretly attended his funeral, and undergone facial plastic surgery to protect Speed. He chooses not to reveal his identity to his family, opting to live with the consequences of his choice. The Racer family celebrates Speed's victory, and Taejo testifies against Royalton and his henchmen, causing Royalton to be imprisoned for his crimes.

Directed by

The Wachowskis

Starring

John Goodman
Christina Ricci
Susan Sarandon
Richard Roundtree
Karl Yune
Melvil Poupaud
Moritz Bleibtreu
Togo Igawa
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