What’s wrong with the average American moviegoer?

In May, The Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix) released their latest endeavor, the highly hyped live action version of “Speed Racer.” The film, performed horribly at the box office, going down as a certified bomb as it made a dismal $43 million, far from re-couping the $120 million budget.

Why did this happen?

I admit, I wanted to see “Speed Racer” is theaters just about as much as I want to see the Cubs take the pennant (not at all). Everyone must have collectively agreed as the film went down in flames and ended up being a financial and critical disaster.

This past Tuesday, “Speed Racer” finally made it’s uneventful release to DVD. Curious, I rented it at Blockbuster just to see the train wreck in action.

What I went on to see blew my mind...the movie was actually good. Pretty good.

“Speed Racer” is a highly original, massively entertaining and thoroughly well made experiment in filmmaking. It’s amazing to think that “Speed Racer” will go down as perhaps the biggest disappointment of 2008, as it really is a quality film.

The bright neon colors, the over-the-top CGI and the literal comic book feel the movie evokes is something I have not seen since another criminally underrated picture, “Dick Tracy.”

This summer when movies like “What Happens In Vegas,” “The Happening” and “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan” were all making money, “Speed Racer” sat in exile, waiting for the day that it would get a second chance on DVD.

Well now, that day is upon us. If you like almost seizure-inducing fits of color, John Goodman with a jet-black mustache or a comical chimpanzee, give “Speed Racer” the chance that it deserves.

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