Speed Racer (PG) ***

3:37pm Friday 9th May 2008

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BASED on the Japanese animated series, Speed Racer signals the return of Andy and Larry Wachowski, the publicity-shy brothers who pioneered bullet time' in The Matrix trilogy.

There are suped-up thrills here too, set in a retro-futuristic world of high-speed motor sport on outrageous racetracks littered with gravity-defying banks and stomach churning turns.

The Wachowskis put the pedal to the metal from the opening frame, conjuring a comic book universe of retina-searing colour and neon that seamlessly melds live action with digital environs.

Production designer Owen Paterson saturates the screen with every conceivable combination of rich, primary hues.

The Racer family home is a triumph of orange, turquoise and fuchsia, contrasting brilliantly with the hero's white leather jumpsuit.

On large format IMAX screens especially, this is a non-stop assault on the senses. Older viewers may want to take their sunglasses.

In a cute nod to the film's anime origins, the Wachowskis imagine fight sequences as frames of hand-drawn cartoons.

Technically at least, Speed Racer is a triumph, although frenetic editing reduces segments of some set pieces to a blur.

However, under the bonnet the screenplay needs some fine-tuning to allow performances to stand out against all that spectacular, twinkling background detail.

Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a demon behind the wheel of his Mach 5, designed by his father Pops (John Goodman), so good that Royalton Industries, run by the Machiavellian E.P. Arnold Royalton (Roger Allam), offers Speed a lucrative sponsorship deal.

The young driver declines on behalf of his father and mother (Susan Sarandon), determined to remain an independent and honour the memory of older brother Rex (Scott Porter), who crashed and burned during the notorious Crucible rally.

Royalton doesn't take rejection kindly.

"Racing has nothing to do with drivers, it's all about power and the unassailable might of money!" he rages, revealing that the Grand Prix has been fixed for years.

Determined to restore the tarnished reputation of the sport, Speed declares war on Royalton, aided by his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci), the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) and rival driver Taejo Togokhan.

Speed Racer is a high-octane, turbo-charged blast for kids, with enough breathtaking action sequences to satisfy even the most demanding adrenaline junkie.

Unfortunately, the Wachowskis forget to put genuine emotion in the tank and their film is several laps too long at 135 minutes.

Hirsch, Sarandon and co play their roles with absolute seriousness while Allam's pantomime villain is almost as much fun as Speed's trouble-seeking little brother Spritle (Paulie Litt) and his animal sidekick Chim-Chim.

This is very much a spectacle for the entire family.

An encounter with a ninja death squad is played for laughs and when Speed and Trixie pucker up, Spritle warns fellow youngsters that "the following image may be unsuitable for the inoculated or cootie-sensitive viewers".

• See it at ABC, Empire