Cinematical

Why We Can't Wait to See It: Because the trailers suggest a symphony of motion and color, like nothing we've ever seen before. And because some of us -- granted, not many -- still think the Wachowskis are virtuosos, and that Speed Racer is a movie they were born to make.

Why It Might Do Well: The fact that it's a bright, colorful, expensive, well-marketed summer family film would bode well on its own. Add acolytes of the cartoon, Wachowski fans, and adults dazzled by the visuals in the trailer, and you might have a mega-hit on your hands.

Why It Might Not Do Well: It's hard to overestimate the general ill will toward the latter parts of the Matrix trilogy. And there's also the fact that Warner Bros. is trying to appeal to kids with a brand name the vast majority of them have never heard of. There are a few sure things this summer, but Speed Racer isn't one of them.

Fun Fact: The Wachowskis achieve Speed Racer's live-action-anime look by rendering all parts of the frame -- the foreground and the background -- in focus simultaneously. This necessitated shooting in HD video rather than film, a first for the brothers.

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