Overview: Based on the classic series created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida, the live action Speed Racer stars Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon, and Matthew Fox.

Fearlessly hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition in his thundering Mach 5, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) was born to race cars. But when Speed turns down a lucrative offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company’s maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret--some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls!

The only way for Speed to save his family’s business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family (John Goodman and Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon) and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival--the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)--to win the race that took his brother, Rex Racer’s, life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

The high-octane thrill-ride Speed Racer will be available for purchase Digitally in 4K Ultra HD and on 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc on May 19th, 2026. Directed by The Wachowki’s (“The Matrix” Trilogy), the newly remastered film will also include new bonus content featuring the filmmakers reflecting on the making of the film and its legacy.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the beautifully shot Speed Racer in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this May 19th, 2026.

For my money, this Speed Racer4K sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is Speed Racer presented to us as a one-disc with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p), HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10 and Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color, which makes the eyes draw in, for sure.

As for the audio, we get is: English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1.

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the film itself, well, Speed Racer is an acid trip that you purchase with some popcorn and a drink and see up on the big screen! The film rushes at you with furious speeds, a very unique style, and enough colors to force you to take an eye exam at the end of it all. Speed Racer stays true to the television show, has a stellar cast of actors and actresses, has great action and driving set pieces, and to top it all off has a well-written musical score.

However, in spite of the mayhem, there’s still a major issue that bars this movie from being among the best summer flicks of the decade (this issue will be dwelled upon later). It’s a shame to point out any flaws in this piece simply because of the obvious excruciating amount of time and effort provided. Despite the setbacks, the eye candy is set to the maximum level and pretty much resembles a PG-rated version of a previous movie from the Wachowski Brothers: The Matrix Reloaded -- so much style, it overpowers the substance to a point that you neglect your brain.

Plot? Oh yeah, this has one. Basically, Speed Racer uses his insane talent as a successful, ruthless, and intelligent racecar driver to take on the corruption that is tainting the sport behind the scenes. Unfortunately, this might involve him in following his brother’s footsteps -- a brother that died after an ugly crash. This quest for justice takes him to different parts of the world, and against dozens of enemies that want to destroy him and pits him with a mysterious driver that has a driving style just like Speed’s brother.

The story itself is plentiful with action and substance; however it misses an audience. On one hand, you have the cheesy, easy-to-follow dialogue from the cartoon that gives it a campy attitude. Then on the other hand, we have the long monologues about business and stock prices, and that pretty much throws off all kids (and even some adults). Why is a PG flick even remotely discussing the stock market?

Better yet, the PG rating is what kills Speed Racer. The film could have been an excellent flick for kids with adult themes buried underneath, like The Incredibles. Or, with a bit more rough and edgy material, we could have had a superb PG-13 action movie like Curse of the Black Pearl. Instead, we have a movie that tries to appeal to both and ultimately slows down the film and confuses the audience.

The potential of Speed Racer could have propelled it to quality levels of the original Matrix. Instead, we have tense, stylish races having to appear after an assortment of childish activities from a child and his monkey (it happens far too many times). All the kiddie material hampers the movie and drags the pacing to sometimes a halt (a joke about cooties? Are you kidding me?). The movie is over 130 minutes long, why is there only one race in the entire opening act? We came to see fast and furious racing, not to see a child sneak around a plane to steal candy.

The movie shines brightest when the special effects are in full gear. The Brothers may need some work on their direction outside the action pieces, but the races and fights themselves are jaw-dropping, fun to look at, and quite lengthy. The colors bleed all over the place and spill onto the action; whizzing close to, around, and even through the cars speeding by.

The effects don’t always look realistic, but this was to enhance and toy around with the style of the original anime, and it works perfectly. The strongest part of the movie was the final two races, when you’ve pretty much just spilled every food item you had in your arsenal because of all the jumping around occurring amongst those watching it.

Let’s not forget the cast, either. The best performances in the movie were those of Matthew Fox and John Goodman (always, always reliable); whom played Racer X and Speed’s father respectively. Christina Ricci does not look like Christina Ricci, but certainly does a great job playing Speed’s girlfriend Trixie. Emile Hirsch (as Speed Racer) on the other hand didn’t have much to work with (like Ricci), but gets the job done. The worst performance comes from the youngest in the family (Paulie Litt), whose main purpose in the movie was to pretty much be the clown -- an annoying one at that. Sadly, Trixie and Racer X are underused main character well-known from the anime, while smaller characters like the monkey and Spirtle receive undeserving extra time.

In closing, and all that said, Speed Racer is an incredible ride that could have been much better only if it hadn’t tried so hard to appeal to a vast majority. Cutting away at the extensive dialogue about business or cutting away all the kiddie-silly moments would have made this a shorter, better movie. It is indeed hard to find the fine line between blending children content and adult content, and Speed Racer is good evidence of this. One would only imagine what would have happened if the Wachowski Brothers approached Pixar’s creative writing staff about this project.

However, it is hard to criticize a film that delivers so much action and special effects that the edge of your seat starts wearing thin! This was the dilemma with Transformers; a 2007 blockbuster that meshed good action scenes with ridiculous dialogue, pacing, acting, and non-action material. Luckily for us and Speed Racer, the movie doesn’t quite suffer extensively from this, just the identity crisis and inability to set its sights on one specific audience. Looking past this though and you’ll find a fun, fun movie with excellent use of colors, imagery, and speed. [P.S.]

Speed Racer (4K Ultra HD + Digital) Special Features:
FAST / FUTURE / FAMILY: SPEED RACER (NEW)
In this exclusive interview, the Wachowskis revisit the film’s joyful genesis, its dazzling craft, and its second life as a cult classic
Spritle in the Big Leagues!
Speed Racer: Ramping Up!
Speed Racer: Supercharged!
Speed Racer: Car-Fu Cinema
Speed Racer: Wonderful World of Racing, The Amazing Racer Family