SPEED RACER — ** — Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox; rated PG (violence, profanity, torture, brief gore, vulgarity, brief drugs);

At two-plus hours, "Speed Racer" really isn't longer than your average NASCAR race or an extended road-rally event. It just feels like it is. ...

This live-action version of the once-popular cartoon series is pretty long for what's supposed to be a kids film. Especially when you consider that the source material was best enjoyed in 30-minute installments — if at all.

Also, this brightly colored, hyperactive action comedy is pretty violent and mean-spirited for a kids film. How it got a PG rating rather than the PG-13 it merits at times is anyone's guess.

And to be honest, if not for the contributions of its first-rate cast, the whole thing might have been completely unwatchable.

That includes veterans John Goodman and Susan Sarandon, as well as up-and-coming actor Emile Hirsch ("Into the Wild"). He stars as the title character, an auto-racing prodigy who comes from a long line of racers or mechanics.

Speed has been winning lots of small races for his father's small company and has spurned offers to race for bigger corporations. Needless to say, these bad guys try to stop him from winning — and from ever racing again.

He also hopes to clear the name of his older brother, Rex (Scott Porter), who apparently died under questionable circumstances. And he's trying to find out who this mysterious, masked Racer X (Matthew Fox) is.

This is a bizarre choice of material for the Wachowski brothers, who haven't directed any theatrical works since the last, poorly received 2003 installment in their "Matrix" movie trilogy.

Oddly, they've tried to add some social commentary and statements about corporate sponsorships and media saturation. It's further padding for a film that doesn't need any.

And judging by the dumb slapstick, they were evidently inspired by Robert Rodriguez's "Spy Kids" films, which at least had the sense to run shorter than this bloated beast.

"Speed Racer" is rated PG for strong scenes of violent action (racing violence, gunplay, fisticuffs, and violence against women and child-in-peril elements), occasional profanity, a scene of torture and interrogation, brief gore, crude scatological humor and vulgar gestures, and brief drug content (hypodermics with toxic chemicals). Running time: 134 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com