The good news is that those of us who couldn't understand The Matrix Trilogy (last count 98.4% of the population) will be able to get their heads around this.

The bad news is that it goes on a bit (two hours of having your head stuck inside a pinball machine) and features the most punchable American brat in recent cinema history.

The bizarrely monikered Speed Racer (Hirsch) - why couldn't his mom and pop call him something normal, like Lewis Hamilton? - is the number one driver in a sport which combines Hot Wheels, Burnout and the Pepsi Big Max.

The turbocharged, "charchitect"-designed jalopies don't just sedately stream around a circuit, they shunt, spin and even loop-the-loop in a manner that wouldn't find much favour in the Highway Code.

The one thing blighting Speed's pre-eminence is the shadow cast by his idolised brother Rex, who died in a fiery pile-up after falling from grace with the racing fraternity (even Max Mosley).

Pursued by the all-powerful Royalton Industries to race for them, Speed infuriates their megalomaniac boss Roger Allam when he opts to stay with the family race team headed by his dad (John Goodman).

Things take a turn for the worse when Speed is targeted by Royalton heavies and is forced to turn to his mysterious former rival Racer X (Fox) for help in a battle that will come to a head with the World Racing League Grand Prix.

Determinedly pitched at the Nintendo and PSP generation, this adaptation of anime maestro Tatsuo Yoshida's cartoon is the Wachowskis in playful mood after the barking conspiracy theories of The Matrix Trilogy and V For Vendetta.

On the upside, it's frothy, no-nonsense entertainment with an all-star cast, including Susan Sarandon, Christina Ricci and Richard Roundtree, all managing to keep a straight face if not their driving licences.

Back in the pits, though, the CGI ranges from jaw-dropping to so over-complicated it's like staring into the workings of a watch after drinking six pints of scrumpy.

The light-fingered Wachowskis are also not above pinching from the likes of Bond - the oil slick and tyre-shredder from 007's Aston Martin DB5 - and a poisoning sequence lifted straight from You Only Live Twice.

There's also sand in the petrol tank in the form of Speed's little bro Paulie Litt, a gurning adolescent git, whose frequent appearances simply scream out for a 1,000-year ASBO.

By the finishing line, it's been a ride of mixed fortunes - often thrilling but a real marathon. If just one Wachowski directed would it be half as long?

Tim Evans