For a movie with a word implying rapid movement in the title, “Speed Racer” is quite a slog to get through.

The film, based on the bizarre 1960s cartoon series, has been adapted to the big screen by writer-directors Andy and Larry Wachowski of “The Matrix” fame. The Wachowskis were lauded for the visual breakthroughs they achieved with their “Matrix” films, so it’s no surprise that “Speed Racer,” in a purely visual sense, is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. The film’s brightly colored palette reminded me a little of Warren Beatty’s “Dick Tracy,” but multiplied by a billion in terms of sheer variety of colors and overall visual chutzpah.

One thing the “Matrix” films did not do well, however, is coherently tell a story understandable to a halfway intelligent person. One would think, then, with a movie like “Speed Racer,” that the Wachowskis would have an easier time telling their story.

Wrong! The first half hour or so of “Speed Racer” is jammed with unnecessary exposition that moves back and forth in time in a way that is sure to befuddle most of this PG movie’s target audience. During these sequences, we are introduced to the title character (played by Emile Hirsch), a racing nut with a supportive family: paterfamilias Pops (John Goodman), flapjack-makin’ Mom (Susan Sarandon), little bro Spritle (Paulie Litt) and helicopter-flyin’ girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci). Speed also had an older brother named Rex (Scott Porter of the recent “Prom Night”), who had a falling out with Pops and was eventually killed in a racing accident. Or was he?

Emile Hirsch as Speed in Warner Bros. Pictures' Speed Racer - 2008

Anyway, Speed runs afoul of evil tycoon Royalton (Roger Allam), which sets up an unnecessarily complicated narrative involving corporate intrigue (I think) and, more importantly, lots of racing. Unfortunately, the Wachowskis seem to believe that the kids who come to see this movie want dull scenes of fat cats like Royalton buying shares to go along with the physics-defying racing sequences depicted in the film.

The Wachowskis really should have just stuck to the racing, because every time they don’t, the movie stalls out, and the thinly written characters can’t do much to help. Hirsch, clean shaven following his turn as ill-fated adventurer Christopher McCandless in last year’s “Into the Wild,” is pretty much a cipher in this movie, although he does do a convincing “game face” while he’s racing. Ricci, who grew up doing kids’ movies before turning to edgier fare, registers a little as Trixie, and Goodman and Sarandon are pretty much wasted in their small roles. Matthew Fox of “Lost” fame is on hand as the mysterious Racer X, which basically gives him the opportunity to growl a lot and beat up a ninja. Surprisingly, Spritle (who always annoyed me when I watched the show), along with his pet monkey Chim Chim, is one of the more enjoyable characters in the movie.

Ultimately, my suggestion for anyone curious about this movie would be to, rather than shell out 10 bucks for a movie ticket, buy a giant bag of Skittles, chase it with several cans of Red Bull, and watch a NASCAR race instead. Go, sugar rush, go!

On the Net:

• Official "Speed Racer" movie site
• Movie listings for Westshore theaters