its list of "The All-Time 25 Best Sports Movies" and "Top 10 Movies of 2008". It said "Not every avant-garde FX masterpiece receives instant audience validation", described the film as "a rich, cartoonish dream: non-stop Op art, and a triumph of virtual virtuosity." Roger Allam's portrayal of Arnold Royalton was praised; Variety said he made "a delicious love-to-hate-him villain". Time magazine critic Richard Corliss claimed that Allam was "channeling Brit pundit Christopher Hitchens as his most pompestuous"; similar comparisons were made by several other reviewers. About the movie's reception, Christina Ricci said: "I think I was aware of the disconnect that was going on at the time, and I was sort of watching and… Not that I expected that, but I knew that there would be problems, because I knew that people were expecting something very different than what was actually going to be delivered." The film has appeared periodically on lists of underrated films. Speed Racer was elected the third most underrated film of the 2000s by Den of Geek's N.P. Horton, which called it "a game-changing film which redefined and reconceptualised the film form as we know it." Nick Hyman, writing for Metacritic, included the film on its list of "movies that critics got wrong" calling it "a cult classic in the making". It was described as "nearly unmatched [...] insofar as action/adventure/family films go" by Alejandro Stepenberg from JoBlo.com, while Slates Chris Wade named it "an underrated masterpiece," stating that the Wachowskis "made a brilliant visual cartoon that dares to ask that you take it seriously." Annalee Newitz of io9 analyzed the ten reasons why they believe the film to be an "unsung masterpiece", including its visuals, humor, and political themes. Tor.com's Dexter Palmer considered the possibility that the film is a "misunderstood art film", highlighting its color scheme that is a "pleasure" and the fact it does not try to seem real. Palmer lauded it because he does not think films must imitate reality, and ultimately said it is "an extreme reminder of what films, and especially fantasy and science fiction films, can place on screen" and that it is "a refreshing change of pace" in film industry. Collider's Kayti Burt ranked it at #30 of Best Hollywood Blockbusters of the 21st Century stating, "While other blockbusters of the year (and the decade) worked to ground their fantastical premises in a gritty, realistic setting, Speed Racer