Yeah I was one of the poor souls who allowed teen aged nostalgia for an admittedly average Anime to drag me into the overpriced theatres for a trip down memory lane courtesy of the visionary directing team known as the Wachowski Brothers. Speed Racer was supposed to be a tour de force that would bring the oddly endearing 80s anime series into the main stream and redefine what movies can do.
The actuality of the film was less revolutionary than revolting. The story itself follows the young Speed Racer from a brief introduction of his childhood dreams of being a racer to his meteoric success. After his first sucessful professional race, speed(portrayed by Emile Hirsch) is recruited by an evil corporate race promoter(Roger Allen) but the pure and perfect heart of Speed Racer can not be corrupted by mere money. The evil corporate exec then spend the rest of the movie trying to destroy Speed’s family owned racing company primarilly through a series of races that are so far over the top that it is simply impossible to describe.
The races do not just require a suspension of disbelief but a suspension of sanity. Harsh oversaturated color pallets and blinding movements assault your senses yet provide no feeling of action or risk. As anything is possible for these vehicles that ignore every possible law of physics without explanation or consistensy, nothing is threatening. It is impossible to feel connected to the races as it the directors give you nothing you can hold on to or count on. No matter how ridiculous the threat, Speed’s Mighty Mach 5(and later the new and improved Mach 6) simply overcomes it with a new reality bending ability that is neither explained or justified.
Watching speed race is like watching a video game played in “god” mode. No matter how awesome the threat, there is no tension as you know it can not hurt you, at all.
Obviouslly I was not a fan of this film, and the box office figures show that most people did not even bother to give it a chance. With barely 20million in total opening weekend box office (compared with Iron Man’s 170 million in its first 10 days) the estimated 220million plus budget (this includes the estimated 100 million marketing budget and 120 million for filming the special effects heavy project) means Speed Racer will go down as one of the biggest financial disasters in recent movie history. Still there were some who loved it, and to provide a balanced perspective I have posted the review of Joe Neumair from the New York Daily News courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes (Speed Racer Rotten Tomatoes Score - 34%).
Speed Racer NY Daily News Review by Joe Neumair
Remember mixing Pop Rocks candy and Coca-Cola to make little volcanoes inside your head? “Speed Racer” is the movie equivalent. In fact, there are so many jacked-up visuals over two-plus hours that its target audience of 12-year-old boys may need to summer in an Amish community to calm down.
Writer-directors Larry and Andy Wachowski, the creators of the “Matrix” films, once again invent stunning visual tricks in this adaptation of the late-’60s Japanese anime. The film’s eye-popping look is a combo of fast-moving video-game imagery, hyperstylized “wipes” (images moving from one side of the screen to the other) and super-bright colors. It’s the big selling point - one that could make many viewers feel like their eyeballs are on fire. Xbox addicts, however, will feel right at home.
In this Day-Glo world, the title hero (Emile Hirsch) is obsessed with racecar driving, which isn’t a problem when tracks the size of cities appear to be everywhere. Speed’s dad, Pops (John Goodman), owns an engine company, and his older brother, Rex (Scott Porter), was a driving legend who reportedly died during a rigged contest.
After Speed rejects an offer by a villainous corporate sponsor to become a sellout and drive an assembly-line roadster, he’s targeted during a round-the-world race but saved more than once by the mysterious Racer X, who may or may not be Rex.
The global chase plays like an arcade racing game with constantly changing scenery, and there’s a final Grand Prix blow-out wheel-burner. Trying to follow the convoluted plot, though, is like reading toy instructions on Christmas morning: Skip it, and just look at the pretty lights.
The cast is generally game for playing cardboard cutouts, with Goodman having the most fun. Hirsch (”Into the Wild”) doesn’t appear to be awake for the first hour, though his laid-back soulfulness adds some dimension. Christina Ricci, meanwhile, lost some weight, and a lot of depth, to play his girlfriend, Trixie. Also along for the ride is Speed’s mischievous little brother (Paulie Litt) and a pet chimp in clothes.
Emotionally, “Speed Racer” stays in the family lane; when cars crash and burn, there are little bubbles called “quick-saves” that transport drivers to safety. The nostalgia factor is slight, and nothing new is added besides the effects. While that’s not enough to make it a classic even among chintzy cartoon-born movies, middle-schoolers will have a blast.
Filed under: Movies, Reviews | Tagged: movie reviews, speed racer, wachowski brothers
The Wachowski bros certainly put a lot of effort into making Speed Racer… but the movie overall looked and felt like a cross between anime, a kaleidoscope, that Flintstones movie, a video game and the Dukes of Hazard
I would almost say comparing the dukes of hazard to Speed Racer is insulting to brain dead red necks. At least the General Lee obeyed most of the laws of physics. ( crazy river jump scenes that would have shattered the suspension and cracked the backs of anyone in the vehicle not withstanding )
Granted it was an adaptation of a cartoon so some craziness is expected, but the first law of good science fiction is to stick to the established laws in almost all places and just pick one or two to speculate changes. If everything is broken then the audience has no frame of reference to relate to, and thats how I felt with the race scenes.