io9
The hype about Speed Racer has been fairly negative, and I can only guess that's because people still have a bad taste in their mouths from The Matrix Revolutions, the most recent film directed by Speed Racer helmers the Wachowskis. In addition, I think there's been a lot of skepticism about whether the director pair could really do a kid-friendly movie after their lesbian noir flick Bound and sexy/fetishy scifi fare like the Matrix trilogy. I was dubious too, but after a few minutes of immersion in the clever, color-drenched world of Speed Racer, I was surprised to find myself becoming a believer. No shock that the visuals were brilliant, but honestly I wasn't expecting . . . fun. (Spoilers ahead, my racers.)
From the moment the movie begins with young Speed Racer in elementary school spacing out during a test by drawing pictures of cars, you know the movie isn't just going to be a lot of empty visuals and "oh look we can make live action look cartoony." For when Speed draws, the next thing you see is him zooming through a landscape that looks just like his drawing — it's a lovely, quick way of showing us the inside of a kid's imagination, as he draws himself crossing the finish line and lets out a "crowd goes wild" noise in the middle of class.
There's a lot of stuff like this scene in the movie, where kids are going nuts over pop culture — and it works. The kid excitement in Speed Racer is genuinely infectious. You'll find yourself whooping along with Speed's little brother Spridle and chimp Chim Chim when they watch anime on TV and suddenly jump inside it, fighting each other and the spikey mechas with bright CGI lines careening around their bodies, and their faces transfigured by crazed, abandoned childish delight. Maybe it's just because a lot of us who grew up with nutty, zoomy pop culture like original Japanese cartoon Speed Racer still have the walls of our minds painted with crayon-bright explosions. Whatever the reason, the Wachowskis have hit a sweet, goofy nerve here and they play it well.
The plot of the flick couldn't be simpler. Nice kid Speed Racer wants nothing more than to compete in the big leagues of racing. His family runs Racer Motors, a tiny independent car design company that turns out beauties like the Mach 5 (and later, the ultra-awesome Mach 6). After he wins his first big race, giant mega-corp businessman Royalton tries to become Speed's sponsor, promising him all the riches in the world. But Speed turns him down because he wants to stay independent with Racer Motors. That's when Royalton gets ugly and says racing is all about money and power and Speed can never hope to compete without corporate sponsorship.
Will the love of family and indie production values be able to topple big business and evil corporate overlords? And who is the mysterious Racer X who keeps helping him fight the evil Royalton thugs? That's what Speed Racer is all about. There's a heaping dose of Matrix-style politics here, and even a long speech from Royalton about the nature of power that totally felt like a satiric take on the Architect's speech in Matrix Reloaded. Luckily, we don't linger too long in the chambers of philosophy and instead head out to the glowing, crazy, hallucinogenic race track.
As I said earlier, you won't be shocked to know that the visuals in Speed Racer are seriously awesome. You've probably seen some previews by now, so you know the cars swirl and shimmy and the citiscapes are full of dazzling rays of light. Nothing on screen remains unaltered by CGI: it's augmented reality top to bottom, and the attention to detail is sometimes a little overwhelming. What may startle you, though, is the feeling you got watching The Matrix for the first time and said, "Holy fuck what the hell I have never seen that before and it looks crazy fucking great." There are a lot of things in Speed Racer your eyeballs will be experiencing for the first time — cool ways of composing scenes to make them look like cartoons, awesome concept design, and ninja fight scenes that are both exciting and silly enough for kids.
Those silly fight scenes are the other really cool thing about this flick, especially for the usually grim-and-dirty Wachowskis. A whole lot of Speed Racer is pure CGI slapstick and it's funny as hell. Blink and you'll miss some zany shit like a crazed Segway race in Royalton's tower, evil racing Vikings doing their evil Viking thang, and ongoing hijinks with Spridle and Chim Chim. Normally, I hate cute kids and monkeys in flicks, but (dare I say it) the Wachowskis did the right thing with them here. We get just enough monkey poop, and then we're back on the mesmerizing race track.
As somebody who watched the Matrix trilogy more times than I care to admit, one of the interesting things about Speed Racer was realizing that maybe those previous movies were actually a lot more tongue-in-cheek than they seemed. Or maybe the Wachowskis have finally grown a sense of humor about their previous deadly-serious, ninja-laden efforts. While Speed Racer may not go down in history like Matrix did, I think it marks a hopeful turning point in the Wachowskis' careers. If they can keep successfully switching gears like this, I think they have a lot more awesome in store for us in years to come.
In the meantime, they've given you a giant dose of fun and flash to start your summer right.
Speed Racer opens tonight.
Comments
You don't like movies with monkeys? Come on what about Any which way but loose, "right turn clyde" I loved that stuff as a kid.
Yeah I'm going to check this out on the weekend.
Huh, guess I was wrong about this movie. I might go see it. Maybe. I might have to hear more about it though...
And Yahoo just posted the first 7 minutes here:
[movies.yahoo.com]
and I can only guess that's because people still have a bad taste in their mouths from The Matrix Revolutions
Sorry, no; it's because I have a bad taste in my mouth from the completely awful cartoon this movie is based on.
Didn't the Wachowskis direct V for Vendetta too?
I hated the cartoon, but I got a free sneak preview. The movie was fun.
@Hadyn: Nope! They wrote the screenplay, but it was directed by James McTeigue. [[www.imdb.com]]
Already started my summer right. Thanks to you, Iron Man.
P.S. Great review, now I'll end up seeing this too =P
squee!
@shrume:
Hated the cartoon?
It's anime canon!
+ Watch video
Glad the movie's fun. I'm planning to take my son opening night.
Sadly, this is the only positive review of it I read today.
I still plan to see it though.
Reaallly??? Generally I admire your taste but here we part way. This was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Critics were having a hard time scribbling in their notebooks because they were LAUGHING AT IT. Yeah there's some amazing visual stuff, and I gotta give them some credit. They did do some very cool stuff. But my biggest beef is not the lousy script or the schlocky, hammy over-acting (except by Susan Sarandon! Who is kind of great in it!) but the way they constantly interrupt the action and race scenes. It's so bloody irritating. It's like they had to stitch them together after the fact, but didn't want to blow an extra $40 mil or something on the CGI. The insane, repeated use of the announcers in the races is so disruptive to the mood—sucks all the air right out of scenes that are otherwise incredibly cool-looking. Also there is just ONE funny joke in the movie (delivered by Christina Ricci, and also she is 28 years old, which is too old for that role).
AND they couldn't even get Racer X's costume fitted properly! It's like he's wearing some pleather bean-bags cobbled together! It gathers and wrinkles where it shouldn't and it does HORRIBLE things to his ass. It doesn't help that Matthew Fox has decided to interpret the character FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE either. Jesus. Um okay done now, sorry.
@Choire:
Hey. Why don't you go just kill the Easter Bunny now as well.
Talk about NOT GETTING IT.
@Choire: Dude, how old are you (I'm guessing older than thirty)? Obviously someone like you shouldn't be watching this movie. Keep in mind Wachowskis didn't make this movie for you. I agree with the Plague, you really don't get it.
Any movie for which the directors promote "car-fu" drops off my list of things to see. Sorry.
It's showing on IMAX up here in Seattle.
I plan to take both the kids.
@Choire: I didn't feel like the racing scenes were broken up at all. I loved the weird fighting interludes in the races -- I thought they were zany and bizarre. And I loved the ninjas and vikings and crazy snake ladies.
I honestly never even noticed Racer X's costume. All the costumes were completely ridiculous and that seemed to be the point.
The movie is intended to be an incredibly silly comedy, so it's hard to see what the problem is with critics laughing at it. I mean, even the "serious" parts were insanely over-the-top camp. I felt like this movie was an homage to being a geeky kid who loves pop culture, and it succeeded on that level.
@Balius: Hmm, well since the directors didn't do any promotion or talk to the press about the movie, I'm not sure when they would have "promoted car fu." However, anyone who dislikes the idea of car fu should indeed give this movie a miss.
Those who hear the term car fu and say FUCK YEAH are the intended audience.
My doubts didn't come so much from the Wachowskis directing the film as much as it came from who was going to star in it and if the writing was going to be more like George of the Jungle as opposed to The Matrix. I chose to give the brothers the benefit of the doubt. I got a chance to see an early screening and I have to say that this film had my attention throughout. So much I wasn't even thinking about the old cartoon. The Matrix had my attention because it was new, but there were moments when I was anticipating answers. This had my attention because it was fun and I guess I just allowed myself to enjoy it. That may have been because I came in expecting the cartoon and instead got a pretty cool movie.
@JosephFinn:
Serious?
ARRGH, we've got a damn Imax theater in Sacramento, and it's not going to play Speed Racer. Oh well, guess I hit someplace else.
I have zero respect for the Wachowskis after they agreed to step in at the studio's behest and re-edit and shoot new action scenes for Oliver Hirschbiegel's film "The Invasion." I wonder how they'd like it if someone had been hired to step in and fix their lousy Matrix sequels by chopping them up and shooting new scenes. Sure, they might have actually been worth watching in that case, but it's a totally scab move for supposed artists to pull on a peer.
Segway Race!
@Pinkhamster: it's almost like it's some kind of industry where people toil for money...
@Annalee Newitz: Turns out it was one of the actors comparing "car-fu" to "bullet-time".
I liked Matrix Revolutions. I think I might be impressed and overly stimulated by all the lights in Speed Racer; the road itself seems so busy with color. Also, I've been reading reviews that keep referring to the Wachowski brothers. Aren't they a brother and sister now? I think it's polite to use the right pronoun with regard to someone's gender.
@Choire: Great. Now I'm conflicted. Thanks, Sicha. AAAAAGGGGHHHHH.
@TruPhan: Check it out -- Speed and Tony Stark:
+ Watch video
@Jeff-Minor:
Most of the reviews I've read simply refer to them as "the Wachowskis".
I could be wrong on this, but from what I understand, Larry has made no move to publicly confirm or deny anything.
If Larry wants people to know that a new name and pronoun are in order, that's Larry's business.
It is, by all means, important to respect someones gender, but it's equally important to respect their privacy.
I think people are just going with what's been historically accurate, until we hear different from the W's.
@Choire: I may be an old fart too, but i refuse to get it. The cartoon was awful, marked the death of real animation, and a filthy trick to play on innocent little kids.
Seen two trailers for the movie, and my eyes still hurt. Not only am i too old for this craplevel, i'm not on dope any more, and suspect that what ever dope it takes to like stuff like this, i didn't like back when i was a full time doper.
Which started, FYI, about the time Speed Racer started polluting the airwaves, not that i am positing a definite connection there, you understand.
as for the Wbros or Wsibs, they can make a good movie, but they need discipline. Throwing the kitchen sink at the screen is a tactic, but not the best tactic, perhaps.
@JustChill: Oh what a relief, if those of us who were over 30 when Matrix came out and loved it don't have to put up with another Wachowski project!
But wait... what if some of us have kids? Will we have to cringe through it after all? Aarrrgh!
@codydog: I'm planning to snort several lines of Adderall before I see it.
@codydog:
The death of real animation? Are you crazy?
The style may have been a bit rough, and yes, they cut a lot of corners. I can understand that it may not be to everyones liking, but to say the it was "the death of real animation"...If anything, the original Speed Racer ushered in a whole new art form. Along with Astro Boy and Kimba, anime was born. Staples like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Aeon Flux all find their roots in Speed.
@Miranda Kali:
...all though admittedly, we also have Poke'mon and Dragon Ball Z to blame S.R. for...
Win some, lose some...
@Annalee Newitz: You didn't notice the ill costumes because you're not a fag. :) And everyone else: ZOMG YES I AM THE OLDS 4 REAL. *rolls eyes*
@Miranda Kali: WHAT'S YOUR BEEF WITH DRAGON BALL Z, KALI???
@Choire: Heh. You're old.
@moff:
Normally, I can deal with the complete lack of realism in my cartoons about supernatural beings with amazing powers, who fight for some god-knows-why reason.
BUT, MY GOD, MAN! THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH HAIR-JELL IN THE WORLD!!
I mean, come on..even with omnipotent powers...hair just shouldn't do that!
@codydog: Gerald McBoing-Boing marked the death of real animation. And Adult Swim put the nail in the coffin.
@Miranda Kali: Fair enough.
@Annalee Newitz:
...
Ninjas and vikings and crazy snake ladies?
This must be my new favourite film, and I haven't even seen it yet.
omg all you "lol u old" ppl! how old do you guys think the wachowskis are? i am under 30 (though according to choire i am almost too old to be trixie) and an enormous speed racer cartoon fan and i would rather rip my own eyeballs out than go see this abortion! so whatever!
i'm still smarting over the godawful wachowskis wrestling this project away from my precious vince vaughn.
@Choire: Dude I am totes a fag. Do not impugn my faggery! I just didn't notice that Racer X's costume was any weirder than the snake guy and the vikings and the shiny-faced twins and Trixie.
@allyzay:
Holy macaroni! I never thought I'd see those words put together like that!
...precious...Vince....Vaughn..
Wow. I didn't think it could be done.
@codydog: So wait... real animation died in 1967? So... basically like what... Looney Toons? And... that's about it. Even the original Scooby-Doo was after Speed Racer.
So how long before someone splices together a Speed vs Takumi vs The Stig video?
This must be done.
Wow there are some very hardcore grumps here. I had friends that went to see movies they knew they wouldn't like and after a few times I stopped seeing movies with them because they would ruin the whole awesomeness of everything. I'm OK with your opinions but don't hate for the sake of hating it's annoying and immature.
In conclusion,
I love cars, I loved the original Speed Racer anime, I enjoy the Wachowski brothers movies and I can't fucking WAIT to see Speed Racer in the theater.