Speed Racer (2008)
Directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski
Written by Lilly and Lana Wachowski
Starring Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Roger Allam
Release Date May 9th, 2008
Published May 8th, 2008
The team behind The Matrix, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, are back behind the camera for the first time since the last Matrix sequel lumbered into theaters 4 years ago. They are back with a big budget bang, adapting the boomer anime retro strip Speed Racer into an eye popping effects extravaganza. This candy colored action-racing smorgasbord is a feast for the eyes and a triumph for modern special effects.
Emile Hirsch stars as Speed Racer, the hottest young driver on the world racing league tour. Coming off a big win, Speed is being pursued by every corporate entity on the globe, but especially by the smarmy head of Royalton International (Roger Allam). Royalton wants Speed on his team and dazzles him with his sprawling car plant.
Speed however, he cannot be bought. With the support of his family, Speed sees no need to take the corporate money. This means Royalton will have to destroy Speed as well as Racer Motors, the independent team run by Pops (John Goodman) and Mom (Susan Surandon) Racer, Speed's parents. The team includes Speed's gal Trixie (Christina Ricci) and his lead mechanic Sparky (Kick Gurry).
Always along for the ride are Speed's little brother Spritle (Paulie Litt) and his pet monkey Chim Chim. Rounding out the cast is the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) who has a reputation for causing crashes but more often than not he comes out on the side of good. Fox's performance as Racer X is far more key to the plot and to what is so good about Speed Racer than he first
From a technological standpoint, Speed Racer is a leap forward in the way computers and movies intertwine. The virtual world that Wachowski's craft for Speed Racer is one of the most impressive visuals ever brought to the screen. Some will complain that it is all too busy and jolting, top video game-esque but those are people who are showing their age.
Speed Racer is a movie made specifically for boys 10 to 14 years old. The humor, the videogame visual style and even the cardboard cut out characters are aimed at a younger, less discriminating audience. Where adults may find the flat performances and flabby script slightly tedious, kids will be taken with the film's quick cuts, candy colors and juvenile humor.
Then there is Matthew Fox as Racer X who could be this generation's Han Solo. A taciturn bad boy with ambiguous intentions, Racer X is the big brother every kid would love to have and fills the same role for the earnest young Speed who evokes Luke Skywalker with great ease. I don't make the Star Wars allusions, lightly, I genuinely believe that Speed Racer has that kind of youth defining appeal.
Though it was made for the kids, all audiences will be dazzled by the technology of Speed Racer. The extraordinary visuals, the exceptional way real actors are integrated into digital backgrounds, and the exciting action scenes crafted almost entirely with computers are some of the most striking and breathtaking visuals in film history.
As film technology improves Speed Racer will be remembered as a historic leap forward. The visionary Lilly and Lana Wachowski have expanded our collective movie imagination and while many will find the experience jarring, I expect that many more will be blown away. Myself, I was immersed in the visual splendor and overjoyed by the fun and excitement of Speed Racer. The movie may rely on technology to a ludicrous degree but it's so skillful in that use of technology that I really didn't mind.
As Star Wars was a watershed for my generation, Speed Racer may be for a generation of 10 to 14 year old boys who will no doubt begin a lifelong love of movies thanks to the remarkable work of Lilly and Lana Wachowski. Circumstance may conspire to keep Speed Racer from becoming a true world wide blockbuster but history will recall Speed Racer as a historic stride in the history of film technology. On that alone I can recommend Speed Racer.
