Movie Review – Speed Racer
Principal Cast : Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Paulie Litt, Benno Furmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain, Richard Roundtree, Kick Gurry, John Benfield, Christian Oliver, Ralph Hepforth, Scott Porter, Yu Nan, Nayo K Wallace, Melvil Poupaud, Ramon Tikaram, Ben Miles.
Synopsis: Young driver, Speed Racer, aspires to be champion of the racing world with the help of his family and his high-tech Mach 5 automobile.
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I guess when you direct one of the most zeitgeist-shattering films of the 1990’s, not to mention two of the most polarising and successful sequels of the early 2000’s, you’d have your pick of any studio-backed project you want, right? Cult-like directing duo The Wachowskis, the very private filmmakers behind The Matrix and its two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, seems to have been allowed to make their “dream project” writ large in 2008’s Speed Racer, a live action adaptation of the classic 1960’s anime series of the same name boasting a solid cast, tremendous production values and a hyperbolic, highly specific aesthetic that drew as much criticism from fans as it did astonishment. To suggest Speed Racer is a successful adaptation is to push the boundaries of good taste, although keeping it clear that the film sits comfortably inside the “visually precise” world of the television show and is, in all regards, a cartoon brought to life, mitigates many of the primary concerns one has whilst watching.
Plot synopsis courtesy Wikipedia: Young race car driver Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) aims to carry on the legacy of his older brother Rex (Scott Porter), a legendary racer believed to have died in a mysterious crash. Driving for his family’s independent team led by his parents Pops (John Goodman) and Mom Racer (Susan Sarandon), Speed turns down a lucrative offer from industrialist E.P. Arnold Royalton (Roger Allam), prompting a campaign to sabotage his career. Teaming up with Inspector Detector (Benno Fürmann) and enigmatic rival Racer X (Matthew Fox), Speed enters the dangerous Casa Cristo 5000 cross-country race to expose corruption in the racing world and restore honour to the sport.
Irrespective of your enjoyment of Speed Racer as a feature film, you can’t help but admire the commitment to the vision the Wachowski’s give this highly stylised piece of fantasy fiction. Sometimes filmmakers deliver movies with an incredibly specific visual look – from Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy, Zack Snyder’s 300 or Robert Rodriguez’ Sin City, highly stylised movies have been a popular subgenre of the overall comic book template for decades, and the Wachowskis Speed Racer embodies the frenzied, brightly hued cartoon from which it is derived. A lot of the film was created using extensive green or blue screen photography and some (still) quite solid computer generated visual effects, while a lot of the superb set designs in non-racing sequences feels like Dr Seuss-adjacent pastels and crisp, block colours. The film really leans into its cartoonish roots, with the laws of physics giving way to kinetic, jaw-dropping action sequences that, for many I’d wager, will induce a headache as easily as it will entertain others. If nothing else, the film looks amazing, a visual kaleidoscope of riotous colours and explosions, frenzied editing and absurd characters populating every frame – it might not make much sense but it certainly engages the eyeballs. With racing sequences that feel like an acid-trip mix of Wreck It Ralph’s Candy Crush and George Miller’s Mad Max Fury Road, Speed Racer’s whirligig set pieces are a delight for those who don’t care about Einstein’s theories of relativity or Stephen Hawking’s cosmological introspection.
As much as the visual barrage is enthralling to some degree, sadly the emotional heft of Speed and his family’s tragic backstory. as well as this film’s attempt to shoulder that into catharsis, doesn’t quite live up to the effort. The plot is a confused mix of changing identity and loss of family connection, striving to escape the shadow of a larger-than-life family name, and loyalty that never quite congeals, I think perhaps because the film is so heavily augmented into a fantasmagorica; in elevating the material into that of a cartoon, the humanity becomes trite and the emotional weight feels very empty, even slowing the pacing of the film down to a dull crawl. It’s a creative choice that inevitably undercuts the fun of Speed Racer’s eyeball-melting action sequences and production design, sadly, with these two aspects perfectly complementing each other even as the structural scaffolding collapses under its own weight.
This isn’t to say the actors don’t give it their all. To a man (or woman, or chimp) everyone in this thing understands the kind of film they’re making. From Emile Hirsch’s Speed, to the delectable Christina Ricci as his girlfriend Trixie, to the pairing of John Goodman and Susan Sarandon as Speed’s parents and Paulie Litt’s incorrigible Spritle, the casting and performances are pitch perfectly, often winking knowingly at the audience that this farcical fantasy world isn’t to be taken seriously even if some of the themes turn surprisingly dark. Matthew Fox’s square-jawed Racer X character, a favourite from the cartoon, has a backstory that’s given quite the twist for franchise fans, although knowing almost nothing about the property before watching this the “revelation” delivered midway through doesn’t have the import I think older fans might have enjoyed. Roger Allam makes for a terrific scene-chewing villain, while the likes of Richard Roundtree (Shaft), Ben Miles (Andor) and Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run) appearing in cameo or supporting roles is fun to spot. Hard to call this an “all star” cast but for film fans and genre fans it’s a gleefully “what the hell are they doing in this?” viewing experience.
Michael Giacchino’s score taps into the cartoon’s earworm musical themes, and David Tattersall’s supreme work as cinematographer would have been a dream job for the deep colour saturation afforded the final film, and the editorial flourished from Zach Staenberg and Roger Barton help deliver one of the most assaultive and combative action extravaganzas of the decade. Joel Silver, the impresario film producer responsible for some of the 80’s and 90’s biggest big-screen hits (Die Hard, Demolition Man, the Lethal Weapon series) waxes lyrical about both the property and the Wachowskis in much of the behind the scenes material for Speed Racer, and it’s easy to see why he was both drawn to the material and excited to see what kind of movie the Wachowskis might do with it, so the film is given perhaps far more money to make it than was perhaps really needed – some suggest the budget even exceeded $150m in 2008 dollars – but I think this one was a touch outside Silver’s primary wheelhouse. While a living, breathing anime cartoon might seem like a great idea, sadly this Speed Racer needed a little more grounding and a lot less visual overkill, in my opinion.
Part of the success or failure of Speed Racer to work as a movie is more about your approach to it rather than how the film works as an experience. If you go into the movie knowing it’s a live-action cartoon and that it asks an incredible amount of suspension of disbelief – basically, as the kids say, just go with it – you’ll have a blast, and fans of the franchise will absolutely enjoy all the Easter Eggs and nods to the cartoon. If, however, you’re more cynical and have your expectations set too high, then Speed Racer will absolutely fail you. I suspect this is part of the reason the film was critically lambasted in some quarters back in the day; it’s easy to find fault with it, and criticise the creative choices when they don’t work. But for me, despite recognising that Speed Racer isn’t high art (or anywhere near being a perfect movie), it’s definitely a visual marvel I will enjoy revisiting many times. Not for the thin emotional weight of the nonsensical character arcs or the over-complicated backstory and world building the Wachowskis have to cram into a two hour rollercoaster, but rather for the daring, garish, hyperbolic visual design work and marvellous sound and music design.
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