thepaulo
05-08-2008, 09:09 AM
I tend to be pretty picky about what I write about anymore. Lazy....sure....but most things just don't deserve in depth examination. So what moves me to write about Speed Racer? Let's just say there is a certain mystery to it. It confuses me as to why it was made.
I think I have fond memories of the American influenced Japanese cartoon series, but I barely remember it. I doubt there are many people who do. I like the Matrix as much as the next man, but let's face it, the Wackowski brothers are weird. They are not known to have a PG lifestyle and being that Speed Racer is family friendly with a soft PG, it's a bit of a 190% spin around. The color-infused trailer portraying a hyper live action reality certainly makes you wonder what the hell is going on here?
What seems overwhelming in the trailer is literally mind numbing at full length. The story is both cliche and surreal. This very much a family picture with John Goodman and Susan Sarandon heading the Racer clan but it seems the focus of the film is dictated by the youngest son and his chimp sidekick. A lot of time is devoted to the youngsters pursuit of candy and that nauseating sugar rush is what this film is all about. Nothing else matters except conveying a psychedelic hallucination of some kids drunken imagination. The story is more or less worthless and irrelevant. Speed Racer is a simplistic take on family honor and corporate greed but really it just boils down to speed and racing and color and movement. Cars flip and spin through the air with an absurd regularity. Clearly these cars don't exist in any reality we are familiar with and that goes for everything else in this film. The architecture is perhaps the most insane ever committed to film from the cityscapes down to the idealized suburban perfection. The acting is insane as well but I know that that is because they were all in service to their insane writer directors, the Wachowski's. I don't know what fueled their vision for Speed Racer but it probably wasn't candy. They were probably trying to embrace the kid in themselves that had long ago left. This is the first film they directed since the grueling Matrix Trilogy and they obviously wanted to make something completely different at any cost. The cost was great. Maybe they should have done something small and intimate like an earlier film of theirs called Bound. They have the ability to do whatever they want and that doesn't look like it turned out to be a good thing.
If your expectations are just to see a wild over the top completely adrenaline fueled action packed film experience, you'll probably be okay. If your expectations are to see something good, I think you're in for a disappointment. 44 out of 100
I think I have fond memories of the American influenced Japanese cartoon series, but I barely remember it. I doubt there are many people who do. I like the Matrix as much as the next man, but let's face it, the Wackowski brothers are weird. They are not known to have a PG lifestyle and being that Speed Racer is family friendly with a soft PG, it's a bit of a 190% spin around. The color-infused trailer portraying a hyper live action reality certainly makes you wonder what the hell is going on here?
What seems overwhelming in the trailer is literally mind numbing at full length. The story is both cliche and surreal. This very much a family picture with John Goodman and Susan Sarandon heading the Racer clan but it seems the focus of the film is dictated by the youngest son and his chimp sidekick. A lot of time is devoted to the youngsters pursuit of candy and that nauseating sugar rush is what this film is all about. Nothing else matters except conveying a psychedelic hallucination of some kids drunken imagination. The story is more or less worthless and irrelevant. Speed Racer is a simplistic take on family honor and corporate greed but really it just boils down to speed and racing and color and movement. Cars flip and spin through the air with an absurd regularity. Clearly these cars don't exist in any reality we are familiar with and that goes for everything else in this film. The architecture is perhaps the most insane ever committed to film from the cityscapes down to the idealized suburban perfection. The acting is insane as well but I know that that is because they were all in service to their insane writer directors, the Wachowski's. I don't know what fueled their vision for Speed Racer but it probably wasn't candy. They were probably trying to embrace the kid in themselves that had long ago left. This is the first film they directed since the grueling Matrix Trilogy and they obviously wanted to make something completely different at any cost. The cost was great. Maybe they should have done something small and intimate like an earlier film of theirs called Bound. They have the ability to do whatever they want and that doesn't look like it turned out to be a good thing.
If your expectations are just to see a wild over the top completely adrenaline fueled action packed film experience, you'll probably be okay. If your expectations are to see something good, I think you're in for a disappointment. 44 out of 100