'Speed Racer' is a lesson in experimental cinema and a beautiful mess of a film. (Review)
I was excited to hear that the Wachowskis were going to undertake the task of bringing ‘Speed Racer’ to the big screen in a live action adaptation. Now that I’ve seen their creation I’m focused on two things specifically. The first; this movie is aimed at younger audience, and second; The Wachowskis clearly prefer style over substance.
‘Speed Racer’ was not bad a bad film. It was some of the most experimental and different type of filmmaking I’ve seen in a while, but unfortunately it was a masturbatory effort in filmmaking. The Wachowskis use ‘Speed Racer’ as an excuse to show off all that they can do visually but for what reason than to show off what skills their special effects departments have been able to come up with. Much like what happened with the ‘Matrix’ films, they are beautiful looking films with amazing effects but ultimately they are showcases for special effects and not much more. They are films that leave you empty and wanting more beyond just simple stupid fun.
There was speculation about how this film would turn out once it was announced that it would be aimed at a younger audience since this would be a first for the Wachowskis. It is very obvious that if they are going to make films aimed at that audience they need to edit their movies down to a shorter run time. ‘Speed Racer’ has a run time around two hours and fifteen minutes which is a bloated length for a this type. This film should have been around 90 minutes and cut out a lot of the extraneous exposition that plagued this movie. Every character in this film, especially the disposable henchmen get short montage back-story moments don’t add to the film and delay the action. This is one of the few movies that could benefit from a director’s cut that is shorter than the theatrical release.
The story of Speed Racer is a simple one and for the most part is true to the source material. A few things remained questionable up until the very end of the film where they are corrected for the film’s narrative. Over all if you enjoyed the cartoon not much has been changed from that. The story follows Speed Racer and the Racer family + Trixie and sparky who are all long for the ride. Each actor does his or her role appropriately and no one really stands out simple because there isn’t much of a script in the first place. The characters are the exact same ones from the cartoon so do not go into this movie expecting any deep character development. If there were any standout, I would say Mathew Fox gets that award. He is so over the top playing the mysterious and aptly named ‘Racer-X’ that you can’t help but like his character. It comes across as no secret who ‘Racer-X’ is if you have any affinity for the cartoon.
The villains in the film are disposable which is good except the main antagonist who is a character mired in corporate drama. There is such a focus on corporations and buyouts it was unnecessary and confusing for the most part. The best villains of the film are the evil drivers who show up just to get run off the track and explored in a fury of CGI fireworks.
The real star and attraction of ‘Speed Racer’ is the special f/x. This movie features at least two scenes that incorporate action and CGI in ways I’ve never seen that are amazing to see. One scene in particular features the majority of the characters in a melee action sequence that feels just fight sequence out the original cartoon. The car races are hyper-kinetic and intense but at times a bit too fast to understand what is actually happening. The look and feel of the film is great and it does feel like a living cartoon because of the lack of realism and long lasting consequences. This is one of the most colorful and vibrant looking films that has ever been made. If you get the chance to see it in IMAX or DLP, I would highly recommend that for the full effect of what a colorful film this truly is. This film takes very daring new steps in the realm of movie effects but that doesn’t mean those are necessary steps in the right direction. It’s visually loud and at such a long run time it can be a bit intense on your senses. The races scenes are supossed to be fast but confusing is mainly how it feels some times. The makes of this film slowed things down for the ‘Matrix’ films so it’s a very strange direction to go completely opposite of that in this movie.
What ‘Speed Racer’ ends up being is a lesson in style over substance and how much that can truly affect a movie. This film is shallow. It’s lacking of any real emotion, story or depth but of course that isn’t why this movie was made. It’s not a deep character analysis of what makes a racer car driver. It’s all about the CGI and the action. It’s a pretty film but its long and extraneous at times. This isn’t a love it or hate it movie, it’s simple a choice of if you have seen the trailer and find it appealing you’ll enjoy the film.