After the success of the Matrix trilogy (of which I think only the first one was really good) the Wachowskis were a “hot property” in Hollywood. With their love for comics, they wrote them for Marvel before they started making movies, they adapted V for Vendetta to the big screen. It turned out that this wasn’t their last comic book adaptation as they decided to make Speed Racer their next project. Although the original was a popular manga in Japan, it became big in the US as well when it broadcasted as a cartoon during the sixties. For the movie adaptation they received a budget of 120 million and they have managed to create a unique movie.
The first thing you will notice when watching this are the visuals. It looks like the type of movie Willy Wonka would make if he owned a movie studio as the colors are extremely bright and you almost get the feeling that dark colors don’t exist. Obviously this is a movie made for kids. Another thing you will notice is that almost everything was shot in front of a green screen, which makes some of the camera moves feel unnatural (which was probably done on purpose to get more of a cartoony feeling). The end result is a lot of spectacle though.
The best part of a movie about a racecar driver should of course be the races. The car which Speed (Emile Hirsch) drives can do more than just drive a straight line and can make moves which wouldn’t seem out-of-place in a racing game, like making 360 turns or sliding along the border of the track like a skateboarder doing a grind. These are fun moments, but a movie with only races wouldn’t be that interesting, so what about the story?
Speed is very talented and a lot of people are interested in signing him. A visit by Mr. Royalton (Roger Allam), CEO of one of the world’s biggest multinationals, gives him a chance to earn more money and drive a better car. It’s a tough choice for Speed as he’s been working together with his father (John Goodman) for years and has to make a choice between family and money. The fact that his brother died having a similar choice as he left arguing makes the choice even harder.
Speed Racer wasn’t a big success once it came out, but it’s definitely worth watching. The cool races and entertaining story (which has a both drama and humor) make this a satisfying movie.
Score: 8
I am not sure how I feel about this film yet, or whether or not I should give it a look. You are pretty convincing in your review though, great work. Love the blog.
Well, it depends on what type of movies you like. I’m a big fan of kids movies and this one managed to entertain from beginning to end.
I, like you, quite enjoyed this movie. I know it wasn’t greatly received by the general Movie Public. but I enjoyed the visuals a lot!!
Thanks for sharing Nostra
Yep, we’re in the same boat here. That’s always a reason for me to watch a movie yourself even though it wasn’t greatly received as you might like it. Sometimes others are right (like The Happening), but in this case it was nice to see it pleasantly surprising you.
You’re one of the few who liked the movie, as did I. I think the review is spot on.
Thanks 🙂
I don’t honestly recall much about Speed Racer, I remember thinking at the time that it wasn’t as good as The Matrix or V fo Vendetta.
The parents were too old, it was weird to me they tried to make Susan Sarandon and John Goodman 20 or so years younger. They are grandparent age now. This made the family dynamics unrealistic for me. The visuals as you say are amazing.
It’s hard to compare it to those movies as this is a kids movie. I prefer both the first Matrix and V for Vendetta as well, but this movie wasn’t bad.
I never looked at it this way, but yeah they might have been a bit too old to play parents with the little kid still in the house. Else it would have been possible.