The Wachowski Brothers, who shot to fame with their highly imaginative monochrome world in The Matrix trilogy, have introduced new colors to their palette with their adaptation of the Japanese cartoon classic, Speed Racer. In fact, they may have introduced all the other colors this time around.
Stylistically owing less to its source material and more to films like Tron and Dick Tracy, movies that rely so heavily on the visuals for design and structure as well as emotional emphasis, Speed Racer is overflowing with artistry, sometimes propelling the story but occasionally at the expense of it.
Referencing Tron, the 1982 Disney cult classic about a video game designer sucked into his own game, is nothing new to Larry and Andy Wachowski; The Matrix is a deeper, darker version of the story and at least at a very fundamental level, there is some carryover in the plot of Speed Racer, as well.
Speed (Emile Hirsch, brilliant in last year’s Into the Wild) grew up around racing. His father (John Goodman) builds cars and his older brother Rex (Scott Porter) is a local legend, thanks to his on-the-track heroics and his untimely death behind the wheel. Now it’s Speed’s turn to put the polish back on the Racer name as one of the last true independents in the World Racing League.
Standing in his way is Royalton (Roger Allam), a kind of evil Richard Branson of the racing world. He tries to coerce Speed into joining his well-connected and very wealthy team, a move that Speed rejects out of loyalty to his family. So Royalton does what villains in movies always do — he plots to ruin the hero. But with the help of Inspector Detector (Benno Furmann) and, of course, Racer X (Matthew Fox), Speed will try to overcome Royalton’s chicanery at speeds in excess of 200 mph.
Speed Racer begins in unforgettable fashion, with the backstory, primarily covering Rex’s death and Speed’s relationship with his older brother, shown through a series of flashbacks from four perspectives while the younger Racer tries to break Rex’s record at the local track. Within fifteen minutes, the Wachowskis introduce the major characters and themes while orchestrating an exciting, completely computer generated race.
Article comments
1 - brack
Oh, I can finish any dessert, no problem.
Nice review, I'm looking forward to seeing this on an IMAX screen this weekend.
2 - Deano
I just finished taking two ten-year olds to see it. Predictable as the plot might be, they were literally on the edge of their seats for the finale and even Dad found the movie to be throughly fun and much, much better then the picture being portrayed by the critics, who seem hung up on the candy-colored visuals and anime roots.
I thought it was worth the price of the tickets.