Speed Racer
"Was that a ninja?"
"More like a non-ja. It's terrible what passes for a ninja these days!"
The day dialogue like that becomes looked down upon is the same day a little part of my soul dies.
Flawed or not, I don't think anyone can accuse filmmaking siblings, Larry and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix Trilogy), of not knowing what they were doing in making this movie. This is a total love letter to the show that used to thrill them as children, and you can tell that they were having the time of their lives writing this thing, and filming it. The cast is more than game, and know how to put just the right amount of ham in their performances, without causing the audience to choke upon it. It knows what it is, does not try to be anything but, and anyone in the audience who walks in expecting anything more deserves to be disappointed. Here is a movie where the heroes have names like Racer X and Inspector Detector, while the villains have names like Snake Oiler and Cruncher Block. Take it as you will. This is a live action movie set in a lavish cartoon world where the law of physics do not apply. It's centered around the sport of automobile racing, but the racers in this film seem inspired more by comic books or Professional Wrestling, and the cars are equipped with hidden weapons that look like the kind of stuff James Bond would use if his gadgets were invented by the same company that made the Coyote's gadgets in the old Looney Tunes shorts. (I especially liked the car that launched bee hives, complete with buzzing bees, at its opponents on the track.)
Of course, there's a story behind all the special effects and cartoon-inspired chaos. It's a shaky one, but I get the feeling the plot was the last thing on the filmmakers' mind. (Which is the way it should be in a Speed Racer movie.) The Racer family, headed by the aptly named Pop and Mom Racer (played by John Goodman and Susan Sarandon, respectively) have long been independents on the racing circuit, competing mainly for the thrill and fun of the sport, rather than the lucrative contract deals. There was a tragedy years ago when eldest son Rex Racer (Scott Porter from the recent Prom Night) left the family to pursue his own interests, and wound up dying on the track in an accident. Since then, young Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch from Into the Wild) has grown up wanting to restore the family name in the sport, and literally races against his brother's ghost whenever he's on the track, wanting to live up to his former glory. Speed's growing fame in the racing circuit brings him to the attention of the wealthy and sleazy promoter, Royalton (Roger Allam), who pretty much offers the young driver the world if he will race under his name. With the support of his family, and feisty yet cute girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed respectively declines the offer, not wanting to enter the money and power-obsessed world Royalton lives in.
He later finds out it was a smart decision, as Royalton's company is under investigation of cheating during major races. Local police detective, Inspector Detector (Benno Furmann), wants Speed to go undercover and try to expose Royalton's dirty dealings behind the scenes. He will team up with the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox), a racer who hides his identity behind a superhero's outfit, to uncover the evil plot. Along the way, he will be drawn into fights with ninjas, gangsters, and crooked drivers who will do anything to win. And just to make sure there's something for the kids to latch onto, Speed has a meddling little brother named Spritle (Paulie Litt), who causes constant comedic problems for everyone, along with his pet monkey and sidekick, Chim-Chim. Much of the antics of the kid and the chimp are designed to appeal to the youngest in the audience, but I admit, I smiled when they stopped the action right when Speed and Trixie were about to kiss, warning the audience that what was about to come may be hazardous for those in the audience not up on their Cootie Shots.
Just reading those last two paragraphs should let you know whether Speed Racer is a movie for you. The world the Wachowskis have created for their characters seems to be a melding of a 10-year-old's look at the world, crossed with a living cartoon or video game. Many have accused it of being overkill, and when I initially saw the trailers, I have to admit I agreed. And yet, seeing the film in its entirety, I admired it. This is not a special effects budget gone out of control, but controlled chaos. The action is certainly frantic, but never overwhelming and confusing, as in last summer's Transformers movie. I found myself able to keep constant track of what was going on, and who was doing what to whom. I also enjoyed the look of the different locals. The Racers' suburban home seems to be inspired by 60s pop art, with garish furnishing and flower-patterned walls. The city where Royalton's corporation makes it home seems inspired partly by the recent Star Wars films, and partly by the dreams of a very imaginative child of what the big city looks like. The races, with their winding tracks and numerous hazards (spikes rising up randomly out of the pavement, for example), looks like what car racing would be if it were designed by someone with a sick sense of humor. The Wachowski Brothers seem to have completely forgotten about what anyone else says. As long as they think it's cool and makes them grin, they put it in their screenplay. In the wrong hands, this could certainly be dangerous. But they have control over their world, and know just how to pull it off so that I was smiling right along with them, rather than feeling like I was being dragged along for the ride.
There is, however, something known as too much of a good thing. With a running time of over two hours, Speed Racer starts to wear out even the most enthused viewer. The cast is energetic, the look is imaginative, and the whole thing has a sense of just wanting to be fun. And yet, there's no denying that the film has plenty of moments that drag down the momentum. These are mostly the plot-oriented scenes, or the moments when the Racer family sit down and talk to each other about their past, or what's currently going on. Some of these moments could have been shortened or tightened up, and we'd be left with a much better film all around. I hate being on a fence with a movie, especially one that so unashamed about reaching that sense of wonder and excitement everyone has when they are young. And yet, that's squarely where I find myself looking back on this movie. Every time I find myself smiling as I think back on my favorite moments and the wonderful cast, my thoughts eventually tend to wander to what didn't work. These moments kept me from fully embracing the film, and likewise keep me from writing a fully enthused review.
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