Speed Racer

This is in regards to the 2008 film, not the original cartoon series. I know absolutely nothing (absolute is perhaps too definitive) of the original source material, and I can only imagine this has prevented complete and utter disappointment with this live action film. As it stands, I was surprised and perhaps taken a little aback at how much I enjoyed the racing here. What do I know about Speed Racer? The catchy theme song; the monkey, the Mach 5. They are culturally saturated concepts strung together by my imagination into plots that only exist in the dark recesses of my mind. One day I watched an episode of the original cartoon and I laughed, because it was so terrible. But I can see the appeal; we all have a special fondness for childhood loves, but for the person viewing these things for the first time as an adult - well - the results are not good.

Perhaps my friends were fans of Speed Racer, as that may be the only explanation on why I was the only one in my group who was even remotely interested in this film. Alright, there are probably others, as I do enjoy some terrible movies (no really, they are good!) from time to time. But what really set this movie apart, years ago, was the colour. I can only imagine a special effects guy manipulating a dozen sliders on a computer screen, just raping the image by sliding every single one to the right as far as they can, without regard for the end result. What we end up with is something that really makes your HDTV shine in a way conventional film can't, and makes you realize you are watching something with extreme style. For that, I give Speed Racer some points. It's consistent and hyper all the time; the visuals never cease to impress me. Speed Racer is almost prophetic back in 2008 as we are now inundated with films such as Sucker Punch, which focus more on atmosphere, style and imagery than anything else (although we truly have Sin City to blame). The difference between this and Snyder's digital landscapes is the infusion of colour and speed; whereas Zack loves slow motion, bringing out the minute details and movements of his puppets, and the Wachowski's speed things up, blurring objects to overwhelm you with urgency, wonderment and chaos.

Those racing scenes really are quite wild; as a long time fan of the F-Zero series of games, you won't have any problems seeing the inspiration here. The similarities are numerous; cars spin around into one another to knock opponents off track; cars explode (pilots safely escape here, of course) in a blaze; tracks make impossible shapes and defy gravity. It's really quite surreal if you've played the Gamecube version. The only thing differentiating them are the weapons: you don't have any in F-Zero and you sort of do in Speed Racer. In the upper classes of racing, they are quite illegal but in some leagues the vehicles are outfitted with them and you must be prepared to defend oneself. But the main mode of attack - which seems OK everywhere - is jumping. And spinning. Watching Speed bounce around the track in his car - off obstacles, other vehicles - was like watching some martial artist. It was elegant, awe-inspiring and scary. Anakin wouldn't stand a chance against Speed.

And the racing, described above, is about the only redeeming thing going on here, aside from Christina Ricci's deliciously cute close-ups and outfits. The plot is routine but there and quite acceptable. The acting is nonexistant, but that's not to say it was terrible: there are some big names here: John Goodman, Matthew Fox, Susan Sarandon, to name a few. What really gets me is Speed's little brother and the injection of juvenile humour into it; obviously this was a movie for kids but there were elements that were just so asinine it bothered me. I watch a lot of kids movies with my niece and I don't think she would appreciate what was happening here. And perhaps some of that humour is from the absurdity of an old cartoon series, and that's fine, but you're making a different beast here.

In the end, I feel like this would be a movie that I defend on my own, and to chalk it up to my odd likes. I'll give that to you for sure, as I'm surprising myself here. I step back and have to say, I enjoyed it.