What was the Plot and how was it?

Donny: “Speed Racer” is doing his best to win races and make his family proud, but because he won’t sell his soul to corporate sponsors he puts his family in danger. Only with the help of Racer X (we all knew it was his brother anyway) he’s able to triumph over the evil money hungry corporations and race with his heart.

In my book the Wachowski’s created a pretty awesome live action representation of a classic cartoon. Instead of trying to bring the characters into the real world they left them exactly as they were in the cartoon. This is a kid’s film with a PG rating and the plot is right in the ballpark for this audience. I’ve heard a lot of negative remarks about the runtime (Jon), but its length didn’t affect me and my seven-year-old son was glued to the screen and enjoyed every colorful second. So for me the paper-thin plot (which was usually paper thin in the cartoon as well) worked well for this film. It’s not just a movie made after a cartoon it is a live action cartoon.


Jon: What I enjoyed was some of the subtext about being to corporate and throwing races. It had that little something extra that even though the real plot is a bit paper thin, made me a little more invested in this. You can draw comparisons from “Speed Racer” to collegiate sports, like how some companies try to buy the athlete prior to their pro days. It’s taken from the headlines and I think this gives a little more weight to the film, but make no mistake it’s a family or kids film first and a rather predictable story at that. There’s no real mystery to Racer X, his secret identity isn’t known to Speed until the end, but over an hour ago we knew who it was. Seeing Roger Allam for the first time and despite his niceness to the Racer family, you just know he’s evil and the villain. While I’m looking at this through an adult’s eyes, I’m sure kids will be somewhat thrilled at the setup.

What really bugged me though was the length of the film. The two hour and fifteen minute running time is 45 minutes too long. This is a kid’s film, ya know? This isn’t an epic although the Wachowskis try to extend it into such. If this was a lean 80 some odd minute film, I think a lot of the negativity towards would be lessened. It’s just way too long for such a paper thin idea and story. It’s probably the films biggest damning point.

How was the Acting?

Donny: Matthew Fox owned the Racer X character, his voice and composure were perfect. Goodman did a great job as well with the grunts and facial expressions, he brought pops to life. Paulie Litt and his monkey Chim Chim also rocked, but for me Emile Hirsch was Speed Racer. He brought a cartoon character to life that is a cultural icon for fans of the source material and he did the role justice. I loved the fact that the whole cast slightly over acted for certain parts of flick mimicking the overly emotional anime characters. Great casting.

Jon: The old cartoon wasn’t a wealth of back material to craft deep, three-dimensional characters, so it’s a testament to John Goodman, Roger Allam, Christina Ricci that they are as good as they are. I mean it’s not riveting thespian work, but Goodman craft a presence as Pops showing authority without being mean or overly verbal. His little grunts and facial quirks are enough. Ricci is perfectly bubbly as Trixie. Usually Ricci is very hit-or-miss for me. She’s either too wooden (like in “Monster”) or nuanced (like in “Black Snake Moan”), and here she’s lively and cute. It’s not a stretch but at least she’s in on what the film is.

Now, Emile Hirsch obviously thinks he is in a different movie because he treats everything with such seriousness and gravity it’s almost comical. He looks like Speed and handles action part of the character okay, but in emotional scenes with Racer X or Pops, he over-does it, creating a too serious persona. It’s “Speed Racer” Emile! His goofy distant eyes might’ve worked in “Into the Wild” but he needed to loosen up and enjoy being there. This is one of those performances that make you think is this the same kid that was acclaimed for his work in “Into the Wild”? He is and he’s not good here.

How was the direction by the Wachowskis?

Donny: Wachowski’s know how to handle action and they know how to make a film looks like nothing anyone has seen before. The colors in this flick are vibrant and dizzying at times, but also stunning. Everything in this movie is gorgeous to look it, and the fact that it looks and feels nothing like the Wachowski’s previous flicks proves that they aren’t one trick ponies. I loved that they didn’t bother with making the sky move, and that they mixed CG with traditional animation as well. It was evident that these guys loved the cartoon and in my eyes they did everything they could to stay as true to the it as possible.

Jon: If you can say anything about the Wachowskis, it’s that they have a keen sense of action and crafting some ‘wow’ moments. The look of the film is a polarizing thing: people will either love how the film looks like a live-action anime or be dispassionate from it. Simple things like Speed day-dreaming in class turn into a visual fest where his imagination racing along with him in a furious collage of CG, live-action, and cell animation. That was cool, a ‘wow’ moment. The art direction is a kaleidoscope of every color in the color wheel, a complete opposite from the murky green-hued “Matrix” films. Some directors get stuck in the same visual palette so it’s refreshing to see them experiment.

At times it does become an over-kill, seeing them experiment and blitz you with all the colors. What is a little more problematic is that the racing scenes lack a clear sense of geography. We never really know where Speed is to his environment. This creates no rules for us to latch onto, making the races more thrilling. Instead there just hyper segments filled with CG explosions and crashes hoping for you to go ‘wow’ instead of ‘huh’? There are a few moments where the live actors seem like they are against rear-projection. The look sometimes works and other times don’t. It’s like these people fell into a cartoon world like “Cool World” or something. If anything though, the visual look of the film is its best aspect and something we’ve come to expect from the Wachowskis.

How did it compare to the cartoon?

Donny: I watched “Speed Racer” when I was a kid, but I wasn’t an uberfan. Now my son on the other hand is a huge fan of the cartoon causing me to revisit it as an adult, and those old episodes still hold up. So when I heard they were going to make a live action version I wasn’t very excited, but after watching said version I am now a believer. I have never seen live action cartoon flick so perfect. This movie is live action anime! They even took story elements directly out of the cartoon series and brought them to life so perfectly that at times it felt like I was watching a cartoon instead of a live action movie.

Jon: I’ve seen a few episodes and from what I heard, the film feels like a direct export to the silver screen. Since I don’t know every little thing about the “Speed Racer” universe, from the look of the cartoon, this early ‘60s anime, I can say that the Wachowskis have kept the spirit of the show intact. Even scenes of characters talking move as the cameras circle past them with the blurred motion in the background. If you ever wondered how the style of anime would look translated verbatim to live-action, just watch “Speed Racer”.

Overall opinion?

Donny: I enjoyed this film from beginning to end and I’m positive that fans of the cartoon will enjoy it as well, but in the end “Speed Racer” if for the children, and anyone looking for a fun family flick to bring the kiddies to will not be disappointed. “Speed Racer” is a killer film
Grade: A

Jon: The trailers made this thing out to be a turd and truth be told it’s not that bad. I was one that was expecting this thing to suck worse than a black hole. I’ve seen plenty of more wretched pieces of so-called cinema. But bottom line it’s just not that good. While there’s nothing offensive for the youngsters, “Speed Racer” is just an overly silly film that is just way too long. Good family films are always in demand and for people looking for non-animated fare; it’s really been a slow year. But really I don’t think "Speed Racer” is for them; it’s long, it’s annoying, and ultimately, why don’t you just wait for “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”? I initially said skip this in Killer Film’s Box Office Preview for May, but upon seeing it, I stick by my first impressions.
Grade: C-