* a suggestion by Michael Kazepis *
I don't know how it happened, but I have now watched every non-Matrix film directed by the Wachowskis. The brothers (now brother and sister, long story) have always kept the aura of their breakout hit, but never delivered anything in the same ballpark of groundbreaking vision afterwards, really. Their 2008 adaptation of classic Japanese anime SPEED RACER is one of their most controversial efforts to date. Condemned by some as their M. Night Shyamalan moment and hailed by others as one of the most original mainstream film to hit the theaters that year. The truth lies somewhere it between, but if you're going into SPEED RACER with an open mind, it'll surprise you because it might not be a great emotional experience, but it does have great moments.
In a distant future, the borefest of F1 has been replaced by a spectacular full contact bumper car racing extravaganza that sometimes happen on an obstacle course. The Racer family has always been an independent entity in the business, but their professional history is soiled by the dramatic passing of their older son and transcendent elite driver Rex (Scott Porter, from the glorious Friday Night Lights legacy). Racing is in the blood of the Racer family though (which such a name!) and Rex's little brother Speed (Emile Hirsch) now has the family's future on his shoudlers. After refusing the help of a major sponsor (Roger Allam) though, everything the Racers have built is threatened and their legacy lies entirely on Speed's stellar driving skills.
Let's get the elephant out of the room right now: SPEED RACER is a bizarre middle-ground between family-friendly movies such as THE ADDAMS FAMILY and Japanese Anime. It's difficult to wrap your mind around what you're watching during the first half of them movie, but try to keep that in mind. Of course, if you look at SPEED RACER from the plot synopsis, it's just a silly action comedy about a futuristic racing family, but if you break it down in part, the film oddly starts to shine.
Take Christina Ricci's character Trixie, for example. I know a lot has been said lately about Imperator Furiosa's feminist virtues in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, but the Wachowskis were doing it before it was cool. SPEED RACER might not take itself seriously, but it doesn't change the fact that Trixie's badass: she knows Kung Fu, she builds race cars, drives them in a pinch, she always finds a way to make herself useful, she's in a committed relationship that nobody even questions and despite being seemingly very young, she knows where the line between being sexy and being tasteless is drawn. I mean, she's just a support character, but she has to bee the healthiest girlfriend archetype I've ever seen in a movie.
In a distant future, the borefest of F1 has been replaced by a spectacular full contact bumper car racing extravaganza that sometimes happen on an obstacle course. The Racer family has always been an independent entity in the business, but their professional history is soiled by the dramatic passing of their older son and transcendent elite driver Rex (Scott Porter, from the glorious Friday Night Lights legacy). Racing is in the blood of the Racer family though (which such a name!) and Rex's little brother Speed (Emile Hirsch) now has the family's future on his shoudlers. After refusing the help of a major sponsor (Roger Allam) though, everything the Racers have built is threatened and their legacy lies entirely on Speed's stellar driving skills.
Let's get the elephant out of the room right now: SPEED RACER is a bizarre middle-ground between family-friendly movies such as THE ADDAMS FAMILY and Japanese Anime. It's difficult to wrap your mind around what you're watching during the first half of them movie, but try to keep that in mind. Of course, if you look at SPEED RACER from the plot synopsis, it's just a silly action comedy about a futuristic racing family, but if you break it down in part, the film oddly starts to shine.
Take Christina Ricci's character Trixie, for example. I know a lot has been said lately about Imperator Furiosa's feminist virtues in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, but the Wachowskis were doing it before it was cool. SPEED RACER might not take itself seriously, but it doesn't change the fact that Trixie's badass: she knows Kung Fu, she builds race cars, drives them in a pinch, she always finds a way to make herself useful, she's in a committed relationship that nobody even questions and despite being seemingly very young, she knows where the line between being sexy and being tasteless is drawn. I mean, she's just a support character, but she has to bee the healthiest girlfriend archetype I've ever seen in a movie.
Trixie is about to kick some serious ass.
Another odd and amusing, yet shining moment of SPEED RACER is its take on competition. There are a lot of sports movies out there and the majority of them are elitist masturbation, but under its colourful varnish, SPEED RACER makes an awful lot of sense. The very concept of competition has a bad rep in family friendly movies such as this one, but without spoiling anything, I'll just tell you that the ending of SPEED RACER is one of the greatest apologies of competitivesness I've ever heard. It comes from an unlikely source, so it is most likely to plaster you all over your seat/couch, but if you've ever competed at sports or anything, you'll have that queasy religious moment where you feel that SPEED RACER "gets" you and it's both beautiful and hilarious. That's great screenwriting right there. It goes a long way.
The Wachowskis are curious animals in the Hollywood landscape. They are talented and creative and they hold on to their creative freedom with rabid energy. SPEED RACER exists for one reason only: they wanted to see what would happen if they tried their hand at it. I believe it's a healthy way of creating art, organically. It was a colossal box office failure, but it doesn't change the fact that it's an absolutely crazy, enjoyable and oddly intellectual comedy about futuristic racing. Don't let its reputation get in the way of your enjoyment, SPEED RACER is an underrated movie that managers to have a philosophy despite its scorching pace and its debilitating avalanche of colours. It definitely should not be counted against The Wachowskis.
The Wachowskis are curious animals in the Hollywood landscape. They are talented and creative and they hold on to their creative freedom with rabid energy. SPEED RACER exists for one reason only: they wanted to see what would happen if they tried their hand at it. I believe it's a healthy way of creating art, organically. It was a colossal box office failure, but it doesn't change the fact that it's an absolutely crazy, enjoyable and oddly intellectual comedy about futuristic racing. Don't let its reputation get in the way of your enjoyment, SPEED RACER is an underrated movie that managers to have a philosophy despite its scorching pace and its debilitating avalanche of colours. It definitely should not be counted against The Wachowskis.