Flashing lights off set corny dialogue
For such a nonsensical film with the corniest acting imaginable, “Speed Racer” still manages to be a fun ride with its dazzling special effects and ridiculous race sequences.
“Speed Racer” is the story of Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch, “Into the Wild”), the second and most ambitious son in the racer family. Haunted by the death of older brother and idol Rex, (Scott Porter, “Prom Night”), Speed is trying to carry on the family legacy by winning the infamous Grand Prix race. On his way to the top, Speed is tempted by the owner of racing conglomerate Royalton Industries to sign to a major race team and merge his independent family team with the major corporation. Now, Speed must decide what is right for his family while trying not to relive all the mistakes that led to his brother’s demise.
For never seeing any of the original “Speed Racer” shows on television, I didn’t know what to expect from this big screen adaptation. After viewing this candy coated mind trip, I sure as hell hope the TV series was as corny and absurd, because I honestly have a hard time believing the creators of the Matrix (The Wachowski Brothers) could create something this frivolous.
There are two points that can be made about the Wachowskis’ film making abilities from watching “Speed Racer.
First, The Wachowski’s are still two of the most imaginative and creative filmmakers in Hollywood. While The Matrix redefined the special effects world with “bullet time”, “Speed Racer” redefines green screen capabilities by introducing the most exotic color pallet ever seen by the human eye.
I was only able to watch it on regular DVD, but am now afraid to think of what watching the headache inducing effects on Blu-ray would do to someone’s Occipital Lobe (part of the brain associated with visual processing).
Second, the brothers should stick to flicks that do not involve much humor or children characters. While Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci play acceptable renegade adolescents and John Goodman does a good job of portraying the overbearing, but caring father, Paulie Litt’s character, Spritle is unbearable. Being that he is so young, I find it hard to blame him, but look to the people that guided his obnoxious role. Not even Cheetos can compete against Spritle and his monkey sidekick, because they are now officially the cheesiest!
Beyond the plot and acting is the saving grace of the film, the race sequences. Thankfully, most of them are long and by god are they entertaining. Science geeks will have a heart attack when they see that the laws of gravity and all common knowledge are broken, but casual viewers will be thrilled to see the acrobatic cars pop around the screen.
With the single disc version of the DVD comes only two special features. The first is a 15-minute making of the film hosted by the intolerable Paulie Litt (aka Spritle). While he is extremely annoying, the random trivia facts and behind the scenes peeks are actually worth spending the time watching. The other feature is a guide to the cars and the world of “Speed Racer”. Narrated by a guy who sounds like a Monster Truck announcer reject, this 15-minute piece is informative, but mostly unnecessary.
The C+ grade I gave this film might not show much enthusiasm, but I encourage all to experience film making ingenuity at its finest in “Speed Racer”.
‘Speed Racer’
DVD Release Date: September 16
Directors: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, and Matthew Fox
Rating: PG for sequences of action, some violence and language.
Grade: C+
Jay Brissenden can be reached at: jbrissenden@nevadasagebrush.com
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on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at 12:58 am and is filed under Arts & Entertainment, DVD Reviews, Vibe.
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