Cinematography:
David TattersallComposer:
Michael GiacchinoCast:
Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Hiroyuki Sanada, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Scott Porter, Benno Fürmann, Richard Roundtree, Christian Oliver (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Start your engines and fasten your seatbelts for the high-octane adventure Speed Racer, combining heartfelt family humor and groundbreaking visual effects. Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a natural behind the wheel of his thunderous Mach 5. With support from Pops and Mom Racer (John Goodman and Susan Sarandon), girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci), younger brother Spritle (Paulie Litt) and the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox), Speed takes on fierce competitors to save his family’s business and protect the sport he loves. When Speed steps onto the track, it’s not just a race. It’s an adrenaline-fueled, high-speed charge to the finish. Go, Speed Racer, go! (Warner Bros. US)
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Reviews (13)
Despite my aversion to Japanese animated series, despite the silly humor that abounds, despite the heaps of clichés and despite the silly characters of the little brother and his tame chimpanzee... I actually had fun with this. Not groundbreaking or memorable, but thanks to the stunning visuals, imaginative racing scenes and Giacchino's music, it's pretty much sound from start to finish. Three and a bit.
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The races: a perfect spectacle, your eyes are amazed, your adrenaline rises, and you're subconsciously gripping the steering wheel and stepping on the pedal. The dialogue, comic relief, and everything else: disappointment, and often unexpected suffering. The parents make an effort, the brother rolls his eyes, and Trixie, a lovely sexy figure, winks her eyes and helps the main hero. And meanwhile, I'm praying for someone to step on that pedal again. It is truly a very uneven mixture, you climb into Speed's cockpit and you still don't get under his skin for even a bit throughout the two hours. And at that moment, any possible enthusiasm for the film as a whole ends for me. A visual orgy on zero background. This is supposedly how films are supposed to look in the future. I think (and I strongly hope) not. P.S.: Big plus for the mysterious Matthew Fox, who can create a deep character out of anything.
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The first twenty minutes I joyfully wallowed in its ingenuity, stylization and precision that the Wachowskis shower at you both horizontally and vertically. But then the same happens over and over for the rest of the movie. Here and there a wonderful moment occurs, but mostly you just get a chimp gawping out at you from the screen. And I don’t mean the excellent as always Hirsch. In my eyes it gradually devolves into the level of a far too long tripped out paint by numbers book that isn’t shaken out of its over-combined lethargy until the very end. Personally, I was expecting something different and more bizarre. This was, Speedy’s adventures make a traditional infantile family movie about the right values, with a pinch of insight into basic capitalism for the very young. So, certainly baloney, but not much fun. Still I would like to recommend this epileptic’s paradise because you really don’t get the chance to see something like this every day. And, last but not least, for that feeling of speed that the Wachowski siblings (can’t call them brothers, can I?) are so skilled at instilling. P.S.: That monkey in the pajamas has an unpleasantly penetrating gaze. I still have the feeling that somebody’s looking at me. Brr.
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The Wachowskis show once again their technical skills and impress with an incredible range of perfectly tuned colors, visuals, a captivating concept of car races, and typical camera positions and shooting systems of some scenes. On the other hand, they have quite traditionally forgotten about the script, which oscillates between a “sketch” from a silly sitcom and entertainment for the whole family, especially for the younger ones. The plot is very dysfunctional, but technically breathtaking. The classic that we are used to, but this time we won't forgive it.
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The audiovisual side of the movie is simply unbelievable. Painstaking racing scenes interspersed with a conflict between a family firm and a megalomaniac corporation represented by the slippery Roger Allam. Emile Hirsch gave a great performance in the role of Speed and I was equally surprised by Matthew Fox as the mysterious Racer X. Playful, sweet and funny (unfortunately sometimes too much so). Great for kids, remarkably digestible for adults.
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