Speed Racer Like a Good Race Should Be
Review of: Speed Racer
Overall Rating: 10 A+
Watch trailer here
Speed Racer blew me away! The Wachowski Brothers does it again. They took on a challenging project where they had to blend in the anime ascetic, live action and keep to the spirit of the original Speed Racer cartoon which carries the baggage of the late 60's cartooning style.
They actually achieve an immaculate reality with this project. The beginning will be a little rough for some as the audience gets pulled into the story and setting which has a very different visual style than what today's typical audience is used to. They also use the visual and camera style to create a feel that one would experience from watching an auto race which can be jarring and disorientating. Once into that reality they maintain it brilliantly and overall I was left feeling the same way I do after watching a really good race... exhilarated!
Speed Racer also has a great story which is about a young man who has to stand up and fight against great odds and corporate interests who threaten his family and his world view: racing is about the quality of drivers and not a fixed sport.
Likes
Brilliant balance between action, drama, and comedy
Thrilling and suspenseful like a good race should be
They were able to take a project where a decent portion of the audience knew ahead of time a lot of the key plot points and yet keep the plot points exciting.
Visually stunning and supportive of the story and spirit of racing.
the intro: how they broke up the first race with the flashbacks bringing the audience up to speed both on story and on the racing filming effect
The cuts to the race commentators was a nice tool to bring in more back story without slowing down the film.
The effects are not photo realistic but they were consistent with the film and the style set up so that it didn't pull me out of speed racers reality. Even it takes a few minutes at the beginning of the film to get used to it.
The acting was well done.
Dislikes / Concerns
concern: the first 5-10 minutes of the film. The Wachowski Brothers had a very high bar to cross to bring the audience into the reality of the setting and so the beginning could be difficult for some to cross.
concern: the filming style for the race could be found jarring and confusing turning off those audience members who are more susceptible to motion sickness.
concern: those who do not understand or have a background in the anime style may not like the filming style since the Wachowski Brothers did such a nice job adapting that style into live action.
Needed more Christina Ricci
For more information on Speed Racer
Get your copy of Speed Racer