Speed Racer

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Alex, Kyla

One of my all time favourite films ever. And I hate Car Racing. Number 5 on my Top 10 of 2008, just below The Dark Knight but above Wall-E. I think I might actually rate it even higher now though. Like Scott Pilgrim Vs The World it's a film I find joyously exhilarating and a visual feast and yet no-one went to see it and some people down right hate it and just can't handle the hyper-stylization.

The Wachowski's take things to a whole new level on this one. It's a real live action anime, using the flat style 2d compositing from animated shows but with 3d and live action elements for the layers, complete with disregard for perspective. It's also a whole different kind of editing too, with overlays functioning as transitional wipes and many a whip pan, the shots just flow into one another. It boggles the mind. And shooting digitally there is no film grain, the bluray is the cleanest, brightest most colourful live action film I own. It's like nothing else.

The action is just awesome. I believe they coined the phrase "Car-fu" and it suits. There's some ridiculously fun sequences and they fit in a lot of the fun gadgets from the TV Show. But it's not just the racing and car madness, there's also some kick-ass hand to hand fight sequences with ninjas (more like nonjas... terrible what passes for a ninja these days) and shoot outs with hilariously cartoonish gangsters. They even have the anime style whoosh lines. Oh man I just love it so much.

But through all this mad visual candy, a really great story is told, it's pretty epic too. The characters have been perfectly fleshed out from the show by great actors. Even Spritle and Chim-chim, while playing the annoying comedic relief have a few genuinely great moments. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon are the best mum and dad in the world. There's some real dramatic moments too. The whole opening is a dazzling feat of storytelling and editing, from multiple timelines and character set-ups all rolled into one sequence. We see young Speed at school and meet Trixie, intercut with the present and Speed racing the ghost of his brother, intercut with his brothers tragic backstory. I just couldn't even imagine getting all that out in a script like that. Incredible, easy to follow AND emotional.

There's something about the editing, the music, the action, the acting in that final race that always manages to get me on the edge of my seat, get my heart pumping and I'll admit it, get a little teary eyed. It just gets me. I think Michael Giacchino's great score has a lot to do with it.

I just can't understate enough how much I love this film. Too many people wrote this off as a stupid looking kids film, cash in on an old Show. But you can expect s much more from the Wachowski's. It's not as stupid or kiddy as it looks. I can appreciate it's just to much stylistically for some people to get their heads around but just give it a chance and you might be surprised.