'Speed Racer' forces viewers to fasten their seatbelts
By Max Bonem, Staff Writer
May 16, 2008 | 3 p.m.
For some, the presence of constant green screen use and digital imaging may deter them from seeing "Speed Racer," but do not be fooled. The world that is created in this movie is purely magical.
“Speed Racer” is a live-action adaptation of the 1960s Japanese anime cartoon of the same name. The story is based around a young driver named Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) and his quest to take over the racing circuit in an imaginary California-meets-Tokyo wonder world. His family and crew, made up of his mother, Mom Racer (Susan Sarandon), and father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), help Speed develop into the best driver on the circuit while helping him to stay focused on what is really important: his family. In addition to solid performances by Sarandon and Goodman, Christina Ricci plays Speed’s girlfriend Trixie and presents her best PG performance since “Casper.”
After Speed begins climbing the ladder of success, he is presented with the opportunity to join a very prestigious race team, but he turns down the offer. In return he is stuck in a battle against every other driver on the road.
Speed Racer’s one great ally throughout the film is the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox), who is also well aware of the corruption in professional racing. The two characters possess a kindred spirit, and in the end a secret is revealed to show just how close Speed Racer and Racer X really are.
For many moviegoers the previews for this film presented overwhelming visuals and digital imaging considered simply unimaginable. However, the Wachowski brothers, who both wrote and directed the film, have done an amazing job at keeping moviegoers on the edge of their seats, mesmerized by everything that is going on before their eyes.
The Wachowskis, who teamed up with producer Joel Silver for the third time (“V for Vendetta” and “The Matrix” Trilogy), have created a movie that is truly remarkable in the sense that almost every scene was shot in front of a green screen. Although this may seem like an atrocity to some, the amazing camera work and editing masks the occasionally obvious alienation that can be seen in an actor’s performance when being stuck alone in a green room.
Some of the acting indeed suffers because of these circumstances, but for the most part, even the most difficult scenes that occur within the driver’s seat come out as masterfully edited exchanges between the actors.
The Wachowski brothers are also very successful at taking the audience into the race scenes. The shaking, bumpiness and tense feeling that go along with being in a race car are accentuated terrifically in several pivotal scenes in “Speed Racer.” If nothing else the movie makes the audience feel like it could be in an actual race in an over-the-top anime world.
What is also remarkable about the film is the way in which Hirsch steals the show as Speed. His execution as the homely underdog and superstar-in-the-making shows just how far he has come since appearing in films such as “The Girl Next Door” and “Lords of Dogtown.”
Hirsch balances very well with his co-stars in the film, but he shows particular chemistry with Fox as Racer X. Although Fox has gained more acclaim for his role as Dr. Jack Shephard on “Lost” than he has for his movie career, his portrayal of the mysterious mentor that Speed looks to in his times of need helps supply a human touch to the mechanical and robotic vibe that the movie sometimes gives off.
Whether moviegoers are looking for dazzling computer animation, colors brighter than a bag of Skittles or the confirmation that Ricci would get past her slide of movies that included “Black Snake Moan,” “Speed Racer” is a powerhouse of visual sensations that delivers on almost every note. The Wachowski brothers set out to change the way that movies are seen, and although smell-a-vision is still in the works, the visual experience that this team has created is like none other before it.
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"Speed Racer"
Speakeasy Rating: B
Run Time: 135 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated PG for sequences of action, some violence and language.