Written by Lazersa few days after seeing "Speed Racer" in its first day at the theaters:
Speed Racer is one of my all-time favorite TV shows. Plans to make a movie version have been floating around for ages. Finally, the project reached a “go” stage, with the Wachowski brothers slated to direct. Although I was pumped, a part of me also realized that there was no way they could possibly make a movie that would satisfy me. My expectations generally were low. I went to see it this past Friday, after work.
The movie started slowly for me. There are flashbacks to when Speed was young and worshipping his older brother, Rex. Then present day, where Speed is being wooed by corporate sponsorship in a colorful and animated world (I couldn’t help but think Pee Wee Herman had something to do with designing the look of the movie). The first race we see (a Prix race) was chaotic- it was hard to see detail in what was happening. My early viewpoint was “blah”.
The movie then hits the pivotal scenes that swayed me in the direction of my final thoughts. Those scenes involve a dangerous road rally called the Crucible (the race in which Rex died years earlier). The race was started by the queen, who fired the starter’s pistol upon first seeing the sunrise. Drivers then raced through some ruins towards the open road. It was the first point at which I thought: “This is very Speed Racer-ish.” From that point on, my love for the movie only grew.
I can’t see a non-Speed Racer fan enjoying the movie. I think it will work only for fans of the show. The pros are many: I thought Matthew Fox was great as Racer X (it was his voice work); there were a many great references and homage to the TV show; as I mentioned, the Crucible was great; I loved the group of rogue henchmen put together for Cruncher Block (as well as some of the rogue racers in the Crucible and climatic Grand Prix); Christina Ricci was hot as Trixie (Ricci is under-rated as a babe!); the Mach 5 looked good (although I could have done without the tire shields).
There were some decisions that I disagreed with, too: I hated how Snake Oiler was depicted; and many elements that should have been there were missing- where were the rest of the Car Acrobatic Team? Where was one of Trixie’s jealous “hmmpf” sounds? Where was the unique and wonderful sound of the Shooting Star? Where was Spridle’s landmark cry for “caaaaandy”? Why was there that much of Mom Racer?
Despite it’s flaws, I loved this movie (giving it 3 ½ stars). I’m very curious to see how it does at the box office (I’ve seen a lot of very negative reviews. The Sun-Times’ Jim Emerson is obviously not a fan of the show). Even if it does well, I lean towards thinking that sequels aren’t planned. Of course, I thought the same about the Wachowski’s “Matrix”, which spawned two sequels.
Speed Racer is one of my all-time favorite TV shows. Plans to make a movie version have been floating around for ages. Finally, the project reached a “go” stage, with the Wachowski brothers slated to direct. Although I was pumped, a part of me also realized that there was no way they could possibly make a movie that would satisfy me. My expectations generally were low. I went to see it this past Friday, after work.
The movie started slowly for me. There are flashbacks to when Speed was young and worshipping his older brother, Rex. Then present day, where Speed is being wooed by corporate sponsorship in a colorful and animated world (I couldn’t help but think Pee Wee Herman had something to do with designing the look of the movie). The first race we see (a Prix race) was chaotic- it was hard to see detail in what was happening. My early viewpoint was “blah”.
The movie then hits the pivotal scenes that swayed me in the direction of my final thoughts. Those scenes involve a dangerous road rally called the Crucible (the race in which Rex died years earlier). The race was started by the queen, who fired the starter’s pistol upon first seeing the sunrise. Drivers then raced through some ruins towards the open road. It was the first point at which I thought: “This is very Speed Racer-ish.” From that point on, my love for the movie only grew.
I can’t see a non-Speed Racer fan enjoying the movie. I think it will work only for fans of the show. The pros are many: I thought Matthew Fox was great as Racer X (it was his voice work); there were a many great references and homage to the TV show; as I mentioned, the Crucible was great; I loved the group of rogue henchmen put together for Cruncher Block (as well as some of the rogue racers in the Crucible and climatic Grand Prix); Christina Ricci was hot as Trixie (Ricci is under-rated as a babe!); the Mach 5 looked good (although I could have done without the tire shields).
There were some decisions that I disagreed with, too: I hated how Snake Oiler was depicted; and many elements that should have been there were missing- where were the rest of the Car Acrobatic Team? Where was one of Trixie’s jealous “hmmpf” sounds? Where was the unique and wonderful sound of the Shooting Star? Where was Spridle’s landmark cry for “caaaaandy”? Why was there that much of Mom Racer?
Despite it’s flaws, I loved this movie (giving it 3 ½ stars). I’m very curious to see how it does at the box office (I’ve seen a lot of very negative reviews. The Sun-Times’ Jim Emerson is obviously not a fan of the show). Even if it does well, I lean towards thinking that sequels aren’t planned. Of course, I thought the same about the Wachowski’s “Matrix”, which spawned two sequels.
2 comments:
EH EH EH EH EH EH EH
Racer X was great. Fox did his part well. It did take time to catch on. And what about the cars - smashing into each other and no damage.
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