Speed Racer
Dir Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski, featuring John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Emile Hirsch, Roger Allam (PG)
******
By Dave Calhoun
To say that Speed Racer is colourful would be as misleading as claiming that it's quiet and meditative. Its palette makes The Wizard of Oz look like an episode of Prisoner. Its furious pace and movement make Road Runner seem narcoleptic. This live-action cartoon of a film loudly thrusts a 1960s Japanese anime series into the 21st century.
Writers and directors Andy and Larry Wachowski present a comic strip world played out in a post-Playstation era. Once again they employ and surpass the limitless perspective of a computer game. Their camera (if you can call it that - the film was produced entirely on a green screen) can leap stadiums and entire cities.
The dual worlds of Speed Racer are the suburban home and the cut-and-thrust arena of the racetrack, whose neon spectacle informs the look of the entire film. Lawns are day-glo. Home furnishings are orange. On the track, cars look like dragsters but drive like futuristic robots. Our hosts, the Racer family, are a mid-century sort of unit, not unlike the Flintstones or the Jetsons.
Thematically, it's classic stuff: the little guy versus the corporation, free will versus destiny. Only the telling pushes the boundaries of what we expect from the image. It's so quick that classic edits go out the window; scenes play in extreme close-up. It's not original storytelling, but the spectacle eclipses expectations. Don't forget your sunglasses.
Read The need for Speed, Time Out's feature article on Speed Racer and watch a featurette on the film!
Watch the trailer