Speed Racer (2008) deserved more respect.
- Thread starter EmmanuelZorg
- Start date
I concur on all points. It's my third favorite film of the summer of 2008, too, with The Dark Knight first and WALL-E second. Speed Racer has an ending that is enormously effective and satisfying, both viscerally and emotionally.
I actually didn't like the ending. The middle sequence was so much better through the mountains and stuff, with all the established villains and Racer X and RAIIIIIINNNNNNNN!!! The final race was in a closed stadium and none of the baddies from the entire movie were there, just the one guy he briefly meets at the corporate HQ.
Well maybe Avatar The Last AirBender might save Shayamalan's carreer.
Its still in my Netflix queue so no comment as of yet.
I feel though that similar threads will pop next year about this time about Terminator Salvation.
I feel though that similar threads will pop next year about this time about Terminator Salvation.
The original Speed Racer was brutal. Seriously. It lacked blood, but there was violence at every corner. In addition to the absurdly dangerous cross country road races which usually included a few unsurvivable plunges off of high cliffs by less skilled drivers, there were always Communist spies and international criminal syndicates using the races for their own nefarious purposes, purposes that Speed just happened to stumble upon, a fact that would generally lead to Racer X cutting the bad guys down en mass with a submachine gun.
Most people miss this because they're distracted by the fast talking (to keep the dubbing synchronized with the animated lips) and the kid and the monkey who always hide in the trunk.
Way back in the 80s, a company called NOW Comics did an Americanized comic book adaptation that emphasized realism and didn't shy away from the deadly violence and gunplay displayed in the original, producing a masterpiece that most certainly isn't for all ages, but which teens and adults can enjoy.
This movie retain the violence of the original, but simultaneously downplays it and moves it further into the realm of the fantastic in order to cater to the family demographics. The races remain absurdly dangerous, often fantastically so, and there is some shooting. But the weapons are less realistic, and there isn't the same wholesale slaughter as was common in the original. This isn't a bad thing, it's a fun movie for all ages and it does Speed Racer justice, even if it doesn't take it entirely seriously. Certainly, it's more campy than most films these days, and not gritty or foreboding, which they could have easily done with the source material.
The world of Speed Racer is a mostly CGI bright candy-colored retro-future, the kind of world that people must have imagined in the 60a must have been like. It was a bold and brilliant choice, one which I certainly respect, but I think it turned too many people off. It made the movie look more like a live action cartoon.
The plot itself is both simplistic and complex. While the heroes and suporting characters are complex, the real villains are just two-dimensional caricatures with no real motivation other than petty greed. It's really the story about Speed's relationship with his family, with the life-threatening danger being secondary.
Most people miss this because they're distracted by the fast talking (to keep the dubbing synchronized with the animated lips) and the kid and the monkey who always hide in the trunk.
Way back in the 80s, a company called NOW Comics did an Americanized comic book adaptation that emphasized realism and didn't shy away from the deadly violence and gunplay displayed in the original, producing a masterpiece that most certainly isn't for all ages, but which teens and adults can enjoy.
This movie retain the violence of the original, but simultaneously downplays it and moves it further into the realm of the fantastic in order to cater to the family demographics. The races remain absurdly dangerous, often fantastically so, and there is some shooting. But the weapons are less realistic, and there isn't the same wholesale slaughter as was common in the original. This isn't a bad thing, it's a fun movie for all ages and it does Speed Racer justice, even if it doesn't take it entirely seriously. Certainly, it's more campy than most films these days, and not gritty or foreboding, which they could have easily done with the source material.
The world of Speed Racer is a mostly CGI bright candy-colored retro-future, the kind of world that people must have imagined in the 60a must have been like. It was a bold and brilliant choice, one which I certainly respect, but I think it turned too many people off. It made the movie look more like a live action cartoon.
The plot itself is both simplistic and complex. While the heroes and suporting characters are complex, the real villains are just two-dimensional caricatures with no real motivation other than petty greed. It's really the story about Speed's relationship with his family, with the life-threatening danger being secondary.
I suppose I'm in the minority here, because the movie just gave me a headache. I nearly walked out on it.
And I'm a big fan of the W bros - I'm among those who enjoyed the Matrix sequels every bit as much as the original, loved VFV, and put Bound on my top 10 list of favorite films of all time.
But SR just didn't work for me on any level.
And I'm a big fan of the W bros - I'm among those who enjoyed the Matrix sequels every bit as much as the original, loved VFV, and put Bound on my top 10 list of favorite films of all time.
But SR just didn't work for me on any level.
I saw the final five minutes in the theater while awaiting a showing of another movie. All I saw was some purposelessly aggressive imagery combined with hammy acting. Perhaps the film as a whole has more to it, but I'm in no hurry to rush out and rent it, especially in the face of so many lousy reviews. But I'm glad some people managed to enjoy it.
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