Speed Racer (Wachowski Brothers, 2008)

[Vaughan]

http://www.xtheunknown.com/fun/speedracer.jpg

Well, this one is now opening. A friend of mine, a profesional critic, described it as an anti-movie, and saying "he whole film consists of two big car races, all made digitally (thus no suspense)". Ouch.

Still, there might be fans of the TV show that are drawn to it. Does it really stand less of a chance than other TV show adaptations? What you guys hearing about it?

[Grant]

To me it sounds like an update of Tron tbh. I suppose its aimed more at the kids but I'll wait for some reviews.

[Phill]

It got film of the week in a couple of sunday newspapers, personally I can't say I'm a fan of ANYTHING the Wachowski's have done so I really won't be bothering with this. The trailer looks like a Playstation game to me.

[SicCoyote]

I don't quite understand how it being digital has anything to do with suspense.

It'll probably be cack though, but I'll have to see it for myself. as long as it's not 5 hours long like Matrix Reloaded.

[Vaughan]

I don't quite understand how it being digital has anything to do with suspense.

I'd guess it means: When the environment is so fake, it's difficult to imagine the unimaginable. There's nothing safer than a computer screen. Sans the human element, does the drama work?

Guessing.

[SicCoyote]

Point is if it's digital or filmed they are both essentially fake and anything could happen in either.

[Vaughan]

Well, I never confused say, a Bond movie and The Road Runner. One is a cartoon and inherently not remotely dangerous, the other was more "real" and works better for danger and action. The suspension of disbelief is different. Isn't it?

[Rissos]

Well, I never confused say, a Bond movie and The Road Runner. One is a cartoon and inherently not remotely dangerous, the other was more "real" and works better for danger and action. The suspension of disbelief is different. Isn't it?

I agree here. The latest Bond film is making a big deal of doing 'real' stunts (And see how much trouble that's caused them!) instead of using CGI, thereby sticking to more-or less real physics etc. Where a film is almost totally CGI, and from what I've seen so far, looks it, there is bound to be less of a 'wow' factor from a car doing a triple back-flip with pike, or whatever, when you know that a computer has done it instead of a human.

[SicCoyote]

Yeah but wow isn't suspense, it's all about the storytelling using those things.

[tall dude]

The kids loved it,sadly it left me cold,and was way overlong,and i just couldnt get into the film at all,just felt so bland.:(

[Wynter]

Just came across this thread whilst looking for another one and felt that I just had to pop my two pence in and so here is a review I wrote a while back...

A lot of bad things have been said about Speed Racer. Complaints have been made that the characters are two-dimensional, that the narrative is pure bobbins and the script not much better. Whilst these accusations are true (it would be hard to pretend otherwise) they also represent a massive tide of criticism that seems to generally miss the point.

Speed Racer is a live action remake of a Japanese cartoon about a boy who races a car. It is aimed squarely at eight year olds who have ingested too much sugar and, on those terms, it is a 100% successful piece of entertainment. I doubt the target audience really care about nuance and character. They want cars, they want colours and they want fun - and that is exactly what they get for two hours.

Obviously I am not an eight-year old child, so what exactly does it have to offer me? Three things; colour, speed and sheer inventive energy (check out the opening daydreaming scenes). Speed Racer might not be a film that requires much response from the viewer but who really needs to respond when you can just sit there and let it’s neon goodness wash over you. Put simply, this film is an utter joy to behold. The colours are fantastic, the racing is involving and I’ll be damned if you don’t feel like cheering come the end.

This is a film that, like The Wachowski Brothers’ last good one (The Matrix), feels like something new. When you walk out of the cinema, you’ve had a fantastic time, you’ve seen a film that might not be a classic itself but makes you damn excited about what the future holds.

7/10 - although I imagine that this will drop to 2/10 once it hits the small screen.