Directed by: The Wachowskis
Written by: The Wachowskis
Based on the manga “Mach GoGoGo” by: Tatsuo Yoshida
Starring: Emile Hirsch, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, Paulie Litt, Roger Allam, Rain, Hiroyuki Sanada
Year: 2008
Country: USA
Running time: 135mins
BBFC Classification: 12
Years after his brother Rex was killed in a high stakes cross country race, racing hotshot Speed Racer (Hirsch) is determined to fight the corporate corruption bleeding through the sport. Bringing his family, owners of independent racing team Racer Motors, along for the ride as well as his girlfriend Trixie (Ricci), Speed dives headlong into a web of deceit, peril and high speed racing cars.
After wrapping work on their highly divisive Matrix trilogy of films in 2003, Lana and Lilly Wachowski were looking for something different, something that would be a tonal opposite film to the dark, dystopian sci-fi epics that made them stars. While writing and producing 2005’s V for Vendetta, the siblings were also deep in development with their next directorial project, an adaptation of the classic 1960’s manga and anime series, Speed Racer. Released in 2008, this film would prove to be that tonal whiplash they were looking for while also mirroring the reaction to their previous films as directors by thoroughly splitting critics and viewers alike…
From the moment the film starts with a wonderfully psychedelic sequence for the Warner Bros and Village Roadshow logos, it’s clear that the Wachowski’s are fully playing in their digital toolbox, crafting a film that aims to deliver a very specific vibe. Visually, Speed Racer pretty much delivers, filming almost entirely on green screen, mixing some wonderfully tangible props and costumes with some brilliantly realised digital effects that aim and largely succeed in creating a “live action” anime style. In a time when many anime series are getting the live action treatment in a way that looks to create that highly stylised look of the cartoons, from Netflix’s fantastic One Piece adaptation to, arguably, the upcoming new Street Fighter movie, it’s fun going back and looking at this early pass from a Hollywood film.
There’s certainly a lot going on in every frame with cars whizzing about and the Wachowski’s using the greenscreen footage to play with how the viewer perceives the space the characters exist in, often layering shots over one another, moving characters in and out of frame dynamically, but it works remarkably well. It doesn’t always work, however, with the visuals sometimes jarring a little, effects not entirely gelling together, with locked off cameras and green screen, giving the cinematography in some of the more dialogue heavy scenes a stilted look. In some ways it’s similar to Robert Rodriguez’s heightened visual style from the Spy Kids and Sin City movies, albeit on a much higher budget, and overall the visuals, combined with Michael Giacchino’s typically epic score, combine to give a highly retro futuristic feel while largely delivering that cartoon vibe the directors were aiming for. When the cross continent rally kicks in towards the middle of the film, the action really ratchets up though and shows what the Wachowski’s do best with brilliantly realised high octane thrills that mirror the cartoon and even a couple of sequences of Matrix like Kung Fu.
The cast is an overall decent and game bag of actors. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon bring gravitas to Mom and Pops Racer, while Emile Hirsch delivers a solid performance as the titular Speed Racer and a superbly bubbly Christina Ricci appears as his girlfriend Trixie. Brit character actor Roger Allam, meanwhile, is scenery chewingly camp as defacto baddie, racing mogul Royalton while Matthew Fox plays things much more straight as the mysterious Racer X. On the flipside of this though, we have young Paulie Litt as Speed’s little brother Spritle who, along with his chimp friend Chimp Chim, just grates whenever he’s on screen, none more so than in an awkwardly placed and weirdly edited joy ride around Royalton’s factory.
Unfortunately it does quickly become clear that the Wachowski’s are falling into the same problem that they had with both The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, with a script that feels unnecessarily flabby, scenes that could have done with quite a bit of editing and a film that feels overly long and drags more than it needs to as a result. Its story of corruption among the racing elites, with its shallowly written villains that ultimately simply represent the concept of capitalism, never feels engaging enough for younger audiences and its sillier moments too childish for older viewers and, despite being largely entertaining, unfortunately it’s really hard to see exactly who this film is for.
Ultimately Speed Racer is a singularly unique film that was made earnestly to be exactly what it needs to be – one that defies cinematic convention, and is very hard to take seriously when it has so many moments of pure filmic candy. When it’s firing on all cylinders it’s a big silly cartoon writ large on film that manages to mix exciting racing with a Bond style sub plot and in that respect it absolutely delivers, but that unfortunately comes with some more heavy and philosophical moments that can take the viewer out of that undeniable fun.
This UHD release from Warner Bros is a fabulous looking 4K transfer with a remarkably striking HDR image that elevates those cartoon visuals to a whole new level on modern OLED screens; There’s so many colours here, almost more than you’d expect to see in any film and it’s a release that, along with its bold and clear audio mix, is genuinely going to look and sound superb on your home AV setup.
Bonus features
- FAST / FUTURE / FAMILY: SPEED RACER (NEW) In this exclusive interview, the Wachowskis revisit the film’s joyful genesis, its dazzling craft, and its second life as a cult classic.
- Spritle in the Big Leagues!
- Speed Racer: Ramping Up!Speed Racer: Supercharged!
- Speed Racer: Car-Fu Cinema
- Speed Racer: Wonderful World of Racing, The Amazing Racer Family
Owners of the original DVD and Blu Ray releases of the film may be disappointed to see almost all of the same EPK style features being repurposed here, and their mid-2000s SD look really stands out alongside the fantastic looking main feature.
The new feature we have here though is a superb standout; an interview with both Lana and Lilly Wachowski, shot this year, discussing their making of the film and its legacy. To get this feature with the famously recluse siblings who have rarely given interviews throughout their career feels like a fantastic thing for this release and it’s wonderful to see them both open up about the film, the visual style, the art behind their approach and the desire to go in completely the opposite direction after the Matrix films. Add to that some unseen behind the scenes footage that’s peppered throughout this short but sweet feature, it feels like a genuine shame we don’t get more retrospectives with either the cast or other members of the crew (a more detailed VFX feature, in the age of Corridor Crew videos, would have gone down a treat), or even a commentary or two.