The Wachowski-directed live action Speed Racer film from 2008.
Ok I just lost some of you. That's ok.
Guys this movie is so so good.
Don't worry I'm not the kinda person to make a claim that bold without presenting sufficient evidence. I will present my case in the following post, and with any luck, you will at the very least consider giving this movie another chance. Please...just...consider it?
Here I go making sections again...
PROBLEM INHERENT IN ANIME TO LIVE ACTION ADAPTATIONS
Y'all saw Dragonball: Evolution, right? Ok here's what's so fucking sad about that mess of a motion picture. It's lazy. It abandons the source material in any instance where translating the characters and story to film would be too difficult to do faithfully. The ironic thing is in the attempt by the producers to stay safe with that film, they ended up dooming the project to be as unfaithful as they feared it would be.
Creating anime is an art form, and like most, it requires an insane amount of ingenuity. Adapting an animation, the core feature of which is that the things that occur could never happen in the real 3D world, is a similar feat. Sure the two things are different, I'm not saying they're the same. However they are similar in the sense that there is a level of pure creativity necessary in achieving a faithful adaptation of an anime that actually feels necessary. That's a difficult balance to strike. If the movie is too similar to the anime, it won't feel as though the movie needed to happen. However if the movie adaptation feels so different from the original that it's unrecognizable (cough cough Dragonball: Devolution), then people will fucking hate it. Using real life actors and sets has to add a dimension to the project that 2D animation never could, and at that point, it will feel needed.
Speed Racer checks off every box that Dragonball: Evolution left unchecked. Is it entirely faithful? In a lot of ways, it almost feels more animated and colorful than the anime on which it's based. Somehow the physics of the racing sequences are exaggerated to the point where they are actually less realistic than the source material. That being said, they're fun, and in taking a different approach to those sequences, and embracing the look and feel of the anime in a 3D world, the Wachowskis managed to create something unique enough to make the film feel almost vital in a way.
That brings me to my next point of discussion.
THE CHARACTERS
Ok the look of the Speed Racer world is different in the film compared to the anime, we've established that. So there must be something tethering this adaptation to the source material, right? I keep asking these rhetorical questions and I hate myself for it, sorry.
The characters are straight out of the show, within a reasonable margin of difference. Here's something you have to understand about the performances in this movie.
They overact. They really REALLY do.
But, have you seen an anime lately?
The grunting, the yelling, the crazy expressions, the cartoonish bodily movements. It all flies right off the page, it's fucking amazing to behold. These actors take the ridiculousness of Speed Racer's voice-acting and let that energy bleed into the physicality and facial expression of their performances.
There are a couple of standouts here that I need to address, and I'll do just that in the order I loved them from least to most.
Christina Ricci as Trixie. A goddamn revelation. She knows just how animated to be without stepping over the line and I appreciate that.
Roger Allam as the villain you hate to love, E.P. Arnold Royalton. There is a monologue, and if you watch this movie you will know just which one it is. He...fucking...kills it. He knows just the kind of archetypal, corrupt, heartless, CEO character he's playing, and he owns it.
John Goodman as Pops Racer. First off, perfect casting, whoever made that decision. Secondly, HE WAS SO GODDAMN GOOD. He was angry, stern, and harsh without being unlikable. Where his anime counterpart tended to be explosive for the sake of comical caricature, Goodman's Pops has layers, and you understand where he's coming from. It's all about his love for his sons.
And now for my personal favorite performance and character.
Matthew Fox as Racer X. He nails it, plain and simple. Just fuCKING LISTEN TO HIM TALK, HE JUST GETS IT, HE JUST UNDERSTANDS WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T AND HE'S SO MYSTERIOUS AND COOL.
Every core character arcs in some way. Pops, Racer X, and Speed all go through a noted and satisfying progression. The choices they make make sense for their characters, and there is one scene between Pops and Speed near the film's end (mirroring a scene earlier in the movie involving Speed's older brother Rex) that pulls some heart strings. And it is during this scene that you see very plainly how much Pops and Speed have both learned, and how the film's events have had profound effects on the both of them.
Some people find Spritle annoying. He's the younger brother character, he has a monkey sidekick, he likes to hide out in the trunk of Speed's car, the Mach 5, and cause trouble. I can understand why he's irritating to certain people, and I won't try to convince anyone that he isn't. I will say, however, that having watched anime for most of my time on this earth, I've seen a thousand Spritles, and I think the translation of that type of character to film was as successful here in Speed Racer as it could've been. There are moments of genuine emotion involving Spritle in this film, and I think they all serve to make his character a little less annoying, and a lot more interesting.
THEMES
Legacy is the big one here. There is a pressure on Speed to be what his brother was, explored very well in the film's open during which Speed races to beat a track record that his late brother still holds.
So many movies attempt to create the feeling of familial love in movies. I can't tell you how many times I've seen shit films try and shove the "we're a family, and we stick together no matter how hard things get because we're a family motherfucker give me your money continue pumping your hard-earned cash into the system you sheep your kids will be entertained by all the colors bring them keep paying us please we're the devil," down my throat.
If at any point a character in your movie HAS to say out loud how important family is, your movie is a fucking failure. It should be apparent in the interactions between the characters, in the ways in which they SHOW their love.
I can't believe that of all movies to do this right, Speed Racer is one of them.
THE ACTION
Yeah the action is fantastic. The racing is cool and colorful, and directed surprisingly well. Some of the "stunts" involving the cars will leave you with your mouth open, it's shockingly good to be honest. Knowing the Wachowskis, a few fight scenes are to be expected, and they are fantastic. It just screams anime, and I have to tip my hat to the directors for taking that much care in that regard.
NEGATIVES
There is a lot of CGI implemented here, to a Sharkboy and Lavagirl degree, and it is very apparent. Honestly, as distracting as it can be at first, once you settle into the world the movie builds, it all will feel almost natural, something Sharkboy and Lavagirl did not achieve. In my opinion, this movie would've been a tad tonally inconsistent had all of the locations been real sets, considering how animated every other aspect of the film is. So this isn't even really a negative. Damn. Good on you, Speed Racer.
It isn't for everyone. It'll alienate some folks, that's for sure. But I can't be sure if that's even a problem with the movie itself. The people who won't like this movie aren't opening up their hearts to the idea of liking it, and that isn't necessarily their fault. We are accustomed to certain things in the American system of cinema, so to see something so subversive can be a shell shock, and not in a good way.
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND GOING INTO THIS MOVIE
This film is so different from anything you've ever seen. I promise you that. Say what you want, but as long as this movie exists, I can't quite consider the Wachowskis one-hit wonders. Sure, Speed Racer was not a box office success, and yes it was reviewed negatively INITIALLY. But it was a success in my eyes because it achieved all that it set out to do creatively. And knowing about the production problems that plagued this film (it was first optioned in 1992, it has been in development hell for so long) I have to applaud all involved for seeing it through.
FINAL WORDS
I mean...watch it...I feel like that's been the general vibe of the post.
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