Go Speed!

I don't think I watched much Speed Racer when I was a kid (it was more my brother's thing). I didn't even know that Racer X was Speed's brother, although I did know there was a chimp involved, named "Chim-Chim" (Japanese for "penis"). So I wasn't particularly psyched about the movie version, until I started seeing reviews about the awesome, surreal and psychedelic techniques that the Wachowski Bros put together. That got me interested.

The film is about stunt racing, a futuristic sport that takes place on a pinball-like track. Speed Racer, played by Emil Hirsch, is the void at the center of this film, a brilliant but conflicted young racer, haunted by the memory of his brother, Rex, who turned rogue and died. Pops and Moms Racer are ably played by John Goodman and Susan Sarandon. He does very well at cartoon characters. Speed's girlfriend is Christina Ricci, who I like as a cartoon character (she totally was Wednesday Addams), but she's a little real for the role. There's also a fat kid brother and the aforementioned chimp. They are the most well-developed characters, and are much less annoying than you'd think.

As for the plot, there is one. But who cares? Let's talk 1) action sequences and 2) technique.

The CGI race sequences borrow heavily from computer racing games. I'm not a gamer, so I can't say how well they compare (I'll ask a 12-year old later). I thought they were fun and exciting, especially the cross-country race.

The Wachowskis have given the movie a spectacular look, with super-saturated colors and sparkly green-screened backgrounds. The signature move is a talking head in close-up with a green-screened scene drifting in the background - or sometimes two scenes, one on the left of the foreground face, one on the right. This is pretty cool, but it reminds me of something. I didn't watch a lot of kiddie TV in the 90s, but I think that's where this technique debuted. I guess that fits a film made from a kiddie TV show, but shouldn't they be borrowing from anime or something?

Never mind, it's a fun movie, well made and engaging, unless you like substance and acting and stuff. I take that back - this movie has plenty of stuff. Which I like.