Sunday, May 11, 2008
A+E, Movies, Reviews
Daze of thunder
Colorful ‘Speed Racer’ spins its wheels
Matthew Fox as Racer X
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
“SPEED RACER”
Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci
Directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski
Rated PG
Wide release
BY STEVE WARREN
One of the most colorful films ever made, “Speed Racer” looks like an explosion in a paint factory. Live actors replace animated characters in the Wachowski Brothers’ film version of the 1960s Japanese cartoon, but most of their surroundings have been created by computers.
Unfortunately, the movie also sounds like an explosion in a screenplay factory. Complex financial matters are tossed off in a few words, while simple emotional discussions drag on for several minutes, as if they were written for the stage. So much time is wasted in dull dialogue sequences that when the movie should be ending, around the 90-minute mark, it’s just pausing for breath before plunging into a new set of complications. (Since the kids won’t make it through 135 minutes without a bathroom break, judging from the foot traffic at a preview screening, huge DVD sales can be expected.)
Eight years after the death of his brother Rex (Scott Porter) in a race, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) climbs into the driver’s seat to uphold his family’s honor against evil Royalton Industries. The Racer family runs Racer Motors, a Mom-and-Pops (Susan Sarandon and John Goodman) operation that, in appearance and golly-gee-whiz attitude, could have stepped right out of a 50s sitcom—except for the fact that Speed’s little brother Spritle (Paulie Litt, whose resemblance to Goodman is remarkable) has only a chimp called Chim-Chim for a friend. The Racers’ chief mechanic, Sparky (Kick Gurry), appears to live with the Racers, and so does Speed’s girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), even though they never kiss.
Almost everyone outside this all-American family has an English accent, especially the villainous E.P. Arnold Royalton (Roger Allam) and some Cockney thugs. Everyone is clearly good or evil, except for a Japanese wild card, Taejo Togokahn (Korean pop star Rain), who forms a team with Speed and the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox), who may be the late Rex or his reincarnation.
Most of the racers play dirty—except Speed, of course. His Mach 5 is equipped with “defensive modifications” to protect him from the slings, arrows and spear hooks of outrageous opponents. Each one a demolition derby, these races make wrestling look like honest fun for the whole family. How in the name of NASCAR could anyone portray auto racing in such a nasty, dishonest manner? First of all, by not using the name of NASCAR. These international events fall under the auspices of the World Racing League—including the climactic Grand Prix, which has been fixed since 1943. You don’t have to know a “convergenator” from a transponder to get the gist of the action; other aspects of the plot are so convoluted that perhaps only children can follow it.
The racetracks, which seem to have been inspired by the wildest roller coasters, bow to no laws of physics. Often just a blur, the race sequences, which will sell the movie to the kids, are like extreme video games with a touch of psychedelia. The technical wizardry on display is at once impressive and disheartening. The characters are so cartoonish, they might as well have been animated. As good as the actors are, they can’t bring more than surface humanity into play.
One of the film’s many fortune-cookie lessons is that it doesn’t matter whether you make a difference, only that you try, which is a bit like saying winning isn’t everything. It’s a lesson the Wachowskis (the “Matrix” trilogy) seem to have taken to heart: It doesn’t matter if you make a good movie, only that it be vivid and colorful.
“Speed Racer” may well be the future of movies. As racer-turned-commentator Ben Burns (Richard Roundtree) says, “It’s a whole new world, baby.” But not necessarily a better one. 2 STARS