SPEED RACER!

Review by Michael Jaffe

They don’t get it. I don’t think anyone does. Established film critics everywhere just don’t know what they are talking about. SPEED RACER was perfect. It was everything that the filmmakers set out to make. A fitting tribute to the original anime, the Wachowski brothers created a big budget cartoon that no one seemed to understand because there are real actors present. I have heard people call it stupid and childish as if that’s a bad thing. The creators of the heavy handed MATRIX trilogy and the brilliant film noir, mystery BOUND decided to have fun with their work and it shows in how something they obviously love, the old show, was able to retain the magic of what made the show great.
But, as there always is a but with these things, there are problems. Its not the Wachowski’s fault that SPEED struggles to maintain an even pace for the entire 135 minute runtime. The show was short and skipped a lot of heavy-handed dialogue because any that existed was laughably dubbed into English. The action was what mattered and it is the same in the film, except that the actors speak English so you couldn’t laugh as the corny, message heavy dialogue was delivered. Thank god the cast is very talented actors obviously having fun with being cartoon characters. Chim chim is a real monkey to by the way.
I really don’t have much more to say about the film as there really isn’t a whole lot there. The story drags a bit but the visuals during the chase scenes are brighter and better looking that anything that I can recall ever seeing on screen. They didn’t make me catch my breath, they just made me smile and enjoy the experience of seeing the bright colors and explosions. So what if the characters aren’t developed very well or the story isn’t very engaging? If you went into SPEED RACER expecting those things to be stellar, than you’re just ignorant. Sorry to say it, but if you try to outsmart this film and actually think, then sure, you will see that it is no GONE WITH THE WIND. But if BEN-HUR could win an Oscar for its visuals, I think SPEED deserves a shot of being accepted by the public for being a fun film that kept me wanting more for the entire film. Go speed, go. 7.5/10
I cant really end this review with that line. Shit. How about the line pops says after his fight. “Ninja? More like a nanja.” If you laugh at that line, not for its quick wit, but for being ridiculously stupid and goofy, then this is a film you will enjoy.