Review of Speed Racer (2008) by Sam J — 13 Sep 2018
The Wachowskis pull out every green screen trick in the book for this glowing block of candy-colored nostalgia, draped in the wallpaper of a classic '60s anime. The whole thing functions more like an experiment than a film, a proof of concept gone bad, staffed by several well-regarded stars, that somehow grinds on for 135 minutes.
It's like sharing a daydream with a hyperactive six-year-old on a sugar rush. There's so much going on at any given time, so many violent splashes of jagged colors and wildly animated background details, that a complete viewing can feel downright exhausting.
The tech doesn't even appear to be there yet, either; the whole mess comes off as clumsy and awkward, a mismatched wreck that conflicts and clashes with itself. One post-race attempt to recreate Speed's fluid leap from his moving race car, landing right in a dynamic signature pose (a staple of the old cartoon's title sequence), is so corny and improbable I couldn't help bursting into laughter.
An utterly baffling film that deserves every bit of infamy it's accumulated. How did they pull this off with a straight face?
This review of Speed Racer (2008) was written by Sam J on 13 September 2018.
Speed Racer has generally received mixed reviews.
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