Go, Speed Racer, Go!
I will start by admitting that Speed Racer has a simple story, which as a consequence is quite predictable. I will also admit that the characters are rather one dimensional. I will finally admit that the movie has no shades of gray--the good guys are shining white good, the bad guys are black as night bad. But I will not admit that these are always bad things! Speed Racer has shown me that a talented director (in this case a talented pair of them) with some talented actors can take a simple, predictable story and a bunch of one dimensional characters and make a [i]great movie[/i] out of it.
First, I want to touch on one of the technical elements, and that's the use of flashbacks and flashforwards. Normally, cutting back and forth through time like this is disorienting, but the Warchowski brothers cut the scenes together to make a linear story out of nonlinear time flow, and they did it while maintaining the pace of the story throughout. The movie started in high gear and never slowed down, no matter how many twists and turns it took in time, space, or point of view. The only word I can think of to describe what they accomplished is "brilliant," and the editing alone is worth the price of admission.
Next, the acting. I've already admitted that the characters are one-dimensional, but the acting certainly wasn't! The actors transcended their characters, and gave real depth to some flat starting material. Emile Hirsch deserves an Oscar, alright, but give it to him for Speed Racer! It's one thing to take a character who has life handed down by the material, it's another to breath life into material that's cheesier than Wisconsin. The actors elevated the material above itself, and this is also a worthy accomplishment.
Finally, a word on the story. A lot of critics have panned it for being simple, predictable, and overdone, and a lot of people try to apologize for this by saying "oh, it's just a kid's movie." But I'm not going to apologize. This is a story about good and evil. It's a story about the underdog triumphing over the Big Bad Evil Corporations. It's a story about a family, the forces the threaten to break them apart, and the bonds that draw them back together [i]in spite of[/i] those forces. And if these stories are overdone, there's a reason they're overdone--it's because they're darn good stories! And I for one will never tire of hearing them as long as they are well told. Speed Racer is a well told story, and is well worth the $8 to see it in theaters and the $20 to buy it on DVD when the time comes.
And as a bonus for those of you living in town (you know who you are), you can see Speed Racer (or any other movie) at Fiesta Square for only $4 all day on Monday through Thursday.
First, I want to touch on one of the technical elements, and that's the use of flashbacks and flashforwards. Normally, cutting back and forth through time like this is disorienting, but the Warchowski brothers cut the scenes together to make a linear story out of nonlinear time flow, and they did it while maintaining the pace of the story throughout. The movie started in high gear and never slowed down, no matter how many twists and turns it took in time, space, or point of view. The only word I can think of to describe what they accomplished is "brilliant," and the editing alone is worth the price of admission.
Next, the acting. I've already admitted that the characters are one-dimensional, but the acting certainly wasn't! The actors transcended their characters, and gave real depth to some flat starting material. Emile Hirsch deserves an Oscar, alright, but give it to him for Speed Racer! It's one thing to take a character who has life handed down by the material, it's another to breath life into material that's cheesier than Wisconsin. The actors elevated the material above itself, and this is also a worthy accomplishment.
Finally, a word on the story. A lot of critics have panned it for being simple, predictable, and overdone, and a lot of people try to apologize for this by saying "oh, it's just a kid's movie." But I'm not going to apologize. This is a story about good and evil. It's a story about the underdog triumphing over the Big Bad Evil Corporations. It's a story about a family, the forces the threaten to break them apart, and the bonds that draw them back together [i]in spite of[/i] those forces. And if these stories are overdone, there's a reason they're overdone--it's because they're darn good stories! And I for one will never tire of hearing them as long as they are well told. Speed Racer is a well told story, and is well worth the $8 to see it in theaters and the $20 to buy it on DVD when the time comes.
And as a bonus for those of you living in town (you know who you are), you can see Speed Racer (or any other movie) at Fiesta Square for only $4 all day on Monday through Thursday.