Go Speed Racer Go!
So tonight I went with the bruddas to see Speed Racer...the theater was empty (it did fill up with about 10 more people after our arrival) and wasn't sure what to expect...but...here goes. (In case anyone is wondering, I copied it from my myspace blog. D:)
Tonight I'm going to review the movie Speed Racer...and I'm going to cut to the chase, okay?
I fucking loved it.
I can't even really explain what I loved about it, but...I'll do my best to try. This movie easily shot up to my list of my most favorite movies ever; way up there in fact. For those of you who know me well, this goes up in the coveted respects of Star Wars, Labyrinth, the Breakfast Club, Jurassic Park, and now Speed Racer.
Let me start you off with some back story, for those of you who don't know; Speed Racer is an anime (yes, that means from Japan) that was made in the 1960's. Before the big "anime is cool" fad of the recent years, many American's idea of Japanese cartoons was the iconic Speed Racer. I'm afraid, though, that many people under the age of 19 don't have any clue as to who or what Speed Racer is, as I only vaguely remember its run on Cartoon Network....although I seem to recall it having a run on TBS as well. I remember about 2003 or so, Adult Swim (way different then than it is now) ran a bump asking for a schedule of upcoming Speed Racer episodes...they played the original Japanese theme and ran the "schedule" in Japanese. It was pretty funny.
For the Americans that ARE familiar, at the very least familiar with the name and show premise, Speed Racer was nothing but quasi-futuristic action and loveable camp. It had about 20 frames total; a surprised and shocked close up of Speed Racer (usually exclaiming "A-ha-ha!" in surprise) took up probably half of every episode, as seen here:
The show had been lampooned on Dexter's Lab and on Family Guy, just to name a few.
So to the movie: I wasn't sure what to expect, because I think the Matrix trilogy was kinda stupid (well, specifically movies 2 and 3) and I heard this one kind of sucked too. I was pleasantly surprised.
The entire film was done brilliantly in the spirit of the anime; 1960's quasi-futuristic setting, a story of strong family values, an annoying brother and his brother/pet chimpanzee, and lots and lots of kick ass racing. (I remember an episode of SR where he was racing in Egypt and the cars were duking it out while trying to avoid being sucked up by these sand tornados). Everything was there; Chim Chim and Spritle (and Spritle's weird little hat...although they didn't wear matching outfits, in one scene, Spritle wears a shirt with a chicken chef on it saying "eat waffles"...I want that shirt!), Trixie and her helicoptor, and Speed's cute little blue shirt and white scarf outfit (Emile Hirsch looked especially hot in that scene :p) John Goodman was excellently cast as Pops Racer.
The Cinemetography was awesome; lots of bright colors to keep me entertained. In any other movie; the CG would have easily been the death of the movie (in fact, I wouldn't doubt that most critics base their poor opinion of the film on it) but you have to take it in context; this isn't reality. I found the CG to fit the mood of the movie extremely well, and it looked and played out much like an environment in a video game or, yes, anime. I liked the sleek look of everything; it was obviously not real but at the same time I couldn't help but finding it believable.
The musical score was pretty bare bones; not a lot of original work was done...but the theme music that many are familiar with (you know, "go speed racer, go speed racer, go speed racer gooooooo!") was reworked nicely and spread out. I love Love LOVED the fact the end credit rendition opened with the original Japanese theme, transitioned into a high paced "modern" rendition which switched between the English and Japanese lyrics, and was intermissioned with various "typical" quotes from the anime dub (things like "I'll get you next time Speed Racer!").
The most endearing part of the film; it never ONCED got into "drama territory" to the point where it was trying to take itself beyond what it was, serious-ness wise. It graciously embraced and celebrated the cheese and camp of the anime, and I personally found this to be an extremely high point. It didn't take the camp so far as to make it self-aware, but it played it out nicely. At the end, when Speed kisses Trixie and the flashbulbs of the cameras turn into little hearts exploding around them, I couldn't help but go "awwww". It was cute :3
Without a doubt, this was also one of the best theater experiences I've ever had; seeing it on the big screen was incredible and I hope it looks just as exciting when it releases to DVD. We were sitting up front, so no distractions (except from the occasional comment from people behind us) and it was just like me and the screen.
I can understand why a lot of people wouldn't like this film...but honestly, I don't know what they were expecting. If you have an appreciation for imagination and are able to enjoy and understand and appreciate the little things of the movie, this is up your alley. I honestly have no idea why its getting such negative reviews all over the page...seriously? Have you guys ever SEEN the show? And its not just the style of the show thats captured nicely; but the spirit is definately there as well, and I loved every minute of it.
However, if you're looking for a reality-based deep-drawn plot driven work detailing the trauma and toils of racing....watch a documentary on NASCAR. I won't tolerate your kind here in my little world. I think nowadays, movie goers are more than a little jaded...if its not up to par with the same old dribble they've come to expect, then it must be crap.
My only negative thing to say about the film was the fact that not once, NOT ONCE, was there a close up on Emile with him exclaiming "A-ha-ha-ha!" in surprise.
I give it a 9/10 :3