Young Speed Racer is in constant admiration of his older brother Rex Racer. Coming of age, Speed becomes a great driver himself, possibly the best in the world. Who is Racer X? What is the story with the evil gang who tortures people with piranhas? And is it better to be independent or join up with a billion dollar corporation in order to get the best gear? I've been a fan of Speed Racer for some time. I grew up watching reruns on late night television (it's a 1960s show, and I'm a bit younger than that). I have a Speed Racer shirt that I love wearing. So when I heard a film was coming out and starring one of my favorite actresses, Christina Ricci, as Trixie, I was intrigued. But then I saw the trailer and my heart sank. It was all digital animation and looked about as boring as watching NASCAR.
At fault here are the people who made the trailer. If this film fails, it's the poor advertising. Who cares about seeing race scenes? The focus should have been on the actors. The trailer doesn't tell you that this film stars heavy-weights like Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox. Very little of the movie actually takes place on the race track. Goodman in particular is quite good (as usual) and Fox isn't as wooden as he is on "Lost".
I'm still not a fan of CGI or computer animation in general. But, to be fair, in order to turn a 1960s anime into a live-action film, I think the Wachowski brothers ("Matrix") did about as good as can be expected. At least they used a real chimp for Chim-Chim. The animation didn't bother me. In fact, my only real complaint was with Ricci. I miss the days of the pudgy Ricci. This new one, who needs to eat a sandwich, doesn't have the appeal or charisma as she did in her younger days.
"Speed Racer" will not be for everyone. The humor is unusual, the characters are strange (on purpose) and exaggerate Japanese culture quite a bit at times. The film strives towards PG, but includes situations that would have worked better with a PG-13, so it comes off as awkward at times. But I really thought this would be a bigger disappointment. I enjoyed "Speed Racer", and for anyone who is curious I don't think they should shy away.
At fault here are the people who made the trailer. If this film fails, it's the poor advertising. Who cares about seeing race scenes? The focus should have been on the actors. The trailer doesn't tell you that this film stars heavy-weights like Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox. Very little of the movie actually takes place on the race track. Goodman in particular is quite good (as usual) and Fox isn't as wooden as he is on "Lost".
I'm still not a fan of CGI or computer animation in general. But, to be fair, in order to turn a 1960s anime into a live-action film, I think the Wachowski brothers ("Matrix") did about as good as can be expected. At least they used a real chimp for Chim-Chim. The animation didn't bother me. In fact, my only real complaint was with Ricci. I miss the days of the pudgy Ricci. This new one, who needs to eat a sandwich, doesn't have the appeal or charisma as she did in her younger days.
"Speed Racer" will not be for everyone. The humor is unusual, the characters are strange (on purpose) and exaggerate Japanese culture quite a bit at times. The film strives towards PG, but includes situations that would have worked better with a PG-13, so it comes off as awkward at times. But I really thought this would be a bigger disappointment. I enjoyed "Speed Racer", and for anyone who is curious I don't think they should shy away.