Speed Racer

The Wachowski brothers made changed movies forever when they made "The Matrix". I'd never seen a film like it before, and nothing since has made such an impact. I'm not talking just about a specific special effect, but rather how the special effects were used to contribute to the story. The action, costumes, visuals, dialouge, and special effects all worked together to create a great film. Unfortunately, as with most sequels, the Wachowski brothers lost sight of their vision and the subsequent movies were bogged down with trying to be bigger or more convoluted or something I can't explain that just didn't work.


I talked about "The Matrix" because when I was watching "Speed Racer" last night I felt as though the brothers had recaptured that same energy. This is an exciting movie, full of energy, vibrant colors and speed. It also is a well made film, flowing smoothly, giving us dynamic characters and a good story. Notice that this isn't a great film, in the sense that the story definitely is there as a vehicle for the visuals, but that's not a bad thing. I hated "Bewoulf" because it showed us things that should have been shown with real actors instead of some animation gimmick. Here in "Speed Racer" the style used is right on. The Wachowski brothers and the artists involved have created brought a cartoon to life like never before. I was reminded of "Sin City" sure, but that was a dark comic book, and here is a bright Japanese televison cartoon on the big screen.

Last week I criticized "Iron Man" for its lack of something. That 'something' is sometimes difficult to explain, but let's just say that "Speed Racer" has it. Maybe this isn't the right word, but 'soul' comes to mind. You know how you can tell the difference between a movie made by people who just want to reap the profits, and a film made by people in love with filmmaking? That's the difference between "Iron Man" and "Speed Racer".

Finally, I want to be sure when reviewing movie under the "R" rating to note the appropriateness for younger viewers. I sure don't want to do a Focus on the Family bad-word/cigarette-lit/talking-back-to-parents count, but like I said last week, it's not cool that Hollywood targets kids with unsuitable movies. That being said, I did take Jude and Ashley to "Speed Racer" and there were really only two things that I had a problem with. One was a scene that combined Piranhas with the 'Little Dutch Boy' fable, and another negative use of a finger later on in the film. If I had made the movie I wouldn't have included either of those scenes, but I feel as though in this case the good-natured spirit of the film far outweighed any knocks against it.

Less than two weeks until Indiana Jones, I'm so excited.