Episode 42: Speed Racer
Justin:
As he’s turning down a deal with the devil, the title character in the Wachowskis adaptation of the classic children’s cartoon SPEED RACER declares that in his family, racing isn’t just a sport. He proclaims it’s much closer to a religion and that it’s in his blood. It means too much to him to become just another cog in the corporate wheel, no matter how fancy the tour is that he’s been given.
This scene felt particularly worthwhile, not just because it finally flips an evil switch for the villainous Royalton that we always knew was there, but because I think it hints at how the filmmakers see themselves. In their ongoing battle to create cinematic art through a heavy dose of experimental special effects and varying levels of actual story, the Wachowskis lay themselves nearly bare through Speed’s short monologue. This process means everything to them - it’s a legitimate religious experience and their passion is visible front and center.
I lead with that simply because throughout this film, as well as their prior work creating the generationally influential Matrix trilogy, it’s impossible to describe the siblings as lazy filmmakers. They go to lengths that can only be described as extreme in crafting a movie that somehow manages to simultaneously look and feel like both a 1960s Japanese animated series AND a futuristic racing world that conjures up images of Nintendo’s “Mario Kart” and every other racing arcade game you’ve ever played. Their dedication in this instance to making a movie for the little ones, after spending three straight movies with Neo and his bullets, is also admirable, showing their range and desire to make something that sparks with those too young to watch hundreds of Agent Smiths gang up on the Chosen One. (That being said, and call me crazy if you will, but I got excited imagining their “R” rated version of this movie.)
It may be a backhanded compliment to describe this movie as unique, but it is undeniable that what they’ve made here is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It would be a lie to suggest I didn’t enjoy a great deal of what they do in this truly wild movie, from it’s editing techniques to its color palette and everything in between. I would never call it great but it's certainly not worthy of the dragging that many critics gave it when it first came out, no matter how egregious it was to have an annoying small child and a chimpanzee air guitar to one of the greatest rock-and-roll solos of all-time while evading authorities. Getting the great John Goodman to declare his recently defeated foe a “NONja” is worthy of a tepid thumbs up at the very least and I can’t be convinced otherwise. But then, maybe that’s just my own personal religion.
