Speed Racer was a popular Japanese animated cartoon for kids that came out in 1967. In the early 1970's it was still going strong and among shows I watched were the animated Spider-Man series, the campy live action Batman, Ultra Man, and the cartoon Speed Racer. I knew the Speed Racer world well. It was just something every kid watched and loved.
The premise was great for kids. It was about a teenage boy living in a race car oriented family where he steps out of the shadow of his older brother races all over the world. His older brother left home and changed his identity to Racer X and the brothers race each other many times over while Speed helps fight racing crime bosses along the way. Speed's large family presence is strong and there is a deep sense of comfort and safety built into this dangerous lifestyle because of it. Of course the best part is that Speed Drives an advanced car with gadgets that he gets to use in most every episode.
So as an adult; knowing a live action cgi version was coming... I wanted to think this would be a good film to take my own kids. And for what it is worth, my own kids already knew the Speed Racer world well as they had been watching my original series Speed Racer on DVD at home for years.
Last evening my son's and I went to see Speed Racer. I had prejudice towards not being rewarded with a good experience in the trailers I had previewed previously.
While Speed Racer is family safe, it is not safe from my criticism.
In short, if you are a fan of the late 1960's Speed Racer animations then you too may expect some more. Perhaps a lot more. Otherwise the story is strong on digital animation, complicated on story in terms of what kids could expect and the race scenes are too fast paced to sink yourself into.
Without comparing Speed Racer to the original series, this movie is a confusion. Meant for kids, the plot is too complicated for them to understand and too weak for adults to appreciate. While Racer X's Shooting Star never looked so good, Speed's Mach 5 tires were a big part the design and the Mach 5 here didn't share all the original lines of the original. And the short-comings just go from there.
This modern film screen version is brought to us by the guys that made the Matrix as it is touted (Andy and Larry Wachowski). I'm certain they grew up with the show too and wanted to give it a modern appeal. While I appreciate their zeal for strong visualization, it's not the visuals that don't work, its the style and direction that doesn't work. The race scenes are shot too tight and too fast. You don't get to digest the improvisational driving tricks Speed performs. They depart from many familiar traits that almost give this movie it's name only and do not honor the original honestly.
The story uses the original series as it's basis, and while I understand the Wachowski's wanted to give the Speed Racer characters a better storyline, it falls flat. There are too many nuances from the original that should have been used. For instance in the original a car named the GRX had it's own two part episode. It was about a car that could not be driven by any man unless you took a special pill first. Why? Because the care was just too fast. The GRX name is utilized in this story but the car looks nothing like the original nor does it have any of the characteristics. Why bother even mentioning the name?
An antagonist of Speed's named Snake Oiler would have been more fun to watch if he shared some of the original characters manerisms. And of course his car looks nothing like the original black and purple. At least they kept him part of the Car Acrobatic Team. None of these small details matter individuall, but they add up.
I've watched some movie reviews since, and no one seems to notice that Peter Fernandez the original voice of Speed Racer in the 1967 series made a cameo as an announcer in this movie version. It only made sense to look for him as Stan Lee cameos in every Marvel movie. As a bit of trivia, if you didn't know it, Peter Fernandez not only voiced Speed Racer, he handled most characters in the series. For all intents and purposes, he produced it, or over produced it because it was originally Japanese. He was asked to Americanize the cartoon and even game all the characters American names. This is why you see letters and logos that don't exactly make sense with their names. And perhaps that is why the Wachowski's didn't use any letters on the characters shirts in the film version. Peter even wrote the lyrics to Speed Racer.
I'd like to revist the initials on shirts and such... dropping these from the film version does bother me too, with so many aspects of the original missing, the feel of the film is reliant on flash and not enough substance.
Speed Racer sags in the middle which is by the way very long.
While the acting is great, there are no inspirational scenes. The Racer X character is well executed, and Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer is acceptable. Yet so much is missing that in the end it's just another Saturday afternoon movie for kids and not all worth adding to a movie collection.
SPEED RACER THEME LYRICS
Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer
He's a demon on wheels
He's a demon and he's gonna be chasing after someone
He's gaining on you so you better look alive
He's busy reving up the powerful Mach Five
And when the odds are against him and there's dangerous work
You bet your life Speed Racer's gonna see it through
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer go
He's off and flying as he guns the car around the track
He's jamming down the pedal like he's never coming back
Adventure's waiting just ahead
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer Go!
