Directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski
Starring Emile Hirsche, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox and Rain
Speed Racer is a shame. It's a damn right shame. No, not because it is as all the critics claim it to be- a worthless piece of eye candy- because it's not. If anything, it's really not half bad. No, it's a damn right shame for several reasons. It's a shame that the film opened at a shocking number three spot at the box office, taking in only $18 million and losing to Ashton's chick flick (talk about embarrassing!). It's a shame that due to the flurry of attacks from the critics I now find this film highly underrated. And it's a shame that after this, no one will trust the Wachowski Brothers (Matrix Trilogy) with another big budget movie again. And that's the biggest shame of all because while the two may have their flaws and share of misfires, when they suck, they do so with style. And nothing less can be expected from the creators of the fame Bullet Time.
By the way I defend the movie, it's as if I loved the thing, but don't get me wrong because I don't. But I did enjoy it, maybe even more than I expected and more than I'm willing to admit. But it does have flaws, and ones that if anything should at least be given the benefit of the doubt.
For one thing, this movie can get highly confusing, a side-effect of its highly ambitious graphic style. For all the cool effect swirling heads and swapping backgrounds could do the first few times, it also serves the plot all sorts of twists and turns, and not the good kind.
Also, the acting can range from "Cheesy and loving it!" to "Driving while constipated". I did not expect Oscar winning performances from the movie, in fact I expected classy bad ones. You know, the cheesy kind that despite the fact that it's nowhere bear believable, it fits perfectly in such a fabulously fictitious world as this. And it works, but after a while, some of the more flat lines take its toll and the more it hits you later in the movie, the more you start feeling the strain of the actors as they try to keep the script alive. While not enough to cry foul and ruin the movie completely, it does nothing to convince you to watch the movie. If anything, it's a blunt throw that serves only to push forward whatever little plot there is in this kid-like extravaganza and little else.
But if you're like me or the two or three other people out there who bothered showing up for the movie, you didn't watch it for the story. You watched it for the headache inducing eye candy, and that's what you'll get. And oh the glory of it all. This is by far one of the most boldly creative movies to come in a long while. Everything about it emits a fanatical swirl of rainbow colors and the art style switches amazingly fast and snappy. One moment it's a CGI treat, the next it's a slow motion shoot-out and karate-fest with comic-like layering. It serves to give one some of the most marvelous and downright jaw-dropping scenes in quite a while. I must take this time to give props to Matthew Fox as Racer X who by far is the coolest and most kick-ass character out there. While not a critical plus, it does give one goosebumps. The graphics, though, do quite some damage. I first hated it in the trailers, thinking it will just make me go dizzy. Well, the graphics ended up entertaining me despite making me dizzy. And for all the cool car moves out there, they get lost in the jumble of candy-colored explosions and checkered backgrounds. For all the good the adrenaline rush gave the action, it could have paid off to slow down a bit at just the right pivotal moments.
So in the end, Speed Racer does nothing to convince me it's a classic blockbuster we'd all remember, in fact it isn't even great. But it does entertain, which is more than we can say than a lot of the wannabes out there right now in the business. And if compared to the masterpiece that was the Matrix, it is safe to assume that this may yet be the latest of the Wachowski's misfires. But despite that, one must at least give the movie props for its technical aspects which I believe are topnotch despite a dizzy fit here and there. Besides, I'd rather watch two great artists try and fail than to see them not try at all.
By the way, that monkey's just annoying.
7 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment