|
|
Post by Benjamin Haines on Mar 14, 2008 20:10:30 GMT 2
|
|
|
|
Post by The Curmudgeon on Mar 14, 2008 22:56:26 GMT 2
An excellent scoop there, Benjamin. Remember, folks - ANY trailer to any new film you think might be of interest to The Fortress of Solitude belongs on these pages.
Anyway, this film looks ten times better than I ever thought it would. I balked at the casting of Matthew Fox as Racer X (borrrrinnnng!) but he doesn't look half bad. And speaking of looking "not bad", Christina Ricci looks absolutley SMOKING hot. She beat Elisha Cuthbert to the role, and while Elisha is all kinds of awesome, I think Ricci wins in the overall stakes.
This looks damn good fun.
|
|
|
|
Post by Benjamin Haines on Jun 4, 2008 20:26:11 GMT 2
When I was a kid in the late '90s I was a huge fan of the Speed Racer cartoon. I would watch it when it aired on Cartoon Network every night at midnight, and the rare occasion when they chose it for their multi-hour Saturday afternoon cartoon marathon was like a holiday for me every time. Flash forward a decade, I saw the feature film yesterday....
...and I freaking LOVED it! The essence of what made the animated series so endearing and so memorable was captured perfectly with this movie. The characters from the series are all here in this film. I'm not just talking about movie characters that seem loosely based on those from the show played by actors who sort of resemble them, I mean a perfectly chosen cast of actors who embody the characters from the series in look and performance down to a tee. Emile Hirsch IS Speed! Matthew Fox IS Racer X! Trixie, Pops and Mom Racer, Spritle and Chim-Chim, even Sparky (who differs a bit from his animated counterpart but is very much Sparky nonetheless), all of them could not have been portrayed better. I cannot express what a joyous nostalgia trip this movie was thanks to this cast.
The visual style of the movie seems to be the biggest point of contention among people. Being that it's so blatant and consistent throughout the entire film, it really is a make-it-or-break-it matter depending on how you approach the movie. Basically, if you can't handle the visual style, there's no way you can enjoy the movie, and I think that's a shame because there really is so much to like here. But if you can actually embrace the visual style, as I did, then the potential for enjoyment to be had with this movie is exponentially greater. I thought the style was absolutely perfect for adapting Speed Racer. The "cartoon in live action form" approach worked in this case, and in terms of adapting the look of Speed Racer it could not have been more appropriate. I thought it did look a bit too garish when I saw some of the TV spots, but now I realize that they really don't do it justice. I know that doesn't really make sense, because you'd think that what looks a little garish on a TV screen would be unbearable up on the big screen, but it just worked. It completely worked. Seriously, approach this movie and its unique visual style with an open mind and a willingness to experience an ocular tour de force like you've never seen before, and I promise you will be amazed, enthrilled, and thoroughly wowed.
But while the dynamic visual style of the movie is front and center throughout its runtime, it isn't what runs the show. The P-E-R-F-E-C-T cast of actors all giving their characters the best realization imaginable is what brings this picture to life and allows it to flourish from beginning to end. The look of the cartoon wasn't the only thing captured and brought to the big screen; the Wachowskis preserved the series' heart every bit as much as the look, carried by the characters and driven by the story. No, it's not profoundly deep cinema, it's a story that is every bit in the spirit of the animated series as everything else about the movie. The theme of staying true to yourself and not selling out is palpable, the stance against bureaucratic corruption in something that's supposed to be about passion is relatable, and it all connects on an emotional level because the characters are made so endearing and work so well. Their motivations and decisions all feel right, and their plights are actually made compelling. You'll really be interested in what mysterious plans Racer X is up to or how Speed is going to get out of a sticky situation, not because you're supposed to but because the connection with the characters is established so well.
Special mention must also be made with regard to the music. It simultaneously manages to maintain the lighthearted aural spirit of the cartoon as well as complement the various situations and settings throughout the entire feature. Direct inspirations of music cues from the animated series pop up frequently, and they're guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of any fan of the series every time.
I do have a couple of quibbles worth mentioning, though.
*SPOILER WARNING* (highlight to read)
The minor subplot regarding Racer X's identity. Of course anybody who was a fan of the show knows who the mysterious Masked Racer really is going into the movie. But here, in the middle of the second act, Speed starts wondering to Trixie if Racer X is really Rex. In the middle of the second act. Not long thereafter, before the third act even gets around, there's a scene in which Speed confronts Racer X about this, and Racer X actually unmasks then and there, revealing a face that is not that of Rex and convincing Speed that he isn't him. This just seemed like such a tedious plot point to me, because I knew that of all the things from the original series, Racer X secretly being Speed's brother was the one thing that the makers of this film simply would not change, so as soon as that scene occurred I could predict a revelation that Rex got some extensive plastic surgery to alter his face when he became Racer X. And sure enough, at the end of the film that's exactly the revelation to the audience that happened. For aficionados of the cartoon it was a pointless subplot, and for members of the general moviegoing public who would have had no idea of Racer X's identity going in, it still would have been pointless. The revelation at the end seemed to be an attempt to spring something of a twist ending on uninitiated moviegoers, but that's really not much of a twist. Speed comes to the correct conclusion in the middle of the second act, only to have Racer X seemingly prove it wrong to him (and the audience), so the twist at the end really doesn't amount to anything more than going back on Racer X's apparent disproof from earlier. Basically, it was tedious and unnecessary, and I would have axed that subplot from the film altogether. Have Speed wonder who Racer X really is, but don't have him coming to the correct conclusion (especially so early on), so that the revelation of Racer X's identity to the audience at the end would have been genuine as well as surprising to the uninitiated.
My other quibble was having the souped-up version of the Mach 5 which Speed drives in the climactic Grand Prix being emblazoned with a big number 6 on its side. They never call it the Mach 6 or anything, but that really irked me. We got to see Speed driving an absolutely beautiful carbon copy of the original cartoon's Mach 5 throughout the film before this, and I had no problem with them sprucing it up a bit for the big race at the end, seeing as it was still very much recognizable as the Mach 5. But having that 6 on the side of the car just really, really irked me. Like in NASCAR, if Rusty Wallace were to get his car modified and tricked out, he wouldn't suddenly go from being #2 to #3 (even pretending for a minute that that number wasn't already taken by Dale Earnhardt's legacy). Sprucing up the Mach 5 for Speed's big race I can handle, but really, the Mach 5 is Speed's car, not the "Mach 6". Why would they even want to change that? I also didn't like how some of the buttons on the Mach 5's steering wheel differed from the car features they correlated to on the cartoon ("F" activates the buzzsaws here, for example). But they only really made a point of this during one short scene, so it wasn't quite that bad. I did love hearing that classic sound effect every time Speed hits the "A" button to activate the automatic jacks.
*END SPOILERS*
Those quibbles really didn't detract from the overall experience for me though, so I'm willing to just set them aside. Because really, to me there is SO much to love about this movie. Amidst the seemingly endless flurry of classic cartoons being adapted to live action with terrible results, this film stands out as an example of how to do this kind of thing right. It's a wonderful gift for fans of the animated series. Go out and see it on the big screen in all its glory while you still can. You won't be able to remove the smile from your face from the moment the music plays over the opening titles, and by the time of the big race you'll genuinely be cheering for Speed to cross the finish line. Go, Speed Racer, Go! ;D
|
|
