In their first directing effort since the Matrix Trilogy, Larry and Andy Wachowski have taken a gamble by adapting the Japanese anime "Speed Racer" into a full-length summer blockbuster. Their goal was to reach a wider audience by consciously striving for a PG-rating, thereby bringing "Matrix"-like action to what is essentially a family film. After a star-heavy trailer with unique, dizzying coloration and goosebump-inducing slow-mo shots, prospects looked good for an entertaining adrenaline rush.
But after the final product, the word that best describes "Speed Racer" is "unnecessary." If the Wachowskis are trying to be faithful to a Japanese cartoon that survives in pop culture memory largely because of its theme song, they're wasting their time. The show means nothing to audiences and the supposed authentic anime look on which the filmmakers focus the majority of their efforts siphons any hope for suspense or legitimate thrills.
The plot is likewise lackluster. Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) has always been focused on racing. Looking up to his deceased brother Rex, a professional driver himself, Speed takes to the craft and quickly rises to the ranks of the top racers. After rejecting an offer from a wealthy rival team, Speed and his family's lives are tainted by the efforts of the organization's power-hungry and cheating owner, Royalton. Pulling together as a family, Speed teams with unexpected allies in an attempt to expose Royalton's unjust actions the only way he can: through racing. Yikes.
The Wachowskis should be using their talents on original concepts, not turning a preexisting idea into what is intended to be innovated filmmaking. As a result of its ultimate unoriginality, "Speed Racer" feels tired and drags in the same ways the last two "Matrix" films failed to keep consistent excitement or general interest.
Unfortunately for a high-tech action film, no matter its target audience, "Speed Racer" lacks any jaw-dropping moments so prevalent in The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, and new Star Wars Trilogies. The Wachowskis instead use their advanced technology to craft a so-so anime world that's too candy-coated to serve a purpose. In a world where drivers either lace all of their food with Bonine or the cockpits have anti-dizziness features, the ever-spinning race cars steal any suspense from all of the action sequences. The aforementioned jolting slow-mo scenes from the trailer are identifiable, but their lack of build-up combined with an overall absence of peril make for an interminable lesson in dullness.
As for the cast, Matthew Fox is superb as the masked and anonymous Racer X, and Roger Allam makes for an effective and utterly cartoonish villain, but the rest of the characters are fairly static. John Goodman, as Pops Racer, looks like Super Mario while Susan Sarandan and Christina Ricci fade into the background as Mom Racer and Speed's "girlfriend" Trixie, respectively. Then there is the ridiculous combo of little brother Spritle Racer (don't doubt the Racers' fertility!) and family monkey Chim Chim, neither of whom provide their intended comic relief. Their screen time is ridiculously long and should have been the first casualty in the adaptation process.
But most unfortunate is Hirsch as Speed himself. Fox's performance is impressive primarily because his dialogue is full of the emotion that has been absent from the entire film until his first scene, a fact that wouldn't be so noticeable had Hirsch showed any feeling at all. Speed's characterization is paper-thin, and on the heels of his impressive "Into The Wild" performance, Hirsch's lackluster turn is especially disappointing.
It's time to accept that the Wachowskis had one good idea ("The Matrix") and instead of leaving it as a tremendous stand alone film, they stretched it into a nauseating trilogy. "Speed Racer" is a fantastic concept (the stills and trailer still garner wide-eyed wonder), but its execution is ultimately a failure. What should have been a big-screen treat turns up empty thrills that won't even dazzle on DVD.