Why Speed Racer is Getting Terrible Reviews and Why You Should Go See it Anyway.
Speed Racer cost $120 million to make and made around $20 million it's first weekend in theaters. Now I'm no mathematician, but those aren't very good numbers,
comparably. Critics are doing their critic thing and being pretty critical of the movie, so if you were mildly interested but haven't seen the movie yet, you may be thinking "gee, maybe I'll skip out on this one after all." But I am here to say no! You should go see Speed Racer.
Granted, you all know that I like strange things for strange reasons, and that I believe that a bad film can easily also be an enjoyable film *cough*SuperMarioBrothers*cough*. But Speed Racer is
not a bad film. It's not exactly a likely runner for Best Picture either, but trust me - this film is worth seeing. Well, probably.
Overall, Speed Racer is a lot like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: it uses experimental images and editing styles, is an homage to an older style of storytelling, is utterly enjoyable to the right crowd and likely to confuse the pants off nearly everyone else. Granted, Sky Captain had a much higher Rotten Tomatoes score (Sky Captain: 73%, Speed Racer: 34%), due to a large number of factors. I completely understand where nearly every critical remark for Speed Racer comes from, but while some are legit, others deserve an adequate defense.
They turned this into a melodrama? Oh noes!If you've even seen snippets of the old show or heard the jokes about it, you'll understand that when the critics dismiss Speed Racer as "melodramatic," they're missing the point. Is it? Of course it is!
It's Speed Racer! Non-melodrama would be out of place here. The important part to consider is what was done with the high-energy, eclectic, melodramatic source material. In short, a lot of amazing things.
Starting with the characters, their transition into live action was handled very well. You may recall the Scooby Doo movie, who's biggest saving grace was how well Shaggy and co were translated on screen. Speed, Pops, Trixie, and the rest have been made even more "believable" with the aid of well written dialogue and story that make perfect sense within the world. When Speed shows up and talks about racing, you really feel and understand his passion for racing. The actors did a great with it. The plot itself is well written, and while everything is a bit over-the-top, it meshes and is a great deal of fun.
The original crewSimilar to the Superman movie released last year, this film was obviously worked on by people who have seen, understand, and love the source material. There are all sorts of inserted details, references, and scene setups that were straight out of the show. The film does tend to put these references everywhere (which is pretty appropriate consider it's a re-make), but while someone with no history of the show would easily still understand what's going on, the ridiculous actions taken could be a little disorienting to uninitiated viewers (at one point, a driver actually catapults a beehive into the car of an enemy racer). There's probably also some added level of entertainment when you DO get the references or are familiar with the show's style. This means the entertainment value of the movie is increased for a specific crowd who knows and understands the old series. A crowd consisting of those interested in animation history (including me), anime fans with an interest in anime's history (an all too rare breed), and any persons older than 70 who watched the show in the 1960's.
While the above group is likely to be very pleased with the movie, those aren't exactly summer blockbuster numbers. So who exactly is this movie targeted at? Children? I'd say yes, but the reviews are correct that the film has a hard time focusing on one demographic - the film fluctuates between silly juvenile scenes, intense action scenes, and adult drama centered around fixing races and stock trading. Again, this is fairly appropriate for the subject matter, as the original series contained nearly as bizzare a mix. These days we seem to like our entertainment a bit more focused and defined, so it's easy to understand this complaint. Personally, as an adult I am not above laughing at a bizzare candy freak-out moment with Spritle and Chim-chim, but if that turns you off then so be it.
"Innocent Bystanders"Length is another complaint, but one that boils down to enjoyability. If you have nowhere to be and are having a blast (as I was), you won't notice. If you're on a schedule or just aren't that into it, I can understand the complaint. At two hours it really is a long movie, and there are a few things that could have been tightened up or cut completely. Overall I thought the pacing was fine and the plot moved along at an enjoyable enough rate (though I have been disagreed with on this).
If you haven't seen this film and want a sum-up of the many words used above, here is the shortlist of things that made Speed Racer highly enjoyable. Any of these things appeal to you:
- It's Speed Racer - if you have seen the show - whether you loved it or hated it - there's a lot here to laugh at and enjoy. If you haven't, you'll probably still get most of it if you have ever watched a Saturday morning cartoon.
- High-Powered Action Scenes - Do you play Mario Kart? Replace blue shells with buzz saws, bombs, and giant flails. Add a lot of speed, spinning, and more "blue sparks" than you thought possible. There's more sliding here than in in Tokyo freaking Drift. The non-car action scenes (yes, there are a few) are just as fast-paced and fun to watch, and you can actually follow them (no annoying super quick cuts or shaky camera effects here). The over-the-top style made these scenes even more entertaining.
- Visuals - Everything is very bright and beautiful. Costuming, lighting, camera angles and everything are done very well. The cg scenes are integrated well enough that you rarely think about them during the movie. This film is a feast for the eyes if nothing else.
- Super Fun-ness - You like fun don't you? You're not a drudgy fun-sucker are you? Are you!?
Let's not mince words - as a big fan of the show (and of this sort of really bizzare entertainment in general), my review is biased. But I honestly think that within the context of the source material, this is a very well made and enjoyable movie. While there are obviously things to criticize, don't listen too hard to the critics, and don't go into the theatre looking for the flaws that are obvious when pointed out. This is a fun movie. Go sit and have fun.
Although it seems like the film may have done better if it was less like the original show, I seriously doubt that to be the case. The alternative to this faithful movie is a Speed Racer "re-imagining," where Speed solves crimes with his trusty Mach 5, or maybe Pops is the oppressive controlling figure who "just doesn't understand" his emo, illegal drag-racing son. Please try to come up with a re-imagining plot that would be good. Go on. Give it a try. In short, this movie was pretty much doomed from the start. At least this way a select few of us got to really enjoy the nuances of a faithful transition.
Overall I don't feel too bad for the film - it's still going to turn a profit in America. It also seems like the type of thing that will be a ridiculous hit in Japan. I'm likely to own the DVD one day, and may break down and buy merch next time I'm at Walmart. So while it's disappointing that so many critics and audiences are lukewarm on this, I was extremely pleased with it, and that's really all that matters. Go Speed Racer, Go!
Wooooo!
