Published: May 15, 2008 08:19 pm            

No ‘Speed Racer,’ no

After watching “Iron Man” last week, I was excited for the prospect of a summer filled with high-profile films that exceeded expectations.

A pedigreed cast, a talented director and a strong script made it feel like a new breed of summer film. I had high anticipation for what would come next.

What came next was another big-budget take on an existing property with a lauded cast. With “Speed Racer,” however, my hopes for the coming summer were quickly deflated.

After making a mess of “The Matrix” sequels, the Wachowski brothers decided to take on a pet project in an adaptation of the Japanese cult animated series. While I am not overly familiar with the original series, I can’t imagine that this film is true to its spirit, unless the original series was geared toward ADD-addled, head-trauma victims with low tolerance for story and a love of overacting.

“Speed Racer” seems like an adult movie crammed into a kid-friendly box. The result is a story and action really too adult for its PG rating, but too dumbed down and stupid for the adults in the audience. The Wachowskis must have realized that their script was flawed and would struggle to maintain attention, as they fill the screen with quick cuts, flood it with as many bright and vibrant colors as can be accommodated, and pack in long and sometimes overly confusing race scenes that had me checking my watch.

The basic premise is a confusing idea that professional races are all fixed in an elaborate and muddled scheme to drive up the stock prices of the companies competing for them. The Racer family has been an independent team who has refused to make alliances with the corporate sponsors. This resulted in the death of oldest son Rex, and the motivation for younger brother Speed (Emile Hirsch).

The casting was promising, with Hirsch, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Christina Ricci all having shown their acting skills throughout the years. Unfortunately, it seems that the Wachowskis subscribe to the idea of “more is better,” as each of the actors pushes past the point of believability.

Most grating is my nominee for Worst Child Actor Ever to Appear on Screen: Paulie Litt as Speed’s little brother, Spritle. His over-the-top performance quickly moved past the point of annoying. Obnoxious in every possible way, this kid is beyond miscast.

The cartoonish effects and race scenes consist of close-ups of angry competing drivers and then a lot of flipping and catapulting. If the race scenes were even mildly interesting at first, they soon moved to the point of humdrum after Speed flipped over cars for the umpteenth time.

The Wachowskis themselves are the greatest disappointment. After their breakthrough with “The Matrix,” much was expected from the writing-directing duo. Their innovative bullet-time special effects were revolutionary and had many anticipating what was to come next. Since then, however, they have made letdown after letdown, first with the sequels and now with “Speed Racer.” I don’t see much promise or hope for the brothers now.

“Speed Racer” was a property that didn’t have a huge demand for the big-screen treatment, and with the results, it seems like the silent masses were right. This is a film best forgotten.

Judging by the audience reaction, I believe that it soon will be.



Benji Tunnell writes for The Joplin (Mo.) Globe.

        

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