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Glenn Kenny of '']'' said the storyline was one of the most "blatantly anti-capitalist" and "most genuinely confounding" of recent years. Depending upon the viewpoint, he said, it was either "the most headache-inducing" children's film of all, or the most expensive ] film ever made. He cited the film's time-shifting narrative and multiple storylines in the early stages as evidence of its "radicalization of film language" and said it was "likely to inspire even more heavy thinking on the part of cultural theorists than ''The Matrix'' did" because of its willingness to alter its own internal logic to satisfy the Wachowskis' whims. While the results of this are visually impressive, Kenny said, this leads to "heretofore undreamed of levels of narrative incoherence, but hey, not every experiment succeeds." Kenny praised the film's look, saying the "cheez-whizziness" that others had criticised was "precisely the point". He also said the supporting characters in the race scenes were "brought to life by the Wachowskis with a cheeky relish."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.premiere.com/moviereviews/4561/speed-racer.html | title=Speed Racer review | author=Glenn Kenny | publisher=] | date=] | accessdate=2008-05-09 }} </ref> Glenn Kenny of '']'' said the storyline was one of the most "blatantly anti-capitalist" and "most genuinely confounding" of recent years. Depending upon the viewpoint, he said, it was either "the most headache-inducing" children's film of all, or the most expensive ] film ever made. He cited the film's time-shifting narrative and multiple storylines in the early stages as evidence of its "radicalization of film language" and said it was "likely to inspire even more heavy thinking on the part of cultural theorists than ''The Matrix'' did" because of its willingness to alter its own internal logic to satisfy the Wachowskis' whims. While the results of this are visually impressive, Kenny said, this leads to "heretofore undreamed of levels of narrative incoherence, but hey, not every experiment succeeds." Kenny praised the film's look, saying the "cheez-whizziness" that others had criticised was "precisely the point". He also said the supporting characters in the race scenes were "brought to life by the Wachowskis with a cheeky relish."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.premiere.com/moviereviews/4561/speed-racer.html | title=Speed Racer review | author=Glenn Kenny | publisher=] | date=] | accessdate=2008-05-09 }} </ref>

Chicago film critic Adam Fendelman of HollywoodChicago.com wrote in his ''Speed Racer'' review: "While Hollywood slapped 'PG' on the hotly anticipated ''Speed Racer'' to line its pocketbooks with the widest hodgepodge of people (ahem: kids) everywhere, those same kids will leave the theater with that lollipop nearly sucked to the stick but then yanked away with confusion."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/reviews/2363/speed-racer-condemns-franchise-dignity-but-delivers-sensorial-explosion | title=''Speed Racer'' Condemns Franchise Dignity, But Delivers Sensorial Explosion | author=Adam Fendelman | publisher=HollywoodChicago.com | date=] | accessdate=2008-05-09 }}</ref>


== References == == References ==

Revision as of 08:02, 9 May 2008

2008 American film
Speed Racer
File:Speedracerposter.jpgTheatrical poster
Directed byAndy Wachowski
Larry Wachowski
Written byAndy Wachowski
Larry Wachowski
Produced byJoel Silver
Grant Hill
Andy Wachowski
Larry Wachowski
StarringEmile Hirsch
John Goodman
Christina Ricci
Susan Sarandon
Matthew Fox
CinematographyDavid Tattersall
Edited byRoger Barton
Zach Staenberg
Music byMichael Giacchino
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release datesGermany May 8, 2008
United States May 9, 2008
Running time135 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$120 million

Speed Racer is a 2008 film that is a live action film adaptation of the 1960s Japanese anime series Speed Racer. The film is written and directed by The Wachowski brothers who also serve as co-producers. The film had been in development since 1992, changing writers and directors until producer Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers collaborated to begin production on Speed Racer as a family film so the directors could reach a wider audience. Actor Emile Hirsch was cast as Speed, the hero of the animated series, and Christina Ricci portrays Speed's girlfriend, Trixie. Speed Racer was produced in Germany at Babelsberg Studios, where filming took place entirely against greenscreen. The Wachowski brothers also filmed in high-definition video for the first time, using a layering method to put both the foreground and the background of scenes in focus to have a real-life anime appearance. Marketers have prepared toys and video games to coincide with the film's release. Speed Racer premiered on May 3 2008 as the closing film at the Tribeca Film Festival, and will go on general release on May 9 2008.

Synopsis

Hirsch and Ricci at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere.

Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a young man with natural racing instincts whose goal is to win The Crucible, a cross-country car racing rally that took the life of his older brother, Rex Racer (Scott Porter). Speed is loyal to the family business, run by his parents Pops (John Goodman) and Mom (Susan Sarandon). Pops designed Speed's car, the Mach 5. The owner of Royalton Industries (Roger Allam) makes Speed a lucrative offer, but Speed rejects the offer, angering the owner. Speed also uncovers a secret that top corporate interests, including Royalton, are fixing races and cheating to gain profit. With the offer to Speed denied, Royalton wants to ensure that Speed will not win races. Speed finds support from his parents and his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci) and enters The Crucible in a partnership with his one-time rival, Racer X (Matthew Fox), seeking to rescue his family's business and the racing sport itself.

Cast

Project history

In September 1992, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that it held the option to create a live action film adaptation of Speed Racer, in development at Silver Pictures. In October 1994, singer Henry Rollins was offered the role of Racer X in the film. In June 1995, actor Johnny Depp was cast into the lead role for Speed Racer, with production slated to begin the coming October, with filming to take place in California and Arizona. The following August, Depp requested time off to the studio for personal business, delaying production. However, due to a high budget, the same August, director Julien Temple, who was attached to direct Speed Racer, left the project. Depp, without a director, also departed from the project. The studio considered director Gus Van Sant as a replacement for Temple, though it would not grant writing privileges to Van Sant. In December 1997, the studio briefly hired director Alfonso Cuarón for Speed Racer. In the various incarnations of the project, screenwriters Marc Levin, Jennifer Flackett, J. J. Abrams, and Patrick Read Johnson had been hired to write scripts.

In September 2000, Warner Bros. Pictures and producer Lauren Shuler Donner hired writer-director Hype Williams to take the helm of Speed Racer. In October 2001, the studio hired screenwriters Christian Gudegast and Paul Scheuring for $1.2 million split between them to write a script for the film. Eventually, without production going underway, the director and the writers left the project. In June 2004, actor Vince Vaughn spearheaded a revival of the project by presenting a take for the film that would develop the characters more strongly. Vaughn was cast as Racer X and was also attached to the project as an executive producer. With production never becoming active, Vaughn was eventually detached from the project.

Production

File:Mach5 Comic-Con2007.JPG
The Mach 5 (shown on display at the 2007 Comic-Con International), is designed to be driven, but was hung from a crane for the film's sequences and have its motoring effects computer-generated.

In October 2006, directors Larry and Andy Wachowski were brought on board by the studio to write and direct Speed Racer. Producer Joel Silver, who had collaborated with the Wachowski brothers for V for Vendetta and The Matrix Trilogy, explained that the brothers were hoping to reach a broader audience with a film that would not be rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America. Visual effects designer John Gaeta, who won an Academy Award for Visual Effects for the Wachowski brothers' The Matrix, was brought in to help conceive making Speed Racer into a live-action adaptation. Production was set to begin in summer 2007 in European locations for a summer 2008 release. In November 2006, the release date for Speed Racer was set for May 23 2008. Producer Joel Silver described Speed Racer as a family film in line with the Wachowski brothers' goal to reach a wider audience.

In February 2007, the Wachowski brothers selected Babelsberg Studios in Germany to film Speed Racer. In the following March, Warner Bros. moved the release date of Speed Racer two weeks earlier to May 9 2008. The studio received a grant of $12.3 million from Germany's new Federal Film Fund, the largest yet from the organization, for production of Speed Racer in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. The amount was later increased to $13 million. Filming commenced on June 5 2007 in Berlin, and was shot entirely against greenscreen, lasting 60 days. The Wachowski brothers filmed in high-definition video for the first time. With the camera, the Wachowskis used a layering approach that would put both the foreground and the background in focus to give it the appearance of real-life anime. The film will have a "retro future" look, according to Silver. The Mach 5, the vehicle driven by the protagonist Speed, was an actual vehicle. Filming completed by August 25 2007. The Wachowskis purchased the rights to the sound effects and theme song of the television series for use in the film.

Marketing

Further information: Speed Racer (2008 video game)

The film will be backed by multiple promotional partners with over $80 million in marketing support. The partners include General Mills, McDonald's, Target, Topps, Esurance, Mattel, and LEGO. The film also received support from companies outside of America in an attempt to attract international audiences. With early support before the film's release, the studio provided 3d computer models of the Speed Racer vehicle Mach 5 to the companies so they could accurately render the vehicle in their merchandise. Warner Bros. is aiming to garner enough attention for Speed Racer so it would spawn sequels.

Mattel will produce toys based on the film through several divisions. Hot Wheels will produce die-cast vehicles, race sets and track sets. Tyco will produce remote-controlled Mach 5s and racing sets. Radica Games will produce video games in which players can use a car wheel. The products will become available in March 2008. Also, The LEGO Company will be producing 4 LEGO sets based on the movie. As part of the General Mills promotional tie-in, during the 2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400, part of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the famous #43 Dodge Charger of Petty Enterprises was transformed into a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series version of the Mach 5, driven by Bobby Labonte.

Warner Bros. will also self-publish a video game based on Speed Racer to be released on the Nintendo DS, Wii and PlayStation 2. The game will be released on the Nintendo DS and Wii in May with the film's theatrical release and on the PS2 in the fall to accompany the film's DVD and Blu-ray release. Due to a short development schedule, the studio chose not to develop games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Soundtrack

Critical reception

Speed Racer has received generally negative reviews from film critics. As of May 8, 2008, review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 32% of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based on 42 reviews. At the similar website Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to each review, the film has received an average score of 36, based on 26 reviews.

Todd McCarthy of Variety called the film "pure cotton candy too sweet and pretty for young people to resist". He said that the target audience of families and children should be amused, but that others might think the film "a cinematic pile-up", citing its implausibility and the lack of identifiable peril in the driving sequences. McCarthy noted that no expense had been spared on the effects, saying that viewers with an interest in CGI innovations would be "in a corner of heaven", but that the frame sometimes resembled "nothing so much as a kindergartner's art class collage". He had praise for the cinematography and the "playful and busy" musical score. He also said that even if not much was asked of them "other than to look alert and driven", the cast was "very good for this sort of thing", and Roger Allam made "a delicious love-to-hate-him villain".

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter said that the visual effects were "stellar", but that unlike Pixar films which are aimed at as broad an audience as possible, Speed Racer "plays very young" and "proudly denies entry into its ultra-bright world to all but gamers, fanboys and anime enthusiasts." He said that story and character were "tossed aside" to "focus obsessively" on the action sequences, and he compared the race scenes to video games in which "each race happens in a completely different environment." He called the number of races "wearying", saying they "all look alike no matter what the backgrounds." He also noted "a certain desperation" in the filmmakers to offset the lags in the story between races "with chimpanzee tricks, kid-brother high jinks, Ninja martial arts by the whole family and a raft of vicious yet harmless villains."

Anthony Lane of The New Yorker said the film was "of no conceivable interest to anyone over the age of ten" and that the convoluted plot was "barely worth unpicking". Noting the "lollipop hues", Lane questioned how the film could still end up "bleached of fun", and concluded that the answer was with the theme first mooted by Wachowskis' in The Matrix that "all of us, whether we know it or not, are squirming under the thumb of dark controlling forces." In Speed Racer, Lane argues, this comes in the form of villain Royalton, who "vows to crush with 'the unassailable might of money.'" Citing the Wachowskis' involvement in V for Vendetta (2005), Lane said Speed Racer was not as "criminally poor" as that film, but that it was "more insidious". He concluded: "There’s something about the ululating crowds who line the action in color-coordinated rows; the desperate skirting of ordinary feelings in favor of the trumped-up variety; the confidence in technology as a spectacle in itself; and, above all, the sense of master manipulators posing as champions of the little people. What does that remind you of? You could call it entertainment, and use it to wow your children for a couple of hours. To me, it felt like Pop fascism, and I would keep them well away."

Glenn Kenny of Premiere said the storyline was one of the most "blatantly anti-capitalist" and "most genuinely confounding" of recent years. Depending upon the viewpoint, he said, it was either "the most headache-inducing" children's film of all, or the most expensive avante-garde film ever made. He cited the film's time-shifting narrative and multiple storylines in the early stages as evidence of its "radicalization of film language" and said it was "likely to inspire even more heavy thinking on the part of cultural theorists than The Matrix did" because of its willingness to alter its own internal logic to satisfy the Wachowskis' whims. While the results of this are visually impressive, Kenny said, this leads to "heretofore undreamed of levels of narrative incoherence, but hey, not every experiment succeeds." Kenny praised the film's look, saying the "cheez-whizziness" that others had criticised was "precisely the point". He also said the supporting characters in the race scenes were "brought to life by the Wachowskis with a cheeky relish."

Chicago film critic Adam Fendelman of HollywoodChicago.com wrote in his Speed Racer review: "While Hollywood slapped 'PG' on the hotly anticipated Speed Racer to line its pocketbooks with the widest hodgepodge of people (ahem: kids) everywhere, those same kids will leave the theater with that lollipop nearly sucked to the stick but then yanked away with confusion."

References

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  52. Adam Fendelman (2008-05-09). "Speed Racer Condemns Franchise Dignity, But Delivers Sensorial Explosion". HollywoodChicago.com. Retrieved 2008-05-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

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