Flashback Friday: Go Speed Racer, Go!

It’s that time again when we rummage through the archives for things that are hopefully worth reading twice!

This week: Speed Racer!

Why? Because it’s fun and Fridays should be fun. So check out my review, add it to your Netflix, and enjoy your weekend!

I loved this film.

Really, really loved it. It was written by the same guys who did The Matrix trilogy, which is perfect because both films were anime-inspired. Speed Racer didn’t do so well in theaters; it didn’t get very high reviews either — which is why I wanted to show the film a little blog love. This movie is intense visually. I’m not sure what it would be like to see it on the big screen; maybe too much to appreciate. But I also think it’s really cutting-edge stuff, artistically magical. Under-appreciated genius. I’m not a huge anime fan, but I’ll tell you what I appreciated about this film. The layering, the blending, um, the racing! (I’ve never had such a craving for slick track go-carts; I had to really control myself as I drove home from my friends’ house), the cars, the choreographed “car-fu,” and, the visual image-layering — oh, did I say that already? Well, it’s completely worth mentioning twice.

I’ve never seen the original cartoon, but I know enough about it to be able to tell when certain scenes and lines were paying tribute. Intuitively, the film seemed honorable; you know, the film had honorable intentions toward the original. The movie makes me want to see the original cartoon. The character development was quite good. The plot was great. I’m gonna buy the movie.