Warner Bros.
When Speed Racer roared onto screens in 2008 most people either panned it or didn’t get what magic the Wachowski’s had captured.
Those who did were blown away by the sheer audacity and brilliance of the visual marvel that they achieved.
I was one of the skeptical ones.
When the Wachowskis announced that their next ambitious project after the insanity that was The Matrix Trilogy was to be Speed Racer, I was like, “huh. Interesting.”
Though suspicious of their ability to adapt a beloved anime into a viable and enjoyable film, I held out hope that they would pull it off.
Initially, I balked at seeing it. The ads and trailers looked like nothing I had ever seen. It looked ridiculous, and I didn’t think I would be ready for it.
In fact, I never saw it in the theater on its initial run. Years later under the advice of a friend whose cinematic tastes matched my own, I caught a midnight showing when a local independent movie theater ran it as part of their programming of live-action adaptations of animated original properties.
It was not what I was expecting. I was instantaneously dazzled by the colors, the sound design, and the visual mayhem. I was immediately reminded of the gorgeous, misunderstood, and underestimated Dick Tracy (1990), which Warren Beatty so lovingly crafted decades prior. The colors of Speed Racer are riotous, the cinematography and editing breathtaking, and the costumes were as if the anime leapt off the cartoon screen into real life. I was mesmerized.
I absolutely adored the original Speed Racer (1967) when I used to watch what little was available in my youth in the 1970s. In fact, there was a lot of anime that I watched back then, before I even knew it was even from Japan. Star Blazers (Space Battleship Yamato), Force Five (Dangard Ace, Starvengers, UFO Robo Grandizer, Spaceketeers, Dino Mech GaiKing), Battle of the Planets (Gatchaman), Astroboy, Gigantor, and, of course, Speed Racer. All played equally in my childhood with Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Tom & Jerry, and Casper the Friendly Ghost, amongst others.
Speed Racer, though, was in my top-tier shows to watch. I loved all the cool things the Mach 5 could do. I loved Speed’s unwavering dedication to doing what is right. The mysterious Racer X, and stalwart Inspector Detector. All made for great cartoon watching.
What Lana and Lilly Wachowski set out to accomplish and, in my mind, have achieved is nothing less than a visual marvel. It IS a live-action anime. By utilizing the cutting-edge green screen technology that Industrial Light & Magic had developed at the time, the two writer-directors were able to pull off the impossible and present us a living cartoon. Sure, many of the effects aren’t perfect or are slightly cringy, but that is the hazard of pushing digital technology past its breaking point at that time or anytime.
They were ahead of their time.
The proof is the current cult status and the love this movie is now showered with. This 4K Ultra High Def release is the icing on the cake. This 4K restoration release is remarkable and could be a new benchmark for what 4k releases need to achieve in terms of color vibrancy and crisp visuals without the overly heavy hand of DNR. This is saying something for a film that was shot in HD 1080p and then upconverted to a 4K master for the remastered edition. The sound matches the thrilling visuals brilliantly, and it utilizes my surround system to its fullest.
If you passed on watching the 2008 Speed Racer, then you should really not pass up the opportunity to see this film at its visually best.
Is it an award-winning story? It doesn’t have to be. It is based on a Japanese animated TV show about a kid who drives a race car and fights crime around the world with his family, a mysterious other race car driver, his girlfriend, and a goddamn chimpanzee. Give it some slack.
What is lacking in the Pulitzer Prize-winning story department more than makes up for it in the ass-kicking, mind-blowing visuals. The stunning cinematography and the hilarious, bonkers plot are A+. So shut your brain off and enjoy the psychotic ride.
Extras consist of several featurettes.
I can not wait to watch this again and keep sharing the brilliance that is Speed Racer.
Go Speed Racer, GO!!!
