{"id":113098,"date":"2020-11-16T20:16:32","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T17:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-critics-said-about-the-wachowskis-speed-racer-in-2008\/"},"modified":"2020-11-16T20:16:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T17:16:32","slug":"what-critics-said-about-the-wachowskis-speed-racer-in-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-critics-said-about-the-wachowskis-speed-racer-in-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Critics Said About the Wachowskis&#8217; &#8216;Speed Racer&#8217; in 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#What Critics Said About the Wachowskis&#8217; &#8216;Speed Racer&#8217; in 2008<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.8--><em>They Said What?! is a biweekly column in which we explore the highs and lows of film criticism through history. How did critics feel about it at the time, and do we see it differently now? In this entry, Chris Coffel explores the original critical reception of the Wachowskis\u2019 Speed Racer.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Five years after wr<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ing up their groundbreaking <em>Matrix<\/em> trilogy, <strong>Lana Wachowski<\/strong> and <strong>Lilly Wachowski<\/strong> traded in their sunglasses and trench coats for fast cars and driving scarves as they sped to the raceway to adapt the popular 1960s <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/anime-manga\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"6\" title=\"Anime || Manga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">anime<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> <em><strong>Speed Racer<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Armed with a budget of $120 million, the directors set out to do something ambitious: take a story about a young race car driver, named Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch), with aspirations of becoming the best driver in the world, and make it something uniquely their own. To do so the directors ditched the rather bland and muted color palette of the original series and replaced it with a world of loud, lucid colors all strung together by a rapid succession of quick edits.<\/p>\n<p>This peculiar style caught critics of the day off guard, leaving them turned off by the film\u2019s assault on the senses. Rather than impressed by the Wachowskis\u2019 efforts to expand the boundaries of cinema, many critics wrote it off as merely a kids movie, too reliant on flashy effects and lacking any real substance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Michael Compton<\/strong> of the <em>Bowling Green Daily <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a><\/em> described the film as \u201can overbearing mix of candy-coated visuals and an incoherent plot.\u201d It\u2019s the type of film, Compton wrote, \u201cthat makes you question the sanity of the people involved.\u201d Despite a capable cast, Compton blamed the film\u2019s screenplay for trying too hard \u201cto play to the five-and-under crowd.\u201d And apparently, that didn\u2019t work because Compton\u2019s son was disinterested in seeing the film, saying, \u201c<em>Speed Racer<\/em> stinks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have to be twelve to like it,\u201d <strong>Peter Bradshaw<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/2008\/may\/09\/actionandadventure.family\">wrote in his review<\/a> for <em>The Guardian<\/em>. Bradshaw did credit the film for being \u201coccasionally intriguing in an exotic and bizarre way,\u201d but that wasn\u2019t enough to overcome the \u201cdeafeningly loud and stroboscopically flashy\u201d aspects. The film\u2019s unique visuals didn\u2019t work for Bradshaw, who compared them to \u201can old-fashioned television with the contrast dial turned up too high.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Much like Bradshaw, CNN\u2019s <strong>Tom Charity<\/strong> felt the film would only appeal to a younger audience. \u201cTwelve-year-old boys should be wowed,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2008\/SHOWBIZ\/Movies\/05\/09\/review.speedracer\/index.html\">Charity wrote<\/a>, \u201cbut for the rest of us, it will depend on your appetite for eye candy.\u201d Charity was impressed by the film\u2019s \u201cvisual panache,\u201d crediting the Wachowskis for translating the \u201csplashy, wide-eyed innocence of the anime universe\u201d to the big screen. The visuals, however, weren\u2019t enough in Charity\u2019s eyes to make up for the film\u2019s lack of laughs and suspense and characters that are \u201cas synthetic as everything else in this virtual entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Robert Davis<\/strong> of <em>Paste Magazine<\/em> joined in, saying the film was targeting a younger audience but felt the long run-time would be a hindrance, writing that its \u201cslow middle may lose the seven-year-olds that it clearly covets.\u201d A short version of the film \u201cmight have been a retro-futuristic hoot, but at 129 [minutes] it requires five times too much hooting,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pastemagazine.com\/movies\/john-goodman\/speed-racer\/\">Davis wrote<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a sugar cereal served for six meals straight. Enough, <em>Speed Racer<\/em>, enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In her review for Slate, <strong>Dana Stevens<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2008\/05\/speed-racer-reviewed.html\">declared the film to be<\/a> a \u201chigh-tech failure.\u201d Stevens wasn\u2019t a fan of the film\u2019s nonlinear storytelling and editing choices. The transitional wipes were a particularly sore point for Stevens, and in her defense, the film does go back to them often. \u201cThe overuse of this trick evokes the following responses,\u201d Stevens wrote. \u201cFirst time: Cool! Second time: So? The next seventy-eight times: Why, God, why?\u201d The Wachowskis may have set out to make a distinctive big-screen summer classic, but for Stevens, it was nothing more than the \u201csummer\u2019s loudest, brightest, and most expensive opportunity for a nap.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Rolling Stone<\/em> critic <strong>Peter Travers<\/strong> also wasn\u2019t sure the preteen target audience would make it through the \u201cpunishing 135 minutes as the Wachowski brothers projectile-vomit their cotton-candy dreams all over the big screen.\u201d Travers credited the film for its style and vision, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/movies\/movie-reviews\/speed-racer-111254\/\">calling it<\/a> the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>piest stoner fest since Stanley Kubrick took his space odyssey,\u201d but ultimately felt \u201cnothing sticks to the memory.\u201d The film may be a digital marvel, but it\u2019s one that \u201cfeels untouched by human hands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the film\u2019s overwhelmingly negative response when it was first released, some critics at the time did praise it. <strong>Julie Washington<\/strong> of the <em>Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/movies\/2008\/05\/wachowski_brothers_score_with.html\">wrote that<\/a> the Wachowskis scored a winner with \u201ca speed-demon of a movie that whisks us to a candy-colored world where everything is go, go, go.\u201d And writing for <em>Newsweek<\/em>, <strong>David Ansen<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/ansen-review-speed-racer-fun-abstraction-89837\">called the film<\/a> \u201csweet and flashy and often fun.\u201d Former <em>Oregonian<\/em> film critic <strong>Shawn Levy<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonlive.com\/madaboutmovies\/2008\/05\/review_an_eyepopping_speed_rac.html\">wrote that<\/a> <em>Speed Racer<\/em> was \u201cfilled with energy and visual pizzazz and at least strives for something more than dumb entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those latter critics could not have been more correct. <em>Speed Racer<\/em> is a dazzling display of visual ingenuity. Is it eye candy? Yes, but eye candy isn\u2019t inherently negative, especially when you\u2019re working with a visual medium. The Wachowskis were shooting on high-definition video for the first time and they took the opportunity to test the format\u2019s full capabilities. The result is a pop-art fantasy set in a retro-future world.<\/p>\n<p>To match the chaotic energy radiating from the film\u2019s bold, vivid aesthetic, the Wachowskis incorporated a herky-jerky approach to editing. While there is a fairly straightforward narrative, <em>Speed Racer<\/em> does whip viewers back and forth on the timeline, alternating the past and the present and occasionally having the two blend into one. This helps to add another layer to the film\u2019s frenetic unpredictability.<\/p>\n<p>Because the film relies so heavily on the gaudy design of the world it creates, some of the finer plot points can get lost. As Speed Racer dazzles spectators with his flashy driving, the larger racing community begins to take notice. E.P. Arnold Royalton (Roger Allman), owner and CEO of Royalton Industries, presents Speed with an offer to race for his giant, multibillion-dollar racing team. Speed is grateful for the opportunity, but turns it down because he races for his family and doesn\u2019t want to be soiled by corporate sponsorship.<\/p>\n<p>The decision doesn\u2019t sit well with Royalton and he vows to run the Racer family out of professional motorsports. This introduces Speed Racer to the seedy underbelly of a corrupt sports world controlled by the greed of consumerism. Granted the film isn\u2019t making any huge declarations, but this small tidbit does suggest the film is more than just a big, dumb popcorn blockbuster.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, back in 2008, <em>Speed Racer<\/em> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boxofficemojo.com\/release\/rl947095041\/\">suffered a blowout at the box office<\/a>, bringing in just over $90 million worldwide. The negative review pile-up seemed to be justified. More than a decade later, however, <em>Speed Racer<\/em> has become a cult classic, and even critical opinion has begun to shift. The film\u2019s visual style that was dismissed as too digital and too in-your-face is now viewed by many as ahead of the curve and a one-of-a-kind experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe directors were overdosing on digital effects, no doubt, but the garish ultrachromatics feel ahead of their time,\u201d <strong>Darren Franich<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/movies\/2018\/05\/09\/speed-racer-wachowski-tenth-anniversary\/\">wrote in a 2018 piece<\/a> for <em>Entertainment Weekly<\/em>, \u201chalfway to <em>Scott Pilgrim<\/em>, door-knocking against the Froot Loops-y excess of <em>Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em>.\u201d Franich suggests that it\u2019s unfair to attack <em>Speed Racer<\/em> for its heavy use of green screen while praising modern films like <em>Avengers: Infinity War<\/em>, which relies on green screen effects just as much. Yes, the film looks like \u201ca cheap Coke bottle covered in leftover spray paint,\u201d but that\u2019s the whole point.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2020 edition of his <em>The UnPopular Opinion<\/em> video column for JoBlo, <strong>Alex Maidy<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.joblo.com\/movie-news\/the-unpopular-opinion-speed-racer-video\">compares the film<\/a> to <em>Star Wars<\/em> as \u201cone of those special film experiences that can alter the way you see cinema moving forward.\u201d Maidy contends that while <em>Speed Racer<\/em> isn\u2019t without its flaws and isn\u2019t a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>-changer, it is a \u201cnear-perfect moviegoing experience.\u201d Maidy\u2019s point is that <em>Speed Racer<\/em> is exactly what you want when you go to the theater to see an action-adventure movie. \u201cThe fundamental difference between <em>Speed Racer<\/em> and most other movies is that it superbly illustrates the ultimate child-like experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fullcirclecinema.com\/2019\/12\/01\/full-circle-flashback-speed-racer-review\/\">a flashback review<\/a> for <em>Full Circle Cinema<\/em> in 2019, <strong>Daniel Hrncir<\/strong> revisited the film for the first time since 2008. Having first seen the film while in the fifth grade, Hrncir was afraid of how he would view it now but was pleased to be able to put those worries to bed. \u201cThe Wachowskis have directed something truly timeless, a movie that reminds us of one simple fact: childhood is never lost with age.\u201d Hrncir also reminds us that \u201cCGI does not always have to be the bad guy\u201d and praised the Wachowskis for their ability to use it to their benefit in creating a \u201cfuturistic world\u201d that \u201cis too bedazzled in chrome for puppets and reality checks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In celebrating <em>Speed Racer<\/em>\u2018s tenth anniversary for the <em>Observer<\/em>, <strong>Film Crit Hulk<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/2018\/05\/looking-back-at-the-wachowskis-2008-masterpiece-speed-racer\/\">declared the film to be<\/a> \u201cone of the most criminally overlooked films in recent memory and also one of the most oddly inspiring.\u201d Film Crit Hulk argues that fans expected the \u201cleather-clad adult fare\u201d the Wachowskis had become known for and had no idea what to make of the \u201cfluffy, neon-soaked bit of confection\u201d that is <em>Speed Racer<\/em>. As a result, it was a major flop, and \u201cmany came to dismiss the film without ever seeing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Watching <em>Speed Racer<\/em> now, I can understand why it may not be liked by everyone, but for the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would dismiss the experience. Few films are capable of reaching the level of spectacle that <em>Speed Racer<\/em> achieves in its opening scene. And what follows is two hours of equally aggressive, glitzy, drift-driving action. We should cherish that. Fortunately, the tide is changing and the cult is growing. Eventually, the rest of the world will catch up with <em>Speed Racer<\/em>.\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/what-critics-said-about-speed-racer\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=what-critics-said-about-speed-racer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What Critics Said About the Wachowskis&#8217; &#8216;Speed Racer&#8217; in 2008&#8221; They Said What?! is a biweekly column in which we explore the highs and lows of film criticism through history. How did critics feel about it at the time, and do we see it differently now? In this entry, Chris Coffel explores the original critical&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Speed-Racer.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[80201,1412],"class_list":["post-113098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-speed-racer","tag-they-said-what"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}