“Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them.”
- Pauline Kael
The question is, what did the siblings Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy, V For Vendetta) set out to accomplish, and what did they achieve with Speed Racer? Could their dialogue and characters have better served the story? Could the roles have been better cast? The question is not whether the dialogue could have been more realistic, or the characters deeper, or the plot more unpredictable and profound. Some ideas beg for deep characters, realistic dialogue, and unpredictable plots. Others, likeSpeed Racer, would be sunk by them.
Whether setting out to be groundbreakingly philosphical indie cinema or the finest garbage, a film is best served by being true to its setup. This is why, for example, I maintain that Independence Day is a better movie than, say, War of the Worlds, although the latter is more ambitious. Within its parameters,Independence Day delivers what it promises: vicious aliens, noble, one-dimensional heroes, and landmarks blowing up in spectacular fashion. War of the Worldsdoes not.
There is, of course, an argument to be made whether money should be wasted on a given idea in the first place (which is why trailers for 10,000 BC – made by the director of Independence Day, oddly enough – made me want to cry), and even deliberate trash is poorly served by inconsistent plots and underdeveloped characters (hence the general outcry against Independence Day’s follow-up, Godzilla).
But, if a given idea – like, say, a live-action update of a cheeseball retro-futuristic anime series the audience might have a passing awareness of thanks to Family Guy – has just enough merit to justify its existence, then the question becomes whether its concept has been turned into the best movie it can be. In Speed Racer’s case: is the art direction really that spectacular? (Yes.) Are the action sequences enjoyable? (Yes.) During said sequences, can you tell what’s going on? (Yes. Until the very end.) Is the plot engaging enough to hold them together? (Yes.) Are the characters likeable? (Yes.) Do they have plausible character arcs? (Yes.) Is the movie primarily aimed at kids or adults? (Kids and young teenagers – though everyone will be impressed by the visuals.) Is there objectionable content? (Three or four mild swear words, and you could make an argument that many of the women are glorified hood ornaments. That said, they do race, and the supporting cast is multiracial.)
(And for those who remember the series…) Is there kung fu? (Yes. And ninjas.)
What I’m trying to say, as eloquently as possible, is that Speed Racer is trash. Hokey, exciting, polished, predictable, cohesive, distinctively edited, wonderfully acted, perfectly cast, gloriously entertaining trash.
