A Wachowski Retrospective ~

SPEED RACER is just latest Wachowski effort to misfire with critics and audiences. After the tremendous success of THE MATRIX everyone's gotta be wondering why. Well, as far as SPEED RACER is concerned, from one person's perspective (mine) there are three main reasons: 1) the film was too long for a cartoon concept of its nature; 2) the race sequences were far too messy and similar in construction; and 3) EGO. Ultimately, where the Wachowskis are concerned, most everything can be boiled down to ego. However, these are not just SPEED related issues. With slight variations they can apply to just about every Wachowski film since THE MATRIX. But we'll get to these issues in a moment. First I'd like to offer up another observation...

Even with all the critical blows thrown at it, SPEED RACER is not as far off base as many feel. Now, am I making a case for it being a good film? No, but it's not as horrible as claimed by many either. And here's why - the Wachowskis clearly grew up loving the Japanese animated TV series and that series is all over this movie. In fact, the one thing no one can rightly charge is that the movie is not true to its source. Anyone who is very familiar with the sixties TV show (and believe me, I am) should be able to easily recognize that. So whatever else SPEED RACER the film is or is not, it is the anime series in live action form. And if the sibling filmmakers deserve nothing else, they do deserve credit for essentially getting the show right in their translation.

It was all there. The spirit, the camera angles, the editing (including the wipes in conjunction with voice overs), the dynamic behind Racer X, the goofy villains (yep, that means the scruffy guy with the hairy sideburns), the relationship between all of the main characters, the cartoony colors, everything. Frankly, I can't think of a thing from the TV series that wasn't included in the film...to ad nauseam at times. The sense of fun and silliness was there. And so was the drama. Yes, there was drama in the cartoon. Most would no doubt argue that the fun was driven out of the film though. But honestly, through the vision of older eyes, does the cartoon really hold up that well? So again, I say the one thing we cannot complain about is that the filmmakers didn't understand or care about their subject matter. I suppose the question we should probably be asking is, does all the wild stuff in that beloved TV show really belong in a live action movie?

Many folks would say that it's all just too childish and too short-form in theme to work in a live action piece. Maybe. But I tend to think that it was the little thing I referred to earlier as ego which signaled the failure of this film and the Wachowskis' work in general. The only thing Andy and Larry had directed before THE MATRIX was a much smaller film called BOUND. BOUND received some positive attention, but the boys hit the ball out of the park with THE MATRIX. They were pretty young and new to the field of directing for such fervor in relation to their work and it seems that it all went their heads. The fact that they really are bright guys and they know it hasn't helped them in the area of self control either. Everything they've done, with the exception of THE MATRIX and V FOR VENDETTA (but remember that James McTeigue directed the latter), has been attacked and rejected on a variety of levels. The success of THE MATRIX has led to them receiving autonomy in their work (up to now), and most of the problems which followed that film can be related to the metaphorically increased size of their craniums and the self indulgence that has led to.

The team isn't bad at writing. On the contrary, they can be quite good at it. The problem is that they seem to be in love with most of their ideas and they over write. And since they're also the directors of their scripts, most of what they write apparently gets to stay in the pictures. Further, I would imagine that a lot of studio execs don't quite get a significant portion of what the boys are trying to do, so up to this point there hasn't been much of an effort to interfere with what they've been doing.

I'm not a supporter of studio interference, but in the case of these two brothers a little reining in might help. I mean, c'mon, SPEED RACER is approximately two and a half hours long for cryin' out loud! Then there are the other films: THE MATRIX RELOADED featured a spectacular freeway chase sequence and the memorable fight between Neo and the multiple Agent Smiths, but it also contained the infamous disco-rave scene (prompting viewers to wonder in dismay: "This is what the last remnants of humanity are fighting to save?"). THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS was likewise loaded with spectacular action, but the attempt to outdo its predecessors resulted in a videogame visual aesthetic in which quantity far outweighed quality. V FOR VENDETTA benefited from strong source material that grounded the visual stylization in a strong drama, but even there, Vendetta's climactic slow-mo slicing and dicing of the government police slipped into "Ain't it cool!" mode - all that flying blood gracefully arching across the screen nearly washed away the thematic aspirations. Called in to "fix" INVASION in post-production, they spiffed things up with a few nice editing tricks but also added inappropriate action antics and an unconvincing happy ending that trivialized the story.

Have some fun with your work like SPEED guys, but keep it short & sweet when warranted. Not everything you write, produce & direct is golden. Nonetheless, I still contend that SPEED RACER and most of the other Wachowski films aren't badly written and produced in the normal sense of the terms. They're over written and over produced. SPEED was too long & drawn out and it was too complicated for its subject matter, but it wasn't stupidly written or unimagined in it production & direction.

The other two problem elements are simpler and maybe a little more obvious. The length problem I already touched upon. It's a familiar drawback to much of the Wachowskis' work and ultimately it boils down to that self indulgence thing. The racing sequences were also over done, difficult to follow at times, and they were irritatingly similar. Most of the time I felt like I was watching a bunch of very crazy & colorful demolition derbies with the cars sliding sideways more often than they were being skillfully driven. Though I did feel that the brothers were being bold and energetic in their attempt to bring the TV show to the big screen, certain elements-such as the racing sequences-simply seemed too sloppy and overbearing in their execution. Oh, there was a lot of attention to detail, yet it all added up to too much and it got too shaky. This has become a common theme in their work.

When designing an engine (or a film for that matter), choosing an appropriate firing order for the pistons is critical to minimizing vibration and achieving a smooth running vehicle. Unfortunately, the Wachowskis apparently peaked too early and became too full of themselves. They seem to feel as though the laws of physics no longer apply to them. I think their main downfall is their self indulgence. Because they like their own details so much they stray from the essence of their stories and this makes them awkward & uneven. Ultimately, it appears that 'twas ego that killed the beast. Let us not despair too much though. There's still a chance for the phoenix to rise from the ashes. Personally, I'd like to see it happen because I think they've got it in them to produce more good work. Nonetheless, humility and focus are going to be two of the keys for any future success.

SPEED RACER CAST/CREW CREDITS

CAST:
SPEED RACER - Emile Hirsch
TRIXIE - Christina Ricci
POPS RACER - John Goodman
RACER X - Matthew Fox
MOM RACER - Susan Sarandon
SPARKY - Kick Gurry
SPRITLE - Paulie Litt
ROYALTON - Roger Allam
INSPECTOR DETECTOR - Benno Furmann
MR MUSHA - Hiroyuki Sanada
TAEJO TOGOKAHN - Rain
BEN BURNS - Richard Roundtree

CREW:
Directors: Larry and Andy Wachowski
Screenplay By: Larry and Andy Wachowski
Based on the Series Created By: Tatsuo Yoshida
Producers: Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, Joel Silver and Grant Hill
Executive Producers: Bruce Berman, Michael Lambert and David Lane Seltzer
Director of Photography: David Tattersall
Production Designer: Owen Paterson
Editors: Zach Staenberg and Roger Barton
Costume Designer: Kym Barrett

MPAA RATING: PG for sequences of action, some violence, and language
RELEASE DATE: May 9, 2008
STUDIO: Warner Bros Pictures