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Speed Racer (2008, Wachowskis) - GO WATCH THIS NOW
- Thread starter Korey
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ReturnOfTheRAT
Member
No Derrick Rose? watch the movie.
Haha wut?
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
You might still have time to see John Carter in theatres.
Sumbitch, I just finished this minutes ago and I was going to bump this thread. It's so fun and over-the-top and yeah, could have done without the kid and the chimp but I know they had their place in the anime. There are a few moments where the visual just seems like its going to fall flat on its face but it's completely overwhelmed by the moments where it sustains itself and becomes supported by sheer investment in the races and what's happening. And Christina Ricci looked effing amazing.
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
SCULLIBUNDO
Banned
You posted too late, jett. Now you're cursing out your fellow Speed Racer brethren.
Well now you edited and made me look silly.
Well now you edited and made me look silly.
brandonh83
Banned
brandonh83
Banned
I was trying to figure this out but going by the rest of the post, it's a bad thing. What's worse is Enemy at the Gates.
blame space
Banned
Still on the fence... don't be, Speed Racer [Blu-ray] (2008) is on sale right now at amazon.com as part of their Father's Day deals for just... $6.49
Don't delay... grab a copy and see for yourself what so many already know... Go Speed Racer Go!!
Don't delay... grab a copy and see for yourself what so many already know... Go Speed Racer Go!!
radioheadrule83
Banned
I have been reading the GAF hype on this film for years, and for some reason - I don't know why - I never followed through and watched it. And I DID watch the cartoon when I was younger.
I don't know why I didn't watch sooner -- it is fucking beautiful.
It's a kids film, there's no doubt about that, the comic relief and hyperactive action are sure as shit gonna be the coolest thing a kid has ever seen -- but even to me, a 28 year old adult, I had a shit eating grin on my face for most of the film. The colours are enough to make the mind melt into a passive and euphoric awe, everyone is brilliantly cast, and with the climax of the final race -- the flashbacks through Speed's mind nearly brought me to tears. It's one of the most brilliant visual assaults on the eyeballs I've ever seen, and a fucking revelation in HD.
I have seen the error of my ways, people should ignore posters like the one above. This is a fucking gem.
I don't know why I didn't watch sooner -- it is fucking beautiful.
It's a kids film, there's no doubt about that, the comic relief and hyperactive action are sure as shit gonna be the coolest thing a kid has ever seen -- but even to me, a 28 year old adult, I had a shit eating grin on my face for most of the film. The colours are enough to make the mind melt into a passive and euphoric awe, everyone is brilliantly cast, and with the climax of the final race -- the flashbacks through Speed's mind nearly brought me to tears. It's one of the most brilliant visual assaults on the eyeballs I've ever seen, and a fucking revelation in HD.
I have seen the error of my ways, people should ignore posters like the one above. This is a fucking gem.
Winnie the Pimp
Member
just ordered the blu this should be good
welcome to the fold
It does.
bengraven
Member
It's true.
The other day I noticed Sculli and Jett and one of them said "god, I wonder if there is any one of us that actually likes this and isn't just trying to be funny and ironic?". They then adjusted their scarf and black rimmed glasses. I went and hid in the corner, tears running down my face like I was in high school anymore.
Then I muttered, "It's still real to ME dammit..."
I never saw it because it looked like shit. I'm amazed at the praise it gets here. Might actually get me to see it one day.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
Some people just can't appreciate good camp.
And good camp Speed Racer most definitely is.
And good camp Speed Racer most definitely is.
JoshuaJSlone
Member
The colors are one part of why this movie has a unique look, but the other is the way it layers things in a way we usually don't see in high tech things, and especially not live action. There are times when the different layers are as clear as on, say, an SNES game.
shira
Member
It's a kids movie. Are you a kid?
Oh, I love me some camp.
Both intentional and not (though I especially love movies that are both).
But I don't know, Speed Racer just felt loud and visually busy.
It's as campy to me as the Transformers movies.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
No, but so many of GAF LOVES this movie, and they're damn sure aint kids, either.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
No, the Transformers movies are just insulting to people's intelligence. Speed Racer is closer to Adam West Batman...or the Speed Racer cartoon, even.
Sorry, I just don't see it, at all.
And I don't know, I think the cartoon and Adam West's batman are quite different.
Batman was intentionally funny and campy, Speed Racer is a kids cartoon that get most of its laughs from the poor translation and cheap production.
But whatever, this is now a Starcrash gif thread -
I bet you didn't know that's where the stabby robot from Futurama comes from.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
It's a genuine family movie, not just a kids movie.
What's to like about it, and what makes it rewatchable if you get into it, is that it has an actual emotional core with the Racer family themselves. There's some fairly serious, heavy duty stuff going down especially because it doesn't have a neaty, tidy ending. And the script directly pays with the audience's expectations about the plot twist surrounding Racer X.
Speed's mom is heartfelt.
So is Pops.
Pops regret and pain over Rex is real. Well played.
The family never gets full closer over Rex. There's the double plot twist of Rex tricking Speed into believing his brother is dead after all, to preserve the secret.
Racer family is left in the end believing Rex is dead, while Racer X is clearly in great pain and walks out, keeping the secret.
All of this is wrapped up in thunder and cartoon colors; if anything the film is rather brave for stepping up with the insane real life cartoon stuff with jaw out, proud of it. At times it's so far around the bend it almost wraps around into an arthouse film. I always laugh at the line about the lame ninjas being more like nonjas.
In the end, to me the film exudes an attitude of "this is what we're doing and to hell with anyone who doesn't get it."
At worst, I would criticize it for some scenes (not all, but some) with Sprittle and Chim Chim as going too far, right into Spy Kids territory. But that's about the only bits of the film that I don't care for. They're so far in the minor irritation category it doesn't impact my enjoyment of the film. Oddly enough, the final gag with the 'cooties warning' was OK.
What's to like about it, and what makes it rewatchable if you get into it, is that it has an actual emotional core with the Racer family themselves. There's some fairly serious, heavy duty stuff going down especially because it doesn't have a neaty, tidy ending. And the script directly pays with the audience's expectations about the plot twist surrounding Racer X.
Speed's mom is heartfelt.
So is Pops.
Pops regret and pain over Rex is real. Well played.
The family never gets full closer over Rex. There's the double plot twist of Rex tricking Speed into believing his brother is dead after all, to preserve the secret.
Racer family is left in the end believing Rex is dead, while Racer X is clearly in great pain and walks out, keeping the secret.
All of this is wrapped up in thunder and cartoon colors; if anything the film is rather brave for stepping up with the insane real life cartoon stuff with jaw out, proud of it. At times it's so far around the bend it almost wraps around into an arthouse film. I always laugh at the line about the lame ninjas being more like nonjas.
In the end, to me the film exudes an attitude of "this is what we're doing and to hell with anyone who doesn't get it."
At worst, I would criticize it for some scenes (not all, but some) with Sprittle and Chim Chim as going too far, right into Spy Kids territory. But that's about the only bits of the film that I don't care for. They're so far in the minor irritation category it doesn't impact my enjoyment of the film. Oddly enough, the final gag with the 'cooties warning' was OK.
B_Rik_Schitthaus
Banned
This movie was great.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
Speed Racer is pretty obviously intentionally funny and campy, both the cartoon and the film which tries very hard to duplicate that style of over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek humor.
It's not too different from Batman, which was also a show from the same time period aimed towards kids with low production values and intentionally campy dialogue.
I'm 18. I like enough kids movies to say that the idea of a kids movie doesn't repulse me. However I don't think this one is very well done.
Discotheque
Banned
It's a better kids movie than every Pixar film that isn't Toy Story 1, 2, Ratatouille, Incredibles, Finding Nemo and Wall E
Exactly.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
You know what would make Speed Racer suck?
If it took itself seriously. If it chose to ignore it's goofy cartoonish roots in favor of some awkward attempt at 'updating' it for a so-called modern audience by playing it straight-faced and removing all the good stuff that made Speed Racer....well, Speed Racer.
If it took itself seriously. If it chose to ignore it's goofy cartoonish roots in favor of some awkward attempt at 'updating' it for a so-called modern audience by playing it straight-faced and removing all the good stuff that made Speed Racer....well, Speed Racer.
Discotheque
Banned
Yeah I admire what they went for with this film but at the same time it scared a lot of the audience away.
if they went for the more serious approach it wouldn't have been as entertaining, but it would be more successful I think. Same goes for Scott Pilgrim probably.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
I definitely agree with that. Though if they'd have gone in that direction, I'd probably mock it like I do the Transformers films, which choose to be embarrassed by it's roots rather than embrace them like Speed Racer does.
No doubt it would have found a larger audience that way, though. Transformers certainly did.
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
This man gets it.
This is why I love this film.
It doesn't try to be dark and broody. No, it embraced the ridiculousness of the anime it was based on and rode with it like Speed rode the Mach Five.
Nah, you'd have people still saying that film adaptations of anime suck.
Boss Doggie
all my loli wolf companions are so moe
That they do, even back in the anime they were annoying.
Really hate the tagalong kid archetype.
Ah, so I have to be a kid to like it. Guess I just saved 8 bucks!
SonicMegaDrive
Member
I love to hate Spritle.
The kid they got to play him in the movie did a fantastic job duplicating the annoying aspects of that character.
The only part i didn't like was when he flipped the bird. That was just a little too much, but oh well.
The kid they got to play him in the movie did a fantastic job duplicating the annoying aspects of that character.
The only part i didn't like was when he flipped the bird. That was just a little too much, but oh well.
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