The elusive Wachowski Brothers created one of the great iconic sci-fi movies of the ’90s, if not of the century, with THE MATRIX. Despite accusations of its story being derivative, and even plagiarised, its visuals had a major impact, particularly on the world of advertising, in the same way as other iconic films before it, such as BLADE RUNNER and BRAZIL. THE MATRIX sequels may not have followed the original with the same success, critically or financially, but spin-offs such as THE ANIMATRIX, the assorted computer games and the comic books further explored the core themes of the movie and remained faithful to the Japanese roots that influenced the two brothers.
Their latest film, which is far-removed the grimey, apocalyptic world of THE MATRIX, is also influenced by Japanese pop culture: this time a relatively obscure anime called SPEED RACER, which was one of the earliest anime exports to the US. Originally called MACH GO GO GO, it was created in 1966 by Tatsuo Yoshida, whose studio Tatsunoko Productions had the licence to produce the Japanese version of SUPERMAN. It was his US-style animation that made SPEED RACER a popular choice for the American market not ready for the now familiar style anime. (As an aside, the original title MACH GO GO GO came about because the Mach 5 car was driven by teenage race-ace Go Mifune. In Japanese the number 5 is pronounced ‘go’, so the title became Mach 5, go (the verb) Go.)
The film tells the unlikely tale of the imaginatively named Speed Racer and his family who build and race cars to compete in the highly competitive and cutthroat world of the World Racing League. The fiercely independent, and eccentric Racer family are struggling to maintain their place in the competition, despite Racer’s natural ability because they are under threat from the huge racing corporations, unless they can win the big race of the season.
Using the same visual effects team that created the groundbreaking look of THE MATRIX, the Wachowskis have created a garish live action cartoon that comes across as a combination of Hot Wheels and Whacky Races on LSD (and that is not Limited Slip Differential either).
With a stellar cast that includes Emile Hirsch in the lead role, along with Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Lost‘s Matthew Fox, it is mostly style of substance, but there are some great moments of humour from the young Paulie Litt as Speed’s little brother, who is accompanied by his pet chimp. The rest of it is mostly flashy spectacle that will appeal young boys.
SPEED RACER is out on Friday May 9 from Warner Brothers.