Live-Action Anime Flop Is One Of The Most Underrated Films Of All Time
Live-action anime adaptations are hot now, thanks to Netflix’s One Piece proving that they can be good, exceeding the low expectations of a generation of fans burned by M. Night Shyamalan’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. Yet, there’s one live-action film that was originally hated and slammed by critics and fans, but today has been re-evaluated, and it’s now considered an essential cult classic. Speed Racer, the first film the Wachowskis directed following The Matrix trilogy, is a gorgeous, wild film that does an amazing job of bringing the classic series to life.
An Excuse For Racing Scenes
Speed Racer has a simple plot, but that’s not a bad thing; zeroing in on the cross-country Casa Cristo 5000 race, which Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch, and yes, that’s the character’s name) wants to win to help save his family’s racing business. To do so, he teams up with Racer X (Matthew Fox) against every other racer, thanks to billionaire Arnold Royalton (Roger Allam) putting a bounty on his head after the Racer family refuses to be bought out. Honestly, the plot exists as an excuse for the race scenes, which are shown with a psychedelic noen style, taking place on courses that have more in common with a roller coaster track than Daytona Speedway.
It Looks Like An Anime
It’s the racing scenes that elevate Speed Racer and make me regret not watching it in theaters. The way that the Wachowskis shoot the drivers makes them look like anime characters, and unlike other anime adaptations, it steers into the absurd, with unreal jumps and cars that are armed to the teeth. These sequences are a visual feast, even 16 years later, and in fact, they stand out more today when most films seem to be allergic to using color.
The Cast Understood The Assignment
The cast of Speed Racer does a great job with the material; again, they understood the assignment and embraced the old-school anime’s over-the-top dramatic dialogue. In addition to Hircsh and Fox, Christina Ricci plays Speed’s girlfriend Trixie (with Modern Family’s Ariel Winter, one year before the sitcom started, as young Trixie), while Mom and Pop Racer are, respectively, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman.
Since the film was stuck in development hell for over a decade, the list of stars that were once attached or considered is incredible, including Joseph Gorden-Levitt and Shia LeBeouf as Speed, with Henry Rollins, Vince Vaughn, and Keanu Reeves as Racer X.
A Flop In Theaters
In 2008, Speed Racer was considered a flop, earning only $93 million at the worldwide box office against a reported budget of $120 million (not including marketing, which was extensive). In a case of poor timing, the film was in theaters alongside a little film developed by Marvel, a comic book company, called Iron Man. Despite failing to recoup its budget, the film ended up being profitable in the long run thanks to merchandise sales (which is where the real money is; ask Jack Nicholson about Batman) and home video.
A Cult Hit Today
REVIEW SCORE
Speed Racer exceeded my expectations, which admittedly were rather low due to its reputation, but I ended up wishing for more anime adaptations that weren’t afraid to embrace the original spirit this strongly. It’s not perfect, but it’s fun, and sometimes, that’s all you want out of a film. Sadly, the film is only available through Video on Demand via Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, AppleTV, Vudu, and Google Play.
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