Speed Racer: What on earth is it about?

For a UK audience, Speed Racer is something of an enigma. Based on a Japanese cartoon series that later became very popular in the US it’s the source of much fanboy excitement on the other side of the pond while being met with mild bemusement here.

So why should UK moviegoers care about it?

Well, for a start it’s written and directed by Matrix creators Larry and Andy Wachowski, and no matter what your reservations may have have been about the somewhat wayward plotting of the two followups they were still visually very arresting movies and taken as a standalone story the first Matrix movie remains an elegantly crafted and beautifully shot cyberpunk masterpiece.

The Wachowskis haven’t tried too hard to imbue the original cartoon’s structure with any bolted-on deep meaning, leaving a streamlined hot-rod of a plotline that lends itself to the most insanely exuberant visual experience of any movie to date. See stills gallery below the jump or watch the trailer below to see what we mean.

 

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The cast is extraordinary:  Emile Hirsch (Alpha Dog) as Speed, Christina Ricci (Black Snake Moan) as Trixie, Matthew Fox (Lost) as Racer X, with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) and John Goodman (Just about everything) as Mom and Pops Racer respectively. Further down the cast list are Australian actor Kick Gurry (Spartan) as Sparky, Paulie Litt (Hope & Faith) as Spritle, Roger Allam (The Queen and V For Vendetta) as Royalton; and Korean pop star Ji Hoon Jung also known as Rain), making his major feature film début as a rival driver.

The plot is simple: hero Speed Racer, that really is his name, is the greatest racing driver of his era. He drives a gloriously aerodynamic car designed by his father Pops Racer. He needs to beat the mysterious ‘Racer X’ in the perilous cross-country rally known as The Crucible if he’s to win the championship and expose the behind-the-scenes machinations of the ruthless moguls at Royalton Industries who are trying to manipulate the outcome of biggest races.

Speed Racer won’t win any Oscars for scriptwriting (though it’s a safe bet for the 2009 special effects, production design, and sound nominations) but if you enjoy a movie that can give you a wild full-throttle ride through a futuristic landscape while your brain remains firmly in neutral, keep the 9th of May free. Speed Racer is the film for you.