Speed Racer 4K 2008

In some ways, this trend with summer blockbusters in recent years is reminiscent of Orwell’s novel *1984*, where movies and books were churned out on assembly lines without any human input. Cinema without subtlety, without any pretense of appealing to the viewer’s soul or thoughts, but bright and flashy, like confetti. And so Hollywood competes with itself in brightness, volume, and speed. Therefore, it’s hardly worth expecting anything equally inspiring from the creators of “The Matrix.” So let’s separate the wheat from the chaff and watch it as we should.

The animators did a fantastic job. I’m not sure about the “cinema of the future,” but there’s no shortage of innovation here. Let’s paint the world in every shade of pink and purple! It feels like I’ve stumbled into either the Wonka Factory or the world of Austin Powers. All that’s left is to sit there and switch modes: “be a kid again,” “oh my God, what a load of nonsense,” and so on. There’s a plot and some kind of moral there, of course, but it’s so simplistic, and the viewer figures out the main secret an hour and a half before the hero does. But who cares when Racer’s mom wears such cartoonish daisy-print dresses, and the speed and roar of the engines make your ears ring? A roller coaster ride with scenery changing like a kaleidoscope. And colors, colors, colors!

The cars are beautiful, nimble, and inventive, and the race against a ghost from the past right at the beginning is beyond praise. The guys are handsome: Rain, who seems a bit odd at first glance; Matthew Fox, the island survivor, puts on a very earnest, mysterious face; Emile Hirsch has matured and grown up; but the most delightful of all is John Goodman, the early version of Rex Racer and the monkey. Christina Ricci... she’s a lovely girl, though the role of an anime doll is clearly beyond her capabilities.

All in all, the Wachowski Brothers are outrageously cute! My action-loving soul was soothed to the very core. An absolutely wonderful, sugary-sweet action flick.