SPEED RACER (2008) - Andy & Larry Wachowski

Okay, first off, I’ll admit, I was never a fan of the Speed Racer cartoon when I was a kid. It was rarely on television here in Ireland, and when it was, I didn’t stick around for very long to give it a chance. So as I approach the Wachowski Brother’s big screen treatment of Speed Racer, I do so as someone who knows little to nothing about the original show. I’m not going to say it’s faithful to the original, because I don’t really know if it is. So I went to see the blazingly colourful movie with little expectations. Word on the street was that the movie wasn’t very good.

The Racer family consist of Pops, Mom, Rex, Speed, Spritle, their pet chimpanzee Chim-Chim, engineer Sparky and Speed’s girlfriend Trixie. Rex Racer is one of the top racers in the world, winning races and setting records. He’s idolised by his younger brother, Speed. But Rex leaves the family racing team and is subsequently killed in a racing accident. Years later, Speed has developed into a racer just as good, if not better than his legendary brother. He is noticed by the owner of Royalton Industries who wants to buy the Racer team and incorporate them into his company. But Speed declines, refusing to sell out his family. Royalton is infuriated and vows to destroy the Racer family. But the mysterious Racer X arrives on the scene to recruit Speed into helping expose the corruption inherent in the sport of racing.



Andy and Larry Wachowski hit the big time with 1999’s The Matrix, one of the most groundbreaking and influential movies of the last ten years. While the sequels weren’t a patch on the original, they still showcased how inventive the brothers are, and they show that once again with Speed Racer. What’s most stand-out about this film is the colour palate. The Matrix trilogy consisted of a palate of green and black. And in Speed Racer, the Wachowskis seem to be making up for this by using every shade of every colour they can get their hands on! Seriously, this film is unbelievably colourful. The visuals are amazing and it’s a joy to behold.

The main theme of the film is family. From the very start, it’s clear that the message the Wachowskis are trying to convey is that, above everything else, family is paramount. And this it’s a message that suits the film considering it is a family film. It’s one for the kids. But that doesn’t mean it’ll bore the hell out of the grown ups. The film’s gotten a lot of flack since it’s release, which I feel is rather unfair. While I’ll admit, it’s not the most intellectual of films, it never claims or tries to be such. It’s just a piece of fun cinema for the family that has no pretentions.



The cast is pretty much spot on for a film like this. Emile Hirsch is great as Speed. It’s up to him to carry the film (well, apart from the visuals) and he’s pretty good at looking wide-eyed at the scenery but determined when racing. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon play Pops and Mom Racer. While Sarandon doesn’t have a great deal to do in the film, Goodman is solid as Pops, a man who dealt pretty badly with the loss of his first son, and is determined not to let the same thing happen to his second. Matthew Fox plays Racer X. While I find his character on Lost a little flakey, he’s got a much more of a presence here.

Stuck in between Iron Man and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Speed Racer is going to pass by pretty much unnoticed. Which is unfair really, as it’s a solid bit of popcorn cinema. It’s not the most intellectual piece of cinema, but it’s not sold as such. It’s pure entertainment and worth the price of admission for the visuals alone.


7/10

INTO THE WILD (2007) - Sean Penn

Before I start, let me just put a disclaimer- there will be spoilers in this one!

We all yearn to get away from the big city and go back to nature. There’s something inside everyone that feels the call of the wild. Most of us ignore it and get on with our lives. But for some, the call is too strong, and must be acted upon. One such man who could ignore the call no longer was Christopher McCandless. McCandless, an intelligent, young man from a wealthy family and with a bright future ahead of him, gave away all his savings, got rid of his worldly possessions and began an odyssey into the Alaskan wilderness. And he is the subject of Sean Penn’s new directorial film, Into The Wild.

As mentioned, McCandless comes from a wealthy family. He has just graduated college with straight-A grades. He does not get on with his parents, who have lofty hopes for their son, and are willing to help him through graduate college. But McCandless rejects their help, gives his money away to charity and sets off on a trip through America, with the ultimate goal of disappearing into Alaska. Along the way, McCandless meets an almost estranged hippie couple, a folk-singing young hippie girl, a good-natured, but law-breaking labourer, and an old man who lost his wife and child almost forty years previous. Each is profoundly affected by McCandless, who has also rejected his birth name, and renamed himself Alexander Supertramp. McCandless eventually arrives in Alaska, finds an abandoned bus and begins his life of solitude. But his inexperience and ineptitude, added to the trials of Alaska prove more than McCandless can handle.



I first heard about McCandless’ story a few years ago. Intrigued by this romantic story, I looked into it to see what exactly happened. However, I ultimately found McCandless to be a man with an ideal, but little to no experience. His ignorance and arrogance led to his death. While his plan was noble, it was badly thought-out, with McCandless tackling an incredibly hostile environment with nothing but a book on edible flora, a rifle, few provisions and a scant knowledge of survival in the wilds. It is because of this that it is somewhat difficult to be very sympathetic towards the guy. He came to a very sad and unfortunate end, and end that also woke him up to the reality of life, but it remains an end he brought about himself.

While I admit no personal knowledge of McCandless as a person, you do get the feeling from Penn’s film that the man’s story is heavily romanticised. There is no doubt that Penn believes in McCandless’ rejection of society, and his devotion to returning to a more simple way of existence (simple in it’s lack of material goods, not simple in it’s struggle for survival). In fact, Penn seems so enamoured with McCandless, that at moments, he elevates him to an almost Christ-like figure. Which really, seems ridiculous. McCandless is merely a man who is pissed at his parents and makes a foolish decision to do something incredibly dangerous. What seems strange is that at points in the film, the people who McCandless encounters and effects, tell him that what he proposes to do is foolhardy and dangerous. Yet McCandless is arrogant enough to ignore the sound advice and preach to them that solitude is the key to happiness.




There are some seriously misguided directorial decisions also prevalent in the film. Penn inexplicably breaks the fourth wall by having McCandless look directly into the camera. A decision that is baffling and unnecessary. While the cinematography is itself certainly is beautiful, there is something quite discomforting with how the McCandless character is handled. It just seems that he is presented in too lovingly a light. It feels as though we’re supposed to think McCandless’ fate was a beautiful tragedy when really it was a foolhardy waste of a life.

Despite all this, the performances in the film are quite good. Emile Hirsch plays McCandless. While his character is written in a manner that is over the top, he does well with what he’s given, and the deterioration of McCandless’ health while in the wild is performed well. William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden are given the unenviable job of playing McCandless’ cold hearted parents. Jena Malone, who plays McCandless’ sister Carine is given little to do but narrate. Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughan, Kristen Stewart all play people who encounter and are moved by the Christ-like McCandless. But it’s a cameo by Hal Holbrook which presents the stand-out performance in the film.

While Into The Wild isn’t a terrible film, it just seems a little too contrived. McCandless is a rich kid who committed an elaborate suicide, yet he’s treated like one of the great tragedies of the world. And Penn, a strong director from his previous efforts, seems to be trying to be Terence Malick in the way he presents the film. I didn’t hate the film. It has it’s moments. But again, it just feels like Penn is elevating McCandless to a level that seems unjustified.


5/10