ENGAGING CULTURE

I really want everyone to go see Iron Man. But if you took my advice last week and contributed to Iron Man’s amazing 104-million dollar opening weekend ($200 million worldwide), then thank you. You have solidified Marvel as a valid production studio in their own right, and turned Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. into today’s Peter Jackson and Johnny Depp, respectively. So this week, if you haven’t see the spectacle that is the critically beloved Iron Man then please do yourself a favor and stop reading this and go right now!!

But if you’ve seen it and don’t want to see it again (I can’t imagine that) then there is a movie opening that might be of some interest. That movie is the Wachowski brothers’ latest visual orgy: Speed Racer.

Few directors have ever pushed the envelope of visual film-making quite like The Wachowski Brothers. In 1999, they showed the world bullet-time in The Matrix and continued to wow us all the way through the trilogy. Say what you want about the last two films, but there is no denying that they looked sweet.

The same can be said for their upcoming film Speed Racer, which will be thrust into theaters this Friday. You may not like Speed Racer’s actor, Emile Hirsch, you may think that the film looks goofy and cartoony, and you may think that The Wachowskis have lost their marbles, but one thing is for sure: Speed Racer is going to be unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time.

Now, as far as summer blockbusters go, this one is pretty low on my “most anticipated” list, probably somewhere around You Don’t Mess With The Zohan and Wanted, which isn’t very high. I’m just not sure that it is going to be an amazing movie, but I am holding off judgment until I see the final product. I’ve seen three minutes of the film, and I am anxious to see more of this ridiculously stylized film. The visuals seem amazing, though I am nervous that I might have a seizure and I’m not even epileptic, but the dialog and music seem overly melodramatic and comical. Who knows, it may turn out to be an awesome ride. Then again, it may the Wachowskis answer to Spy Kids. Of all the big budget films that will be hitting theaters this summer, the fate of Speed Racer is the one that hangs in the balance. I think fans should be holding onto cautious optimism here, as The Wachowskis do have serious game.

Born to race cars, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized—the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed’s thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company’s maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret—some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won’t drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line. The only way for Speed to save his family’s business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival—the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)—to win the race that had taken his brother’s life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

So if you’re tired of the red and gold, under ten, a serious Speed Racer fan boy, or want to feel like you’re on a bicycle ride with the late Albert Hoffman, then check out Speed Racer, otherwise stick with a winner and take the whole family to see Iron Man.