Took in what was very likely my last showing for the theaters. I'd never seen a feature film in IMAX before, but this was available (some distance from my house), and it certainly warranted a trip.
First, IMAX. I wasn't sure what to expect since IMAX cameras shoot with greater resolution than most feature films. I wasn't sure how the image would translate to the larger screen. I needn't have worried. It was as sharp as I've ever seen a movie look. Almost comparatively like watching HD media at home versus SD media. Sound system was a blast as well. All of this allowed me to focus on the movie pretty tightly, having seen it twice before.
But does it hold up? I rarely see films in theaters more than twice anymore, because I start to notice nits or flaws in them much more easily, and that sort of deflates the experience. That's no knock on any of the films, just me.
So it was with a bit of trepidation that we started the film. I'd talked it up a lot at work, and managed to convince one whole person to check it out with me (I asked more than TEN
). How stupid would I look?
Fortunately, not at all. I'm probably even more content with the film now than I was after the initial viewing. With a bit of familiarity with the events, I spent some time looking at the margins of the film, or focusing on the mechanics of the race cars and their interactions. Like any truly well-crafted film, Speed Racer really holds up to scrutiny. It's got a strong script, with a solid story structure. The opening sequences and closing sequences (first and last 15 minutes) are so well directed and edited that it's nearly impossible to not be sucked into them. The amount of story material and characterization piled into the opening is amazing. And the way in which it is presented is refreshing and energetic. The relationships are introduced through some touching vignettes, each tying into the race portion of the present. It's absolutely top-shelf filmmaking, in service of an adaptation of a 45 year old cartoon
It's a weird marriage. The bookend to the opening sequences is the brilliant ending race, specifically the final lap. While it's a montage of previous conversations, it works seamlessly with Giacchino's score and really gives some major oomph to the film itself.
It's a long film, perhaps even a bit indulgent, but I enjoyed each of the scenes for what they were. Following up with the opening structure, the film oftens shifts back in time (it only does the forward thing during Royalton's big speech) usually to punch home a detail in just the right way. This means that the exposition is done visually, for the most part. Like previous W Brothers film, a lot of information is passed without a red flag warning the audience they are getting it, so it pays to pay attention. There is some expository information passed in conversations, but it's usually doubled with visual info, so the younger viewers can keep up with the basic story.
The races are a lot of fun, featuring some wonderful visual effects. They often approach photo-realism without losing any of their heightened style. The physics of the crazy racing is not airtight, but it's pretty good, usually cheating for visuals, as opposed to being poor models. Watching the cars bang around is more fun the more you see it, because it is pretty cohesive. It's not just flash...specific things are happening in the scrum. Highly kinetic stuff!
I dug Hirsch's performance more this time. There isn't a ton in the script, but he's sweet without being saccharine when he needs to be, he's a bit gritty without being laughable when he needs to be, and he nails the few scenes he has to in order to sell the story of the Racer family. Ricci's performance really reminds me of Reese Witherspoon, in her mannerisms and speech patterns. But it works for her, and she's very sexy and tough without being slutty or masculine. Sarandon plays the perfect mother, minding her family with love and firmness. Fox gets special note, because his costume is pretty absurd when you look at it
But he's great with and without the mask on. He has the strongest emotional moment in the film, and it's well earned by the score, and what has come before.
Onto the score, I think it's fabulous. I'm not sure what else to say by it uses the famous theme in numerous ways, and it goes from whimsy to epic to touching very smoothly. If you are a movie score kind of person, it's a fantastic one. The score really punctuates the film throughout, matching the material very well, and being pleasant to listen to on it's own.
Yeah, I've swooned over this thing enough. I've mentioned it enough in other threads. The Tragic Story of Speed Racer's Box Office will be a cautionary tale in years to come. But it's a footnote to the movie they made. Visually dazzling, thematically pure, and wonderfully executed, this is a movie that I might have to defend more than others, but it'll be my pleasure to do so. What's especially nice is that, checking the review thread, I'll mostly have to defend it against people who haven't seen it
If you can see the film in IMAX, I recommend it. Sorry for a second "review" in this thread, but I didn't feel right putting another "review" in that thread. The IMAX experience warranted some thoughts though.
As a side note, a brightly lit sign in the Viking den where the Viking team is plied with furs reads: GROG LITE. You got to get a little smile out of that.
