SPEED RACER

With their “live-action anime”, the Wachowskis hurtled off-road. Did it spend too much time grinding its gears for a kids’ movie?

Why it was a good idea (on paper)

Speed. Lots of speed. After the murky, talky Matrix sequels, the Wachowskis needed to lighten up. Nurtured by producer Joel Silver, cult ’60s anime Speed Racer seemed just the title to refuel their drive. A little less conversation, a little more traction? Gun it.

What went wrong?

Whether or not Speed Racer’s ’toontrip, CGI-sodden imagery was out of step with 2008’s “grounded” blockbusters (The Dark Knight,

Cloverfield…), it seemed out of touch with itself. The idea of “the creators of The Matrix” making a kids’ movie involving comedy chimps, crap ninjas, retro pop-art trappings and greenscreen overload isn’t inherently wrong. But the decision to keep pausing the film’s candy-high chaos for lectures about capitalism is. Already reportedly concerned about the film’s length, Warner Bros struggled to promote it, unsurprisingly. All rush and no road grip, the aesthetic could have been the work of Wreck-It

Ralph’s Vanellope with a Ralph’d tonal satnav. Between the clunky exposition, bombed one-liners and twee catchphrases (“Cool beans!”), the result was largely dismissed as a gear-grinder from mavericks given too much road, not the goofball good time it needed to be.

Redeeming feature

Michael Giacchino’s funky score rockets along. And while the Wachowskis’ anticommercialisation subtexts risked alienating the littl’uns, at least they took a swing…

What happened next?

…and then, admirably undeterred, swung even bigger with 2012’s bold and sweeping Cloud Atlas.

The event-movie careers of Emile Hirsch/Christina Ricci stalled, though Ricci features in Lana Wachowski’s Matrix 4. Meanwhile,

Speed Racer generated a little cult heat on disc. Some over-hopeful admirers still hanker for a sequel.

Should it be remade?

No, Speed, no. But J.J. Abrams’ earlier Speed Racer script could be worth hot-wiring. All drivers to that car, please. KH