Before social media, life was calmer. No TikTok feeds, no Instagram Reels blasting endless streams of hyper-optimized 30-second videos into your eyeballs with as many bright colors and visual noise to elicit the most dopamine they can. It feels like we have lost all restraint when it comes to the media we consume, subtlety slowly becoming a lost art. But even before this modern era, there was a film that somehow surpassed today’s insanity: “Speed Racer,” a widely-misunderstood 2008 masterpiece, and the most wonderfully overstimulating movie I have ever seen.
After the success of the first three Matrix movies, directors Lana and Lilly Wachowski wanted to make something new. They had found something that audiences loved, but it wasn’t enough. Looking at the state of cinema, the Wachowskis were disappointed. Movies, an art form with limitless potential, seemed forever bound to a narrow set of techniques and filmmaking styles. So they decided to revolt. They created a movie that rejected traditional notions of realism and did whatever it wanted.
For instance, the scene in which the eponymous character Speed Racer and his family tour the facilities of a racing mega-corp is one of the most wackily enjoyable things I have ever seen on the big screen. The CGI is nowhere near the realism we see today, but all this does is contribute to the feeling of watching a real-life cartoon. The fictional company is full of retro-futurist gadgetry, thousands of green-screened employees zipping around on shiny purple segways, and rigorous training routines for their sponsored drivers. Everything happens at warp speed, barely giving you time to catch up before bombarding the viewer with something newly ridiculous. Speed’s extremely serious confrontation is punctuated by the youngest Racer brother and his pet monkey(a real trained chimp) raiding the corporate candy supply. I spent an inordinate amount of time smiling from ear to ear.
But it’s not just the editing choices and environments that make “Speed Racer” so unique. The cast of characters is extremely memorable, mirroring the aesthetic intensity of the rest of the world. They wear bold outfits and play into bold character types. Speed, the noble hero, dons a glossy white racing suit as he steps into the cockpit. Royalton, the big-business antagonist, slicks back his graying hair and dons a sleazy business suit. His small-town nemesis and patron of the Racer family, Pops Racer, embodies a classic ideal of the American father with a mustache and all. Speed Racer is a movie designed to maximize both enjoyment and absurdity, down to the last detail.
“Speed Racer” is not a profound movie. If you come in expecting a transformative artistic experience, you will likely be disappointed. However, in no way does this mean that Speed Racer lacks emotional weight. It assumes the emotional character of a children’s book: lighthearted in tone, simple in theme, but with real climaxes and compelling characters. Even as a series of the most absurd editing techniques you have ever seen flash across the screen in quick succession, the surreal and hyperactive atmosphere of the film is only heightened.
After the exhilarating but slightly drawn-out two-hour 15-minute runtime, I was left feeling a level of happiness I never knew a movie could bring. If you aren’t ready, you might not be able to handle this movie. I’ve tried to show it to friends and found that they were totally overwhelmed.If you think Instagram Reels aren’t chaotic enough, “Speed Racer” might be the dopamine rush you need.
