What do people have against my childhood? First, 70s icon Evel Knievel dies and while I'm waxing nostalgic about his Stunt Cycle toy and those great comic book ads I have to be reminded what a complete dick the guy really was.Now, the Wachowski Brothers are out to destroy one of my fave childhood icons. Don't get me wrong. I don't like trashing a film before I've seen 1 second of it. And I usually hate when on-line critics (read "nerds") get all up in arms because "so and so's costume doesn't look right" or "that actor isn't the right height/weight/skin tone to play fill-in-the-blank."
But I gotta say that for everything it looks like Christopher Nolan is getting right with his interpretation of The Joker in the upcoming THE DARK KNIGHT, the Wachowski's are doing, hell, I don't even know if "wrong" is the proper word in next summer's SPEED RACER flick.
I was leery about the idea of a live action update of the cartoon icon from the get-go. I wasn't sure how you'd bring the world of Speed and his family to life. If you went for a strict interpretation of the cartoon – complete with Speed's scarf and the annoying little brother with his pet monkey – you risk looking ridiculous. If you try and update the look and feel ala the comic book and cartoon reinterpretations of the last few decades you risk alienating the show's legion of hardcore fans.
Recent news that the whole thing was done with green screens upped my leery factor and now we have these photos from USA Today. To say I'm stunned with a numbing mix of disappointment and rage isn't anywhere near strong enough. The trailer premieres tonight and will be appearing online shortly thereafter. I'll try and reserve my judgment until the flick hits theaters, but this one is dropping on my list of next year's Must See Flicks.
3 comments:
Dude, I groaned loud enough for the entire world and nearby planets to hear when this project was announced but there is something about those screenshots that I really like. I don't know if you saw it but there was a live action version of the anime Cutey Honey produced in Japan a few years back that meshed modern special effects with with the models and rubber suits of a Power Rangers episode and it really worked out. It was loud and stupid and candy-colored to the core and it really worked for me. Going based on those photos alone, I'm somewhat excited to see how this works out. I have no faith at all that this kind of lunacy will appeal to the mass market since the joke may be lost on most people but I really like the look of it.
Plus, Racer X.
Have you seen the trailer? I'll be adding a post that links to it... seems pretty polarizing and I definitely fall into "This May Be the Worst Film Ever Made" category. I give the Wachowskis credit for trying something different, but does it have to be with a cherished piece of my childhood? ;-)
I am so bummed out about how this is turning out... especially after being temporarily excited because I thought the casting was spot on, and the first photos of the Mach 5 looked gorgeous. But good grief, the trailer just gives me a migrane. Those are some of the worst background color choices I've ever seen. Everything looks, feels, and even smells worse than Tim Burton's Wonka remake so far.
Can anything still save it?
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