In Too Deep

I know someone who likes to refer to the latter two-thirds of The Matrix Trilogy as nothing more than the Wachowski Brothers presenting two hours worth of their best “alone time” with their laptops. While I’ll openly admit that MATRIX RELOADED and MATRIX REVOLUTIONS are both pale follow-ups to the ground-breaking original, I wouldn’t go so far as to call them an excuse to present an f/x extravaganza…

…but based on what I’ve seen and read, and on audience and critical reaction, I’d suggest that SPEED RACER might be the bi product of too much “alone time” with a laptop.

I haven’t seen it – though I likely will eventually if only for curiosity’s sake. However, all indications are that the effects are excessive, and the story is minimal. I began to wonder what would happen way back in the winter when I watched the trailer and really didn’t feel the sort of excitement that the movie intended. I mean, a movie like this is supposed to make you giddy right? Sure it’s the movie equivalent of a Whopper with cheese, but every once in a while that’s supposed to hit the spot, isn’t it?

Sadly, SPEED RACER isn’t the only movie hitting screens this summer that will leave me devoid of anticipation (I’ll avoid naming names, since I’m sure I’ll be writing about them later).

What leaves me wondering though, is how it gets this far? Warner Brothers’ reported budget of this movie is $100M, and who knows how many more millions it cost to market it (those video spots between innings at Blue Jay games certainly can’t be cheap). Did nobody who saw the movie as it was being produced ever finish watching a daily, and quote Gob Bluth’s immortal “I’ve made a big mistake”?

This month Warner Brothers shut down their independent divisions Picturehouse and Warner Independent. For the prospective loss they will take on SPEED RACER, it’s no longer a mystery as to why this decision came down. It’s a shame too, since I wouldn’t have traded one LA VIE EN ROSE or GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK for twelve SPEED RACERS.

Not even if they threw in a player to be named later.