REVIEW – We take a look at the “Speed Racer” 4K Collectors Edition Steelbook
This release is available to buy now.
Film
Lana and Lilly Wachowaski’s early career as film writers did not get off to a good start, after their script for Richard Donner’s Assassins was re-written by Brian Helgaland.
It wasn’t until their directorial debut with Bound that they found success, and followed that fil up with the Matrix trilogy, which shaped modern Hollywood action movies ever since.
After a few years in producing roles, the duo returned to the directors chairs with Speed Racer, an adaptation of a 1960s Japanese TV anime that was also a huge hit in the USA. As huge fans of the show, the Wachowskis saw their adaptation as a way to showcase a new, unique visual style, while also telling a story about family, the weight of expectations, and the danger of corporate greed.
The film follows Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch), a gifted young race driver and one of the sport’s rising stars. Determined to follow in the footsteps of his late brother Rex, Speed races for his family’s independent team, led by his father Pops Racer (John Goodman). After he learns that major races are being manipulated for profit, Speed finds himself caught in a battle that threatens everything he believes in.
He enters a series of dangerous and spectacular races in an effort to expose the corruption and restore integrity to the sport. Alongside his family, his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci), and the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox), he fights to prove that racing is about more than just money.
This really is a film unlike any other, before or since. Not just an adaptation but essentially a live-action anime, Speed Racer is an explosion of colour, hyper-kinetic layered visuals, and non-linear story telling, the film sometimes runs the risk of being exhausting.
However, while at first I was honestly quite put off by its seemingly relentless need to dazzle and amaze, as I watched more I was soon won over by the Wachowskis’ sheer audacity. Words like “unique” and “groundbreaking” are thrown round a lot, but Speed Racer really does deserve those labels.
The cast do their best with the patchy script – especially Roger Allam as the deliciously hammy and moustache twirling bad guy – but with the regular need for them to precisely pose and hit their marks for subsequent effects work, they’re there purely in service of the visuals.
Unfortunately, the critical and box office response suggests that the film missed the mark with many viewers, as it failed to hit anywhere near the heights of The Matrix’s success. As is often the case though, the film has had a re-appraisal in the subsequent years.
As much as the Matrix trilogy will always be classed as their finest work, Speed Racer really feels like The Wachowskis at their most pure as filmmakers. Whether that’s a good thing or not is purely down to personal taste.
Video
Speed Racer was a fairly early entry in the world of digital film making, and was shot using primarily using prototype Sony digital cameras (alongside other more specialised kit for high frame rate footage), in 1080p HD.
Given the source material you’d be forgiven for thinking this new 4K release may not offer much of an upgrade over the previous Blu-ray, but what Warner Bros have achieved here is nothing short of miraculous.
The full details are far too technical for my tiny brain to fully comprehend, but the team went back to the original camera files and rinsed every last drop of detail out of them to produce an image that puts many native 4K productions to shame.
The picture is razor sharp, with a ton of detail in areas like skin pores and clothing fabric. Often in older films, upscaling ends up highlighting some of the weaker CGI work, but WB’s proprietary in-house upscaling tool – Samurai – keeps all the various elements in each shot looking consistent.
If ever you wanted a disc to show explain the benefits of HDR, then this is the one for you. I watched this on a Dolby Vision capable LG OLED screen, and It’s honestly difficult to get across just how intense this films looks – the intentionally exaggerated colour palette is wonderfully reproduced, while shadow detail remains impressive, and the highlights pop throughout.
Despite its limited resolution source material, this is one of the best 4K transfers I’ve seen, and a perfect showcase for the format.
Audio
Don’t worry – your eyes won’t be getting all the fun; your ears are in for a treat as well, as Speed Racer has been treated to a new Dolby Atmos remix, which is an absolute blast.
The track will make full use of all your speakers, with crowd noise enveloping you and cars whizzing round your head. If you have ceiling speakers the effect is even better, fast, accurate sound movement all around the room.
Bass is meaty, capturing the growl of the car engines and the impacts of the many, many crashes.
Thankfully it’s all very well behaved, and dialog remains audible even during the loudest action, while Michael Giacchino’s score is mixed in extremely well.
Whatever sound system you have, there’s lots to enjoy here.
Extras
There’s an OK selection of on-disc extras, mostly carried over from previous releases.
First up though is a new 13 minute interview with Lana and Lilly Wachowski, who look back at the film, its production and its legacy, both cultural and personal. It’s a very nice insight into how they approached the film, and how they see it now, almost 2 decades later.
Then it’s onto the old extras, which total about 90 minutes, and cover a range of subjects, including a behind the scenes tour, the usual EPK style interviews, a look at the cars and race tracks featured in the film, a really nice look at the groundbreaking VFX, and an in-universe documentary about the Racer family.
It would have been nice to have more new stuff – an audio commentary by the Wachowskis would have been great, as the 13 minute interview doesn’t feel long enough for them to say everything they want.
That said, in total we do get about 1hr 45m of stuff all in, which isn’t too bad.
Packaging
As well as a standard 4K release, Speed Racer has received a great looking new Steelbook.
You can just pick up the Steelbook on its own, or if you’re feeling flush you can also get the Collectors Edition, which includes the Steelbook, along with a 32 page World Of Speed Racer booklet, 2 posters, and 7 art cards, all housed in a rigid slipcase.
Summary
Speed Racer is a tricky one… After their incredible debut Bound, and the genre defining Matrix trilogy, expectations were high for the Wachowskis – they had to come up with something truly special.
Speed Racer was a huge pivot from their previous work – a poppy, frantic, (over?) dazzling and surprisingly personal anime adaptation, that was a technical marvel, but fell flat with critics and audiences alike, resulting in a box office flop.
Still, there’s much to like here, with a decent cast doing their best with a clunky script, and a visual style that still feels unique today.
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