Enjoyed the short sequence of podcasts, guys–thanks!

Does it look cartoonish? It’s supposed to.

Does it look like the actors are against flat background? It’s supposed to.

Are the character acting as though they were on a 1960s kids’ show? They’re supposed to.

The reason people didn’t complain about this hyper-stylisation on movies like Sin City or 300 was because they were “dark”. That’s all.

But “dark” doesn’t mean “good”. Just look at movies like Toy Story, or Ice Age, or Finding Nemo.

A film doesn’t need to be “dark” and “gritty” (i.e. “low key lighting” and “shaky cam” :-D) to be good.

And let’s not forget that the effects still aren’t finished. The Brothers will be working on this pretty much until opening day.

On the Story:
Early reports suggest that the character development is solid, and that the film creates genuinely empathetic characters.

Let’s clear the air here - the only reason people are doubting Speed Racer is because of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, as they were the last project directed by the Wachowskis.

Now, whatever your opinion of the sequels (I thought they were misunderstood masterpieces, but whatever…), you can’t doubt that every time they’ve done an ORIGINAL film (i.e. Bound, The Matrix), they’ve always delivered. And let’s not forget that they didn’t just produce V for Vendetta - they WROTE it, too.

So we know that the Wachowskis can write and direct top class original movies, and can write top class adaptations.

We also know that the Wachowskis are visionary directors (and I don’t use that term lightly), in that they always seem bored with where film is, and they’re constantly trying to push the medium to new levels. Even at the risk of failure (e.g. Reloaded and Revolutions). But this doesn’t deter them from continuing to try and break the cinematic mold.

For that alone, they deserve to be applauded.

And it’s because of that that I think Speed Racer could end up being the runaway success of the Summer.