Review of SPEED RACER

SPEED RACER - STORY: A young, idealistic race car driver goes after racing industry corporate greed by going pedal-to-the-metal towards being the best racer.
SPEED RACER - MESSAGE: Pursuit of ultimate competence, doing the right thing despite contrary advice, keeping one's sights on what one wants to accomplish, passion and persisting despite the attacks from those around one are what wins the day. Friends and family are instrumental in bolstering up our confidence, yet competence and success are the best at bolstering self-confidence. Bad guys make mistakes which get them in the end.
SPEED RACER - WIN: With its rather melodramatic and/or comic book approach to characters, it was easy to see the bad guys from the good guys. The good guys stood up to the bad guys and sought to defeat them by fluorishing and winning. The drink for the winners of the Grand Prix is milk (not alcohol.) Alcohol was positioned with the bad guys. Constructive activities by the good guys and destructive activities by the bad guys were easily differentiated. The main bad guy was very good at being sweet on the outside as a deception for his cruel side. The hero, along with his family and friends, correctly reflected social personalities. The hero, when a child, took even a roll-over in stride, thinking it was cool, meaning he was so into the game of it all that no small thing would phase his interest in the sport.
SPEED RACER - LOSE: The hero's brother made some choices I'm not sure about, such as fighting deception with deception, which included deceiving his family at great cost to them. But the guy is at heart a good guy, so in a sequel he could turn around and tell all. His role as protector of the hero on the racetrack was vital, but it leaves us with the idea that the end justifies the means, and in this case, the means was a bit more drastic than required by the story, and a bit more deception than a good guy would likely display. There was no other religion than passion for racing, (except one small scene of a Christian-like funeral and the scene where the hero has to get in touch, practically spiritually, with his car to determine how to get it started again.) The hero put himself down a couple of times, saying, "Racing is all I know how to do."
SPEED RACER - EFFECT ON ME: It rekindled my passion for what I love to do, and gave me hope for my success. It also made me a little nostalgic for the clear-cut morality of the 40's and 50's, even though "corny" by today's standards, it is nonetheless closer to the ideal. It made me want to explore new ways of looking at movie writing or storytelling, rather than long and linear, since audiences today have mastered the art of grasping details and fleshing them out with imagination.
Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Script Consultant
www.virtueinthearts.com