Emile Hirsch (pictured at left) is in final negotiations for the role of Speed Racer in the upcoming film to be produced by the Wachowski brothers. I’m not familiar with Hirsch and although that’s where the news is centered in regards to the project, I’m more curious about what a Wachowksi-helmed Speed Racer movie will be like.
They co-wrote V for Vendetta and the last thing they directed was the Matrix trilogy. Although different, these shared a dark tone that I don’t think will lend itself to Speed Racer. Of course they can always go in a completely different direction from the original animated series, but then what would be the point of calling it Speed Racer?
Although I’m usually firmly in the “anti-remake” camp, if done right this could be a pretty cool movie. To really work and to retain the feeling of the original animated series it should probably have kind of a James Bond vibe to it IMHO. It should be bright and open as far as cinematography goes, and so far they haven’t really done a movie with that sort of look.
Of course the original series is one best left in my childhood memories… one of those things that I have fond memories of, but if I saw it now I would cringe. I actually caught a few minutes of it on Boomerang (I think that was the channel) and I couldn’t believe how awful it seemed. That’s why I think this movie could work as a remake or re-imagining of the original show. My favorite thing about the show was of course, the car: The Mach 5 was as cool as (if not cooler than) the Batmobile from the 60’s show.
Of course in this day and age I don’t know if a cool car is enough to carry a movie… then again there is talk of a Knight Rider flick. 
Source: IGN.com
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