2. Speed Racer (2008)
The Wachowskis are bulletproof in my book. They can do no wrong. 1999's innovative and inventive The Matrix allows them a free pass to do whatever they want and I'll go and see it having already made up my mind that it's brilliant. I love The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, V For Vendetta and Ninja Assassin. I haven't seen it yet, but Cloud Atlas is bound to be a work of genius. Following the thread? Good. Speed Racer came out in 2008 and it's an extraordinarily stylised film which looks like a slow motion explosion in a Skittles factory (the rainbow confectionery rather than the bowling accessory). It's like nothing else that has ever graced the cinema screen: a visual banquet that will leave your eyeballs with a double-chin and a bit of a paunch by the time the credits roll. The CGI and animation send impossible cars and improbable race tracks corkscrewing into an azure blue sky or slicing through a cobalt black mountain. The detonation of primary colours evokes an idyllic 1950s cartoon aesthetic. The Matrix trilogy saw the complex layering of allegory, symbolism, erudition and narrative. Speed Racer is far simpler. Sure, we're rooting for the little guy fighting the big, evil corporate machine (Roger Allam at his slimy best), but it's all about how the film looks. The groundbreaking graphics, cheesy dialogue and hammy acting compliment each other perfectly and propel the story, which unfolds precisely as you would expect. There's a joyous innocence about this movie which is diametrically opposed to the knowing coolness of The Matrix and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The critics who gave this film a kicking were merely angry that more films don't look as striking as this.