18 Years Later, This Brilliant Sci-Fi Epic Has Finally Won Over Its Harshest Critics

During their conversation, which you can read in full below, Hirsch discusses the enhancements of Speed Racer in 4K UHD and what fans can expect from the remaster. He also reflects on how critics condemned the movie upon release, and its box office failure, only to gain a cult following as the years went on. Hirsch discusses why Speed Racer is such an enduring movie, reveals the sequel details the Wachowskis shared with him before the film’s debut, and weighs in on The Matrix versus Speed Racer.

Emile Hirsch Reflects on 'Speed Racer's Painful Box Office Failure

"The world was against us."

COLLIDER: I'm probably the only one talking to you today who did the original junket back in 2008, in Long Beach. I remember seeing the movie and having my mind blown, and I was in the minority. There were so many people who just didn't get it, and I'm like, “What are you not getting? This is amazing.” So what is it like finally having so many people embrace this movie when, for a while, it was just a small group of us that saw the genius?

EMILE HIRSCH: It's surreal because when it came out, and it bombed, and the reviews were bad, it almost felt like the world was against us, you know? It was disheartening because when it didn't do well, that meant we weren't going to get to make sequels or anything like that, so it was like, “Man, they killed Speed.”

To see slowly, over the years, people's opinions shift, and there are the original believers like you, but over the years, occasionally, I would see things. I remember there was somebody who wrote, Film Hulk — I'm probably butchering his handle, but there was some essay that was like, “I'm not ashamed to say it: Speed Racer is a masterpiece.” I remember seeing that probably in, like, 2012 or something.

I think that was probably on Chud back in the day, Film Crit Hulk.

HIRSCH: Yeah. I remember seeing that, and I was like, “Huh.” And then there would be another one like that, and another one. It sort of felt like this very organic kind of people talking about it and showing their friends in the most organic way. Then it sort of feels like it's almost gotten more popular every year since it came out. Now, it's culminating with this 4K upgrade, which I saw it in IMAX, and it was amazing. The Dolby Atmos sound that they remastered is so, so good. I couldn't believe how good it was.

I remember six years ago — and this is what made me really go, “Okay, this is going to be a lasting film that people keep watching,” — I went to the New Beverly, and I saw a Speed Racer there at, like, midnight, at Tarantino’s theater on Beverly. At the end of the movie, during the Grand Prix, I could hear the audience crying audibly. I could hear the crying, which is not the easiest thing to necessarily hear, right? And I was like, “Man, this is a jaded bunch of cinephiles, and they are bawling at this PG movie,” just because it was so sincere, and I think it just connected people back to a part of their childhood where anything was possible.

In the Grand Prix race, Speed is really discovering his purpose in life and what drives him and the things that make him feel love and loved, and all these really beautiful, artistic kind of core experiences that the Wachowskis are somehow able to sort of encapsulate all of in that race at the end. The visual aesthetic is incredible, but it was the heart behind it, I think, that gave it a true, lasting power all these years later.

It wears its heart on its sleeve, but more than that, one of the themes of the Wachowskis’ work is pointing out what's wrong with society and how to fight back. There's a message in a lot of their movies. Obviously, the message in this, it's only worse, what's happened with the world. Anyway, we're off on a tangent.

Emile Hirsch Has Fighting Words for Wachowski Fans

"It's crazy to even think about."

When you watched it at the Chinese in IMAX 4K, did you notice anything in the movie that you never noticed before due to the enhanced clarity of the image?

HIRSCH: Yeah, it was crazy. Especially scenes in the background. Like in Thunderhead, the first race, I really noticed it. I don't know what they did, but they went into the backgrounds, to the microdetails of even people in the stands. They were like way, way enhanced. There was way more clarity. And also, the color schemes in Thunderhead, from the get-go, I can just tell that they had this world-class colorist come in and spend a long time on it.

I know the Wachowskis personally oversaw the process and were very, very, very picky about that. Lana texted me herself and was like, “It’s looking amazing. Like, it's amazing.” And that was when I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is going to be so cool,” because she would not just say that.

I looked at your Twitter, and you’ve definitely engaged with the whole “Is Speed Racer better or The Matrix?” I love both films, but do you think Speed Racer is better than The Matrix, or do you think it's sort of like apples and apples?

HIRSCH: Well, ultimately, it's art. It's subjective. It is apples and apples. But if we want to talk about a film that, for me, speaks emotionally to people in a specific way, I think that there's something enlightening about The Matrix, but there's something cathartic about Speed Racer. I don't know. I'm loath to say “better,” because for me to say it's better, I'm, like, dissing the Wachowskis against the Wachowskis. It's crazy to even think about. But seeing how attached to Speed Racer people are definitely leads me to think there might be something there.

Sure.

"They said that they had something."

One of the biggest crimes in cinema is that Speed Racer did not do better than it did because it, as you said, it made sequels impossible. It made everything impossible. We obviously have this classic, but I'm curious if, before the movie came out, did the Wachowskis actually talk to you about potential ideas, or was it one of these things where it's like, “We're just releasing this and let's see what happens?”

HIRSCH: They said that they had something. They didn't expand on it at all. They didn't elaborate on it at all, I should say. They said that they had something. The only thing Lana told me was, “On the next one, I want to get you more muscular, get you some abs. Speed’s gotten bigger and bulkier.” Because, remember, I just came off of Into the Wild when I shot Speed Racer. I was really skinny, you know? I had just gotten off the Into the Wild starvation diet, so I was like a lean Speed. So, I think for the next one, they were like, “Yeah, Speed’s got to be buff.”

I listened to your interview that I participated in at the junket back in ‘08 yesterday, and one of the things you said was that anytime Speed had to be angry in the gimbal for doing the racer scenes, you were using your real anger at the gimbal, just channeling that in. I think a lot of people don't realize what it really took to bring it to life because nothing was real. It was all greenscreen. It was so ahead in technology. Can you pull that curtain back and explain to people why any time we see you angry in the movie, it's real anger?

HIRSCH: So the gimbal was a robotic arm with a seat in it with the cockpit. But it wasn't just a robotic arm; it was a huge platform with this massive robotic arm that was really, really powerful. It had all these safety features on it because it had the power to just go like that, and the G-forces it had at its disposal could break your neck. It has that much power.

So, it's constantly jostling around. You're in there for 12 hours a day, and you’re doing take after take, because James McTeigue directed a lot of the second unit on that in the cockpit. We had two units going, we're doing 10 or 20 takes of every shot, so there's a certain amount of jostling. I don't know. I felt like I was trapped in the cockpit, but it was good because it did feed Speed’s anger, Speed’s intensity, Speed’s irritation in certain moments. It actually did feed that.

I look back on that time, and I’m like, “Man, I was in that gimbal a lot.” Nineteen days is a long time to spend in that thing. I remember there was one day where, I don't know, the gimbal went haywire, and I just started spinning, and I was like, “Aaah!” It spun me around, like, two times or something, and then it just stopped.

Yeah, I don't think I could have done it. Acting, a lot of people don't realize it's not glamorous.

HIRSCH: Yeah, it's sort of not, I guess. There's a lot of waiting and uncomfortable weather or uncomfortable physical environments. It can be hot, it can be cold, it can be raining. There are all kinds of different elements, but it's all part of the adventure.

Before 'John Wick' and 'The Fall Guy,' These Action Masters Worked on 'Speed Racer'

Chad Stahelski and David Leitch were sharing their visions long before they sat in the director's chair.

One of the things that people don't realize about Speed Racer was that you had Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who went on to become big directors, as your stunt coordinators, and they were doing some second unit, as well. Can you talk about working with them? Because at the time, they hadn’t made that transition to doing John Wick or all the stuff they've done.

HIRSCH: Chad and Dave were amazing coordinators, and they trained us so well. I remember they would shoot these little videos for the Wachowskis and present them ideas, and I remember seeing the videos and being like, “These are so good.” I was like, “These guys are really good at shooting action and coming up with really imaginative stunts and stuff.”

I remember there was one little funny story where Kick Gurry, who played Sparky, asked Dave, “So, if you had to kick an actor's ass, how many actors' asses could you guys just kick?” And he was like, “Like, infinity.” [Laughs] They thought actors were that big of wusses. It was so funny.

Speed Racer will release in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on May 19.