Nobody has taken Speed Racer and its failure more to heart than the Wachowskis themselves. This may explain why, this week, Lana Wachowski returns to the duo’s original goldmine with a new Matrix sequel, The Matrix Resurrections. With critics split over the film – The Telegraph laments its lack of momentum, while Vanity Fair hailed its “triumphant defiance” – it remains to be seen where it ultimately ranks in the Matrix hierarchy. One thing is certain: it will be remembered far longer long than Speed Racer.

“We knew the movie was dangerous,” Lana would tell an interviewer years later. “We’re very visual-thinking artists. We’re often drawn to ideas that stimulate our imagination visually. Unfortunately we work in a medium that is one of the most rigid aesthetically.”

With Speed Racer, Lana, who transitioned from Larry around 2010, and Lily, who transitioned from Andy circa 2016, were attempting to re-write the way in which cinema communicated with the audience. However this ambition was not on the “to do” list of Warner Brothers when it approached the Wachowskis to adapt a comic book and TV series much beloved among Baby Boomers. The studio’s more prosaic goal was to conjure up a new franchise.

Speed Racer tells the story of a heroic young driver – named, with what-it-says-on-the-tin straightforwardness, “Speed Racer” – who is determined to carry on the legacy of an older brother who seemingly died on the race track. He is supported by girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci, whose fringe may be the single best reason for watching), as well as “Pops” (Goodman) and “Mom” (Sarandon).

There is naturally a villain, in venal businessman EP Arnold Royalton. He is portrayed, slightly incongruously, by Roger Allam – aka Peter Mannion MP in The Thick of It and DI Fred Thursday from ITV’s Endeavour.

With a starting premise like that, Speed Racer could, in theory, have roared into cinemas as a flashy road movie. The kind that might star Vin Diesel or Dwayne Johnson. Rest assured nothing could be further from the case. This was more Weird and Wonky than Fast and Furious.