Directed by:
Scott WaughCinematography:
Shane HurlbutComposer:
Nathan FurstCast:
Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Dominic Cooper, Rami Malek, Kid Cudi, Ramon Rodriguez, Dakota Johnson, Michael Keaton, Harrison Gilbertson, Nick Chinlund, Han Soto (more)Plots(1)
Buckle up with Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) as he sets out on a mission of revenge against wealthy and arrogant Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper), who framed him for a crime he didn't commit. Tobey pushes his limits to the max in a high-octane race across America, hitting the road with the world's most exotic supercars - delivering real speed, real danger and real action. Adapted from the top-selling video game franchise, Need for Speed is the ultimate thrill ride. (Disney / Buena Vista)
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Reviews (11)
My neighbors just love racing movies. The sound of the engine revving in my bass combo is music to their ears, and perhaps the only one that can complain is their broom, which comes into contact with the ceiling a few times in these cases, but is slowly getting used to it. Need for Speed is of course completely moronic in terms of story, but no wonder with this kind of target audience. Which is not the players of the game in this case, because it can't logically make sense to them why they would go to a movie based on a racing game that spectacularly adopts formal film techniques yet at the same time is graphically comparable to reality (because it contains almost no people, only objects). Moreover, there can be no question of any cinematic expansion of the game universe when the game has none. The Need for Speed movie is primarily aimed at those who have to have and see everything that falls under the franchise – all the games, trailers, t-shirts, and of course their Renault Multipla also has a fresh Need for Speed sticker on it. That said, the film's greatest asset is the fact that Scott Waugh and the writers have understood the brief, and thus the whole plot can be summed up as basically 'the main character goes somewhere to drive, thereby avenging the fact that the last time he drove somewhere his friend didn't finish. Ironically, all the characters are stuffed in the pockets of the utterly likable Imogen Poots, and the rest are so bland the film doesn't even try to make them the bearers of a higher truth (unlike the last F&F), such that the center of it all is really just the driving, which is filmed very skillfully, so I couldn't complain too much that, since I personally am more or less only interested in the racing, there's remarkably little of it here, because it's really more about the driving. Otherwise I don't know, but 178 days in jail for street racing, a few dozen misdemeanors, assault on a public officer, and general endangerment is a pretty good deal. Not to mention, the main character probably wouldn't be sitting behind the wheel again for the rest of his life.
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By gamers, for gamers. Or, more precisely, by people who present themselves as gamers (because doing so is favourable with respect to marketing), for viewers who consider those people to be gamers (young men from poorer backgrounds without higher education, dreaming that they will pick up beautiful women thanks to their driving skills). Waugh’s film is possibly one of the most thorough video-game adaptations and thus, more than other game adaptations, lays bare the limits of trying to be maximally accommodating toward fans of the source material. The plot is of marginal importance and serves primarily as an unobtrusive (though necessary) basis for the action. However, the mediocre dialogue, overacting, infantile humour and formulaic situations are significantly more irritating on the big screen than in the cut-scenes of the game (though their purpose remains the same – providing the possibility to give one’s eyes and ears a rest). The slavish adoption of certain formalistic techniques from video games (extreme slow-motion eye-candy crashes) necessarily come across as clichéd, since game designers like to go to the movies for inspiration. By faithfully imitating bad imitations of films – instead of drawing more from, for example, the quoted Bullitt or other 1970s action movies (knowledge of which the director can only boast about) – Need For Speed becomes a copy of a copy that doesn’t have any specific character of its own. However, I don’t think it’s a bad film, since it fulfils its mission (escapist automotive entertainment) more satisfactorily than, for example, the most recent, poorly focused instalment of Fast & Furious. In the context of macho action melodramas that, according to the logic of the genre, must contain unrealistic feats that are not conditioned by emotion or reason and red-lined moments of action, there really isn’t much for which to reproach Need for Speed. For me, it was a pleasant way to relax my mind, which I appreciated for not requiring any greater mental effort than playing one of the games in the series. 60%
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A surprisingly ambitious ride that cannot disappoint even occasional players. The story about racing revenge perfectly suits the various stunts like a hubcap on a wheel, and that Need for Speed would actually extract stronger emotions from me, I would never have expected even in my most optimistic dreams. When perfect rival chemistry between Aaron Paul and Dominic Cooper works, all I have to do is sit behind the wheel and enjoy a few typical locations or shots cut out from your favorite episode. And Nathan Furst's pleasantly plucked soundtrack makes you want to join the final race yourself.
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If you've ever played the game "Need for Speed" or even just watched it, like I have, you might get a pleasant déjà vu feeling during the races because it's quite a ride. Plus, you're not on a track, and eventually, you even get out into nature. Yeah, it's got a typical plot, but the ride itself can be really enjoyable.
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Instead of an exciting racing film, an everyday road movie arrived in movie theaters with the most common and predictable story of revenge and the most ordinary romantic plot. The chases and racing scenes do have energy, but everything else is hopelessly uninteresting. The characters lack charisma, the film lacks insight, tension and humor, and the creators' quest for realism is a clear step back after the last two parts of The Fast and the Furious series. Desperately dull and uncool.
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