In a time where the world is buying tickets to see Fast and the Furious sequels in record numbers, it’s only logical that a competitor may emerge to fill our quota of street racing action films. That’s what Need for Speed is, an off year substitute while we wait for Vin Diesel’s franchise to come back with a bang. Starring Aaron Paul of “Breaking Bad” fame, Need for Speed has a street racer seeking revenge on the man who framed him for death of his friend.
Based on the video game franchise of the same name, the movie spends time appealing to the car experts watching by featuring cars I’ve never heard of and a fair amount of talk about what’s under the hood. Splitting its time as an ensemble comedy, a high stakes crime thriller, a road movie and an action film, there really isn’t enough time to develop any of those thoughts fully. The final race scene is thrilling, but logic severely weakens it. Would an army of police officers risk their lives, be killed and ultimately kill others in order to catch illegal street racers who seem to only serve short prison sentences? Not in the way this movie presents it.
Paul is a good actor and there’s no denying that. His brooding, mumbling performance here is not his best though. Dominic Cooper, who plays the villain, and Imogen Poots, the love interest, even out do Paul a bit. But nothing compares to the poorly executed and horribly written race organizer played by Michael Keaton. This quasi-narrator, who knows more about the personal lives of the characters than would be possible is laughable in almost every scene he turns up in. Need for Speed isn’t meant to reinvent the wall, but it seems to not really understand how the wheel works.
Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.
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