Need for Speed is an adrenaline inducing, thrill ride for car lovers. It’s the perfect film for those who love chase scenes, hot cars, and just good old tire burning fun. It's the first movie adaptation of the long running series of video games created by Electronic Arts, and stars Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, The Last House on the Left), Dominic Cooper (Dead Man Down), Scott Mescudi (30 Minutes or Less), Imogen Poots (Fright Night 2011), Rami Malek (OldBoy), Ramon Rodriguez (Battle Los Angeles), Harrison Gilbertson (The Turning), and Michael Keaton (Robocop 2014).
Need For Speed is a tale of friendship, redemption, and revenge. It has a slow start but a decent storyline that lays a good foundation around the true focus of the film, the racing and car action. Need For Speed delivers that car action in droves. The 2014 Ford Mustang is center stage as the feature vehicle, not since the days of the classic shows like Knight Rider, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Starsky and Hutch has a vehicle been featured in this manner. The Mustang has a good case for claiming the best supporting actor in the film, and it's a great choice of vehicle to include, its power, agility, and aggressive sounding engine will make everyone want to do a burnout or doughnuts in the parking lot as soon as the DVD ends.
The cinematography is another great aspect that enhances the film, with the use of multiple views - just like in the game - which submerge you into the intensity of the scenes. NFS also infuses a number of other aspects from different versions of the long running console favorite, and the film really does feel like a live action version of the whole franchise. If you're a fan you'll recognize elements from titles such as NFS: Rivals, Hot Pursuit, and Most Wanted, along with a number of other small aspects that are put into the movie to connect to the game. Great touch!
NFS is about the cars and the casting shows that, with the majority of the actors being relatively unknown, or, as in Aaron Paul's case, making the leap from TV to the big screen. Aaron Paul is puts in a decent performance, he doesn’t overact it and does just enough to keep the film going in the few moments when it isn’t about the cars. He also has great chemistry with Dominic Cooper, they play off of one another very well and both are polarizing in their respective good guy/bad guy roles. Scott Mescudi does exceptionally well in his limited minutes, his comedy and jokes are stereotypical of his character but are extremely entertaining and it gives the film a much needed break from the seriousness. But the actors really do take a backseat to the Mustang and what it does on screen. NFS focuses just on what it needs to to keep the film simple and entertaining.
Need For Speed will draw a number of unfair comparisons to the Fast and Furious franchise simply because of the nature of the two films. That will be really unfair as this is a different type of movie, it's much more of a pure car story with the actors serving as a backdrop to the car action and The “FF” series of films is the exact opposite. The story is predictable and really doesn’t offer anything that we truly haven't sen in this type of film before, but the movie isn’t about that. NFS has truly captured the essence of the games and showcases great car action. This isn’t a must see film, it's more of a pleasant surprise. So if you’re thinking about your next selection for a movie this week and just want some fun, then fill your need with Need For Speed!
***1/2
Da’Mon Guy is a writer and artist. He’s a graduate of Coppin State University and an avid, life-long lover of film. Da'Mon has been actively writing movie reviews since 2011, for a number of publications. Check out more of his work at Examiner.com, where he has published over 400 reviews. Visit his Blog and follow him on Twitter.
