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When Paul Walker’s death forced a delay in the upcoming seventh installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, it left a street-racing void in the 2014 release schedule—a void that the video game-inspired Need for Speed was all too happy to fill. But while it may be both fast and furious, this racing-and-revenge thriller just can’t fit into the hit franchise’s smoking burn-out tracks.
Need for Speed stars Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul as Tobey Marshall, a small-town street racer who’s framed by long-time rival Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper), resulting in a two-year jail sentence for a crime he didn’t commit.
When he’s released from prison, Tobey has just one thing on his mind: revenge. So he sets out on a cross-country journey in a borrowed Mustang, determined to earn a place in an exclusive high-stakes race that’s organized each year by a mysterious figure known as the Monarch (Michael Keaton). And when Dino offers his Lamborghini to anyone who can keep Tobey from racing, the stakes become even higher.
Need for Speed is sure to make you long for the action-packed insanity of a Fast and Furious film—not because those street-racing films are works of cinematic art but because Need for Speed is a perfect storm of head-shaking, eye-rolling badness, from its perplexing plot and awkward dialogue to its self-conscious acting.
Of course, the film’s main focus is on the racing—and the cars. And for gear heads and adrenaline junkies, it doesn’t disappoint. Even if you don’t know Carroll Shelby from Carol Burnett, you’ll still be amazed by the cool cars and their high-speed, high-performance races (though you might just find all of the multi-million-dollar car crashes to be just slightly heart-breaking).
The problem, however, is that the cars alone can’t carry the movie. After all, if all you want is to watch some high-speed car racing, you can just tune in to the latest NASCAR race. So, somewhere in here, the film also needs characters—and a story—to fill its bloated, 130-minute runtime. And that’s where things go horribly wrong. From the beginning, the story seems thin, the plot full of holes. The characters are flat and stereotypical—from strong and silent Tobey to blatantly sinister Dino. Others—like Keaton’s Monarch—are amusingly over-the-top but completely unnecessary. And almost every line that they struggle to deliver is dripping with ego, testosterone, and overcooked melodrama.
What starts out as a corny action movie quickly becomes entirely preposterous—and the more you think about it, the more painfully ridiculous it becomes. So unless you’re experiencing serious Fast and Furious withdrawal symptoms, it’s best to leave this one for late-night cable TV viewing.
Blu-ray Review:
If you love fast cars and old-school stunt driving, you won’t want to miss the special features found on the Need for Speed Blu-ray. Extras include Capturing Speed: Making an Authentic Car Movie, which focuses on the stunts—on the goals, the vision, and the actors’ stunt training. Ties That Bind introduces the Gilberts—a fascinating family of stunt men who are old family friends of director Scott Waugh. And, for a little more on the making of Need for Speed, there’s The Circus Is in Town, which travels across the country with the cast and crew, offering a look at the adventure using video footage and still shots.
Other extras include outtakes and deleted scenes, a feature on the film’s sound effects, and a commentary with Waugh and Aaron Paul, who discuss the film, the filmmaking process, and old ‘60s and ‘70s car movie classics.
If you’re just interested in the cars, though, I recommend starting with Capturing Speed and Ties That Bind. Both are filled with cool cars and amazing stunts.
Listen to the audio review on Reel Discovery:
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