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Starring Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad fame, “Need for Speed” is the story of Tobey Marshall, played by Paul, and his fight for revenge.
Tobey is made out to be an ex-driver and the movie starts—what I’m assuming to be— a little over a year after his father dies. We’re not sure how he dies, but it isn’t important.
What is important is that Tobey’s father gave him the family mechanic shop, which is apparently behind on some payments. Thus starts Tobey’s quest to save the family garage by racing and earning money. On that quest, Tobey finds his motive for revenge, which is the reason for the determined look that all can see in the movie poster and trailer.
But with his constant angry look aside, Aaron Paul did a decent job in his action role. He may not have looked the part, but soon enough it became easier to imagine him behind the wheel of the ridiculously fast car that made impossible turns and drifts.
Imogen Poots played the role of his snarky British sidekick and future love interest, Julia Maddon. I found her character the most entertaining, but only when interacting with other characters. She did bring some depth to what could’ve been a very dry role, so I must give her credit for that.
Finally, we get to Dominic Cooper, who plays Dino Brewster in the movie. The first time he was on screen, with a black turtleneck and jacket while everyone else was wearing t-shirts, you could tell he was going to be a sleaze. The only problem I have with his character was that he was nearly evil for no real reason. Maybe the writers intended for him to come off that way, but I would’ve appreciated a little more back-story or explanation as to why beating Tobey Marshall was so important to him.
This movie by no means was a masterpiece, not even for the standard of other racing movies such as “Fast and Furious” and “Biker Boyz”, but it was decent.
I believe those who have played the “Need for Speed” games and are fans of the franchise will enjoy it. The fact that the movie was indeed mainly about speed and Tobey’s affinity for it was a relief.
Critics of these kinds of movies would’ve probably predicted that this was going to be nothing but a “Fast and Furious” knock off. I know I was expecting a box office bomb based mainly on the fact that it was a video game-based movie.
However the movie was a marginal success. According to Gamespot.com, the movie cost about $66 million to make and worldwide has produced around $63 million worldwide. To be fair to the critics, the movie didn’t even make $20 million, which was the estimated result for “Need for Speed.”
The movie, although showing signs of a script clearly written for males between the ages of 18-30, did have a somewhat enticing storyline that was kept fresh with sudden plot twists. It was dry at some points, usually just after an action-packed car chase. There was also some comedy, small one- liners, office-esque camera looks form Aaron Paul, as well as comic relief from Tobey’s ragtag gang of friends.
The special effects and car chases actually mimicked those found in the actual game, which I’m sure “Need for Speed” fans will enjoy. The score for the movie, I will say, was lacking. It didn’t leave me pumped and ready to buy a Mustang as other racing movies have. As a matter of fact, I can’t even remember what music was actually playing. It might’ve been low or just that forgettable. In any case, the music did not meet my standards for action movies.
But “Need for Speed” ultimately exceeded my expectations yet, seeing as how those expectations were low to begin with, that’s not saying a whole lot. It was a good movie. Decent. But I wouldn’t recommend shelling out theater money, even if you could see it in 3D. Red Box prices would be more suitable. I would grade it a solid C.
