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)VOD (6)
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Framed for manslaughter by his wealthy ex-partner Dino (Dominic Cooper), mechanic Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is unjustly sent to prison for two years. Upon his release, he sets out to gain revenge by rejoining the underground racing scene. Dino, who has been informed of Tobey's plans, uses his wealth and influence to do whatever he can to stop him in his tracks. (Entertainment One)
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Reviews (11)
I have to say that this movie features great cars and some quite interesting racing with some pleasant locations, but that is about it, hence the two stars. The narrative is told in a strange way and it was not original - just some clichéd rivalry issue between two drivers and a quest for revenge for the ruined life of a friend. Unlike in The Fast and the Furious, I did not get on with the main male protagonist or his crew (the main female protagonist was not very sexy, either), so I was almost wishing for the cops to catch them already. I do not know if it was the stupid Czech dubbing or if the dialogues are this crazy in the original; however, the lines of those guys and the way they were communicating with each other left me with only the question “WTF?” and it was almost impossible to bear. Somehow I do not believe that guys in their twenties talk like I did when I was thirteen. If there were going to be another NFS, I would have liked a better story, a more charismatic main protagonist, a prettier girl, and edgy, relevant, and believable lines, not just a random load of supposedly funny lines meant to sound edgy to kids aged thirteen to fifteen. 3/10.
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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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Had I seen this as a teenager obsessed with playing NFS, I’d be ecstatic. The movie is full of gaming poetics and the cars
are a level higher than in the Fast & Furious series. With its great locations, Need for Speed is like a road trip around US national
parks and cities, as if they were levels in a game. As for characters and the logic of the story, however, it couldn’t be
lamer. But the 130-minute running time is not grating, as it makes the film into the longest guilty pleasure mind-fuck in
the history of cinema.
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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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Why aren't there more movies based on computer games? Oh, right. And thanks, Need for Speed, for reminding me. Because they always turn out to be a disappointment. I really like the NFS franchise, and although in recent years (actually since “Most Wanted”) the whole series has been going downhill, there’s no other racing game I enjoy playing more. But what I got in those unbelievably long 131 minutes (!) was totally worthless. Even when reading what it was supposed to be about, it was clear to me that no brain activity would be necessary. Let's start with the positives: 1 star for EA’s courage to even film this, 1 star for the two leads. And that’s about it. The rest is truly horrendous. The actors in the supporting roles were selected based on their looks, but they can’t act their way out of a paper bag. The soundtrack, one of the best and most awesome aspects of the game series which had never failed, managed to do so in the movie, being one of its worst parts. The dialogues are strikingly unnatural. Pretty much everything about this movie is wrong. The concept itself of racing across the US within a certain time limit inspired by one of the worst installments, “Need for Speed: The Run,” spelled disaster. Anyway, if the movie managed to make money (which it somehow did), then other movies based on computer games can be made, which means there’s at least something positive about it. Or is there?
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Gallery (112)
Photo © DreamWorks Pictures / Melinda Sue Gordon
![Need for Speed - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/158/325/158325419_ec9295.jpg)
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