Everyone said the Need For Speed video games had come to the big screen back in 2001 (with the release of The Fast and the Furious; a film which has so far spawned five sequels and grown into a billion dollar franchise), but now Need For Speed really has come to the big screen; we’ve finally got an official Need For Speed movie, and now it’s time to say move over Dominic Toretto, because there’s a new king of the speedway… Tobey Marshall.
Played by Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul (who’s clearly an undeniably fantastic actor in every respect) Tobey Marshall is a small town mechanic who takes part in the odd illegal street race to earn a bit of cash, try and keep his fathers garage open, and simply to fuel his love of cars and racing. So after he’s wronged by an old acquaintance and wrongfully spends two years in jail for the manslaughter of one of his closest friends, he gets out of prison, promptly skips parole, and heads out on a cross country jaunt in a jaw-droppingly gorgeous Ford Mustang; all in the aim of joining (and winning) a highly elite, invite only, illegal race known as the De Leon, in order to get revenge for the death of his friend.
Writing it down, it’s clear to see it’s a pretty ludicrous plot; how exactly would landing yourself in jail again, just to win a race, avenge anyone, or prove anything? But while you may be mildly aware of it while watching, it somehow doesn’t matter; just like it doesn’t matter that Tobey’s entire group of friends look and sound like clichéd, carbon fibre, copies of the Fast characters, that the bad guy (portrayed by Captain America’s overrated and once again fairly bland Dominic Cooper) is little more than a one-note asshole, or that the women of the film are there for nothing more than a little bit of eye candy.
Imogen Poots (Fright Night) is the main female star of the film, and spends most of her time locked in a car with Aaron Paul; she’s rather annoying when she first appears, though her character thankfully improves fairly quickly, and although she doesn’t display any outstanding acting talents here, the chemistry between Paul and Poots is faultless. In fact Paul’s performance all round is excellent, true it’s difficult to see him as anything but Jesse from Breaking Bad (especially when delivering an anguished scream towards a flaming car containing the body of a friend), but he’s cool, fun, and deliriously intense when needs dictate, and really he’e the only actor, and character, of any note here.
Need For Speed was simply made as a star vehicle for Paul, and it works wonderfully as that (who wouldn’t want to see Jesse Aaron more after this?), but somehow it seems to bring a lot more to the table than Aaron Paul and some fast cars; it seems to have much more substance than any like-minded Fast film (even though it really doesn’t), even gives the impression that it has much more substance than it actually does; and manages to make you like, and even care for, some of these characters.
Yet at the end of the day, above all else, Need For Speed is a car movie, and a damn good one at that; the cars are simply stunning (it was a shame they went to more tuned, foreign, sports models towards the end, but the muscle cars from the beginning really were a thing of beauty), the car chases are fantastic, adrenaline fuelled, brilliantly shot, wonderfully choreographed, and most important of all, real (every car stunt was preformed for real, without the aid of magical CGI) and it really does show.
Scott Waugh’s (Act of Valor) direction is excellent (and somewhat reminiscent of Shawn Levy’s work on Real Steel), the cinematography and lighting work wonders, and the way the entire film is shot, across beautiful countryside and in vibrant cityscapes, just lends it a cool, sheen, look that’ll make everyone wish they were there, riding alongside Tobey in this utlra-intense competition.
Waugh even managed to capture the spirit of the games to a certain extent (a fairly difficult task given the simple racing mechanics of the games); by using certain camera angles reminiscent of playing, highlighting similar in-car displays, and not only playing around with Sat-Nav maps, but using the Sat-Nav to have supporting characters get involved and chat with Tobey during the drive to De Leon.
It does have its problems (what film doesn’t?), but Need For Speed is nothing if not fun, and seems to surpass every expectation it’d created; from the beautiful countryside to beautiful cars, it’s wonderfully framed, effortlessly paced (flying by at 230mph), features a perfect soundtrack, an excellent cast (Michael Keaton’s well placed, and truly awesome, as the street-race DJ/commentator who controls the De Leon and throws his two cents in behind the drivers actions; as, even if a little more freedom to improvise would’ve been welcomed, he still gives a performance far removed from his RoboCop appearance, and much more reminiscent of his Beetlejuice days), and heads for the finish line (or should that be the “start of a franchise” line) with all the gumption, gusto, and “to hell with our failings, we drive fast and that’s cool” attitude any true car movie needs.
Is Need For Speed an awards candidate? No. Is Need For Speed politically relevant? No. Is Need For Speed an original, intelligent, or even especially flashy and memorable film? No. You know what it is; it’s a sit back, brain off, dose of pure escapism with nice cars, and a lead actor hoping to propel his way onto bigger and better things, and possibly launch a successful franchise in the process; but more importantly it knows exactly what it is; and that’s what makes Need For Speed the best car movie in years.
Yeah… Cars Bitch!
Matt Wheeldon – @TheMattWheeldon.
Need For Speed was viewed in The Regent Cinema, Newtown.
