Movie Review: Need For Speed (2014)

Need for Speed 2014

Like many Malaysians, especially those living abroad, the MH370 incident has been a hot topic to follow closely these few days. From hearing reports of stolen passports used by passengers on board, revelations of families still being able to ring the passengers, to seeing shamans (witch doctor) performing rituals in KLIA to locate the missing plane, I was thinking, I probably needed a short break from the MH370 incident.So just to clear my mind a little, I decided to watch the racing game franchise inspired, "Need for Speed".

About The Need For Speed Game Franchise

For all you non-gamers out there, The Need for Speed is the original racing game title for the PC. The game was published in 1994 by Electronic Arts. It is the most successful racing game series franchise, numbering 150 million copies worldwide on multiple platforms. The game series currently spans 20 titles, with the latest game published last year, titled NFS: Rivals.

Need For Speed Movie (2014) Cast

Aaron Paul - Need For Speed 2014

The movie stars relatively new faces to the big screen, Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots. I've never seen Aaron Paul in any movies before this and I did a quick search online and found out that he was in the acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad which ended last year. To be honest I haven't gotten a chance to watch a full episode of the TV series but I think I might just have to do a little catch up on this series soon. He was also a cast in the 2006, Mission Impossible 3 movie, I have absolutely no recollection of him in that movie.

Imogen Poots - Need For Speed 2014

After seeing the name Imogen Poots, I thought she was European fashion model. She is a British actress, who has been in numerous movies before this. The only movies worth mentioning for me are 28 Weeks and V for Vendetta. We'll be able to see her in a couple more movies this year and there will be one movie she will star along side Zac Efron (yes, that guy from High School Musical) in That Awkward Moment. Here's a little bonus for the girls, That Awkward Moment Trailer (warning: Mature content).

Rami Malek - Need For Speed 2014

Another guy, with a familiar face in this movie will be Rami Malek. He was one the vampire "witness" with magic to control nature in the vampire themed The Twilight Sage: Breaking Dawn, part 2. The reason why I mentioned him here is because in this movie, he has a few comical scenes but there is one in particular which is quite funny and unforgettable. I think this scene will most likely be axed in Malaysia which is unfortunate.

Michael Keaton - Need For Speed 2014

Someone you will definitely know in this movie if you are my age is, Michael Keaton. He's well known for acting as Batman in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).

Storyline

The movie is basically about Aaron Paul's character, Tobey Marshall, who is the owner of a workshop that presumably build and tunes street cars. He is supported by a team, comprising of 2 mechanics, a sidekick young wanna-be-like-Tobey street racer, and a scout who is able to pilot helicopters and planes which acts as the eye in the sky for Tobey during street races. Although Aaron Paul is a new face to me, he is portrayal of Tobey Marshall, the "hero" in the movie is suitable, mostly due to the his gruffly manly voice in this movie. 

The bad guy, Dino Brewster, played by Dominic Cooper, also a racer but gone pro, offers Tobey a business opportunity to finish the work done by a famous high performance auto builder, Carrol Shelby who passed away. The project was to finish building the Shelby Mustang which they did. The car is later sold to a collector, and here we start to see more of Imogen Poots, playing the part of a British, Julia Maddon, the collectors trusted car broker.

From here on, we will get to see Tobey and Dino clashing head lamps. With Dino apparently infuriated by comment made by the young-wannabe, Pete, saying Tobey is the best racer among them, he challenges Tobey to a street race baiting him with the profits from the Shelby Mustang sale. For the first time in the movie, we'll be treated to racing scenes involving 3 super-cars, a Lamborghini, Ferrari and a Koenigsegg. Guess who dies in that race and after that we see Tobey driving around like a maniac on the streets with the Shelby Mustang in plan to get invited to the ultimate underground street race, De Leon race. The race will be a chance for Toby to to exact his revenge on Dino.

My Review

As someone who has played the Need for Speed games series, I kinda felt disappointed with how the movie showed the racing scenes. There were plenty of racing and car chases in this 2 hour 20 minutes movie, but it wasn't immersive to me, it didn't fee like I was in the game. But as a moviegoer, it was good enough for me to sit in the whole movie, with almost freezing cinema temperatures while holding the urge to go to the men's room. I think most likely during the last part of the movie, I wanted to see how some of the super-cars would crash out. The comic relief provided by Tobey's team also added the value in watching the movie as well. So, overall I was pretty satisfied watching the movie that I'd give it a 7.5 out 10.

Need For Speed 2014
Directed by: Scott Waugh

Sources:
IMDB - Need For Speed (2014)