Need for Speed

Starring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Scott Mescudi, Rami Malek, Ramon Rodriguez, Dakota Johnson, Michael Keaton
Directed by: Scott Waugh
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Drama
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A street racer (Aaron Paul) fresh out of prison decides to risk it all in a dangerous illegal race to get revenge on the man (Dominic Cooper) who is responsible for his best friend's death.

Review:

Tim: I have to say that I enjoyed Need for Speed probably more than I should have. The film is based on a video game and suffers from many of the expected plot holes and farfetched situations. However, while this is a flawed movie, it's also incredibly fun. Fun is vastly underrated as a movie characteristic. There's great movies that aren't a whole lot of fun. However, when it comes down to it, you really want to sit down and watch movies that bring you enjoyment. Maybe it shouldn't have, but I had a very fun time watching Need for Speed.

This movie is perhaps unsurprisingly, all about fast cars racing at dangerous speeds. That's what the game was about and the movie follows suit. There is a story, which is fine. Our protagonist is Aaron Paul, who gets out of jail and seeks revenge for the death of his best friend, which was caused by the film's antagonist, played by Dominic Cooper. The means for achieving said revenge is a massive, illegal street race. If the whole thing sounds absurd, that's because it absolutely is. This movie would have been significantly better had a stronger story been put in place. The one nice thing about the story we got is that it creates excuses for a lot of fast-paced car action.

As a fan of "Breaking Bad", I was excited to see Aaron Paul get the opportunity to headline a big movie. I really do believe he has great talent as an actor, although that was not on display here. He's saddled with a weak script and it negatively impacts his performance. He was fine, but there's not a lot to get excited about here. Dominic Cooper is a bit over-the-top as the antagonist, but he was a good match for Paul. You really didn't like his character here, which says a good deal about Cooper's performance. Imogen Poots was mostly okay (I'm not convinced she has real talent), but I do have to say I enjoyed a number of her interactions with Paul. It was kind of cute. I didn't expect to enjoy that aspect of the film as much as I did. I liked seeing Michael Keaton here (I almost always do), although his performance felt forced and over-the-top. The rest of the cast is decent.

What saves Need for Speed from a much worse fate is that by some miracle, we actually care about the characters. It might not be a lot, but it's something, and that is substantial enough. The movie does a good job of painting Paul as the underdog- the kindhearted, broke mechanic/driver/car enthusiast who is facing off against a rich, elite, heartless opponent. There's no question that we are fully in Paul's corner. Everyone likes to root for an underdog, and it was genuinely fun to do so here. You wanted his character to get revenge and win, so you're more invested in the story than you otherwise would be. That's the key to this film's success.

Now, the film does have flaws. There are some startling plot holes throughout the film. There's a few moments that are stunningly bad. The worst for me was how a truck going slower than a car managed to beat the car to a specific location, even though the car was carted by a helicopter towards the end. There was just no way a truck could travel that distance that quickly- it was laughable. There's a few other moments where all logic just takes a backseat to the weak story. The dialogue was occasionally cringe-worthy as well.

So, while Need for Speed has a number of flaws, they aren't as damnable as in many other movies. That is because it's just fun watching this movie. An enjoyable movie experience can make up for many flaws. While it doesn't make up for all of them, the amount of fun I had watching this movie allowed me to overlook some of the more minor flaws. While I'd understand people disliking this movie, I just enjoyed it too much. I'd consider this a good movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Fast and the Furious