NEED FOR SPEED (B-)

Bottom Line: Woefully getting pounded by critics, this brainlessly loud bit of muscle car mayhem – while  firing on almost no storytelling pistons – still manages to, surprisingly, keep it’s pedal to the medal and deliver a great deal of high-octane thrills!  The plot is pointless, the characters are paper thin and perhaps the whole ordeal is best suited to a matinee screening or a pick-up-wherever-it’s-at viewing if you thumb by it on cable…  But it never takes itself too serious, contains some decent laughs throughout, has a cast who are all clearly having a blast and proudly owns it’s aggressively kinetic, B-movie, crowd pleasing vibe.  Aaron Paul (of TV’s BREAKING BAD) also proves himself an actor worthy of more big screen work and with him behind the wheel, the road for this flick is well-paved for sequels (NEED 5 SPEED?!).  In terms of live action films, 2014 is off to a pretty brutal start.  If all you’re looking for is a bit of obnoxiously mindless, popcorn-munching escapism, you’ll definitely feel the need…the NEED FOR SPEED!

 

Starring: Aaron Paul, Imogen Potts, Dominic Cooper and Michael Keaton

Directed by: Scott Waugh (ACT OF VALOR)

Rated: PG-13

Running time: 130 minutes

Studio description: Based on the most successful racing video game franchise ever with over 140 million copies sold, DreamWorks Pictures' "Need for Speed" captures the thrills of the game in a real-world setting. An exciting return to the great car-culture films of the 1960s and '70s, when authenticity brought a new level of intensity to the action, "Need for Speed" taps into what makes the American myth of the open road so enticing. The story chronicles a near-impossible cross-country race against time-one that begins as a mission for revenge, but proves to be one of redemption. In a last attempt to save his struggling garage, blue-collar mechanic Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul)-who with his team skillfully builds and races muscle cars on the side-reluctantly partners with wealthy, arrogant ex-NASCAR driver Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper). Just as a major sale to car broker Julia Bonet (Imogen Poots) looks like it will save the business, a disastrous, unsanctioned race results in Dino framing Tobey for manslaughter.(c) Disney

 

Official site: www.theneedforspeedmovie.com