Need for Speed Movie Review

I saw the previews for this film last year and I had very low expectations. The only reason I went out to see the film was because of Aaron Paul. Being a die-hard Breaking Bad fan I was so curious to see Jesse Pinkman up on the big screen playing a different character. I mean Aaron has done films before and between Breaking Bad but this was his first one after the show had concluded and I was craving for some fan-boy entertainment. Anyway I was a bit uninterested in the plot simply because the Fast and Furious franchise have a lock on fast pace racing movies and unless it's a different type of racing movie, like Rush, there's not much more they can bring to the table. And my predictions were right.

So this is a classic tale of tragedy and revenge or one may argue even redemption. Aaron Paul plays Tobey Marshall the owner of a failing mechanic shop and former race car driver. He competed all his life with Dino Brewster, a racer from the same town who made it big. Everyone seems to know that Tobey is the better racer but he seems to have taken the back seat to Dino. Tobey and his crew are struggling when one day Dino comes by with a two million dollar deal, to work on a rare Ford Shelby Mustang, that they could not refuse. Tobey puts his pride aside and accepts the job. 

One day after showing Dino up, Dino, Tobey, and Little Pete race in three illegal Koenigsegg Ageras. Towards the end of the race Tobey tags Little Pete's car and he flies off the bridge. His car bursts into flames and Dino flees the scene. With Tobey being the only one left and no evidence pointing to Dino, Tobey is convicted of vehicular manslaughter and serves prison time. Two years later he's released and has every intention of avenging the loss of his friend. I guess you could say the movie was okay up until this point but it starts to get a little ridiculous. He's able to borrow the Shelby Mustang he worked on and intends on entering the De Leon, a winner-take-all race located in San Francisco. When Dino hears of this he puts a bounty on Tobey's head. So he travels from New York to California in two days just in time to join this race, of course. Also there is a love interest, because why not right?

The film was not only very predictable but also pretty long considering it didn't keep me interested the whole time. I will admit that the film had beautiful cinematography and the cars were amazing. I also read that very minimal CGI was used and that the majority of the stunts were indeed very real. But this could not make up for the lack of everything else. The script was everything but original and lacked any real depth. What I can say is that Aaron Paul's performance did not disappoint. I think he has a lot of talent and has potential to do some very great work, he just has to choose his work more carefully. The film did not do poorly in the box office but I really feel that was due to the success leading off of Breaking Bad and people's curiosity to see Aaron Paul again on the big screen, like me. Not even his performance could save this film though. Leave the racing movies to Fast and Furious, which is probably coming to a close soon as well. I give Need for Speed a 4 out of 10.