This is one of those clear cut action film which excel in its main goal (intense car racing) but kind of ignores everything else. Plot is straightforward & not emotionally driven, but is generally fun to watch and high in adrenaline.

So to begin with, the team seriously proved their ability in making the action sequences feel suspenseful and look awesome at the same time. And you can really feel intensity of the crashes and the speed. Furthermore, it feels more special with the inclusion of hypercars like Lamborghinis and Koenigseggs for the races. It is the first film for a long time to have really, really powerful cars like these, and they are simply a joy to watch. A dream come true for car fans.

However, though, the plot is very much straightforward, and predictable enough. And while the use of humour is good and energetic throughout, the same could not be said for the drama. There is a genuine feel for some of the characters, but I would say it was not plot driven and instead mostly due to the brilliant acting by Aaron Paul, who was the only stand out cast. His portray of emotions & joy, along with the charisma he brings to the screen easily makes him the likable action hero we want to root for, and so everything that happens around him kind of find its way to our hearts. I believe that after this people will remember him more than just a meth maker (Breaking Bad).

So, this is really an energetic and full of adrenaline action movie full of powerful, powerful cars, which makes it one worth the watch despite an ordinary plot.

VERDICT:

Good: Excellent & Intense car action, Beautiful inclusion of hypercars, Lots of humour, Great main character

Bad: Straightforward plot, Average supporting cast, Less emotionally driven

SCORE: 7.0

(blockbusted9.blogspot.com)

Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) runs his dead father's small garage in Mount Kisco, New York. He street races his car against rival Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper). His ex Anita Coleman (Dakota Johnson) is now going with Dino getting away from the small town. Dino hires him to finish his Mustang for a quarter of its $2 million price. Car broker Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots) agrees to buy it if the car gets close to 230 mph. Dino proposes to race Tobey and Anita's brother Pete for their commission on the car. Dino hits Pete's car killing him and drives away. Tobey is left holding the bag as he and Pete are blamed for stealing Dino's two race cars. Tobey spends 2 years in prison. Julia is able to get Tobey the Mustang as he tries to enter the underground road race De Leon run by the eccentric Monarch (Michael Keaton).

It's has some great car street racing. I especially like the real stunt driving and the beautiful cars. The story is a convoluted mess. This should be an easy 'Cannonball Run' with great car racing. Instead, it's overly complicated. Imogen Poots tries to be funny but Aaron Paul doesn't seem to want any part of it. The only exception is the helicopter ride. If only they could take the cars and attach the car stunts to a better written story, this could have been a good fun movie. Also Michael Keaton is as annoying as heck in this.

NEED FOR SPEED is a dreadful addition to the 'car race' genre of movie-making, one that's based on a popular video game series. It's not as bad as the worst I've seen, SPEED RACER, but it's still largely unwatchable and totally clichéd from beginning to end. A film which dumbs down the story to the lowest common denominator at every point. Aaron Paul gives a rubbish, workmanlike turn as the supposed hero of the piece, while Dominic Cooper is the supposed villain but is far more charming than Paul. The less said about the token and embarrassing role for Imogen Poots, the better. There are a lot of racing scenes here but they all seem to end with the same CGI car flipping stunt and they quickly become tiresome. Give me the outlandishness of the FAST & FURIOUS franchise over this nonsense any day of the week.