Official Synopsis
An underground driver (Paul) sets off on a race for revenge against a wealthy ex-NASCAR driver (Cooper) who framed him for a crime he didn’t commit.
Need for Speed starts off properly by patiently setting up a solid revenge story through down-and-out street racer/mechanic Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul). Director Scott Waugh (and writers) takes time putting together what type of person Tobey is and more importantly detailing his group around him that trusts his leadership. You’re introduced to his backup crew, his flight guy for races and, this is the person who is the catalyst for the film’s plot, his ‘little brother’ Pete, who is destined to be the sacrificial lamb to move into act two of the story.
Getting to know Tobey and his inner-workings sets up a believable premise that helps move things along when things go wrong during a high-stakes street race. The wrong doing comes in the form of villain Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper), as he bumps poor Pete off of a bridge (killing him), which sets Marshall in motion to get Dino back — once Tobey gets out of prison.
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If there is a real flaw in this film it’s this particular moment of the movie. It’s not so much that Dino bumps Pete’s car going 200+mph, thus causing him to wreck, rather it’s the aftermath of the wreck that is somewhat shallow. Dino’s character somehow gets out of manslaughter trouble by a lack of witnesses pinning him at the crime scene, regardless of the fact that it’s broad daylight in a busy city and the trio caused so many wrecks in the race. I would imagine in real life that there is no way Dino could pay off cops or bystanders (which there are only two witnesses according to the story) due to his name. Anyway, somehow he needed to get away with his crime, thus motivating Tobey to go after him, but this is probably the weakest part of the film. It’s like the writers and director said, ‘ No need to explain it. Just say he got away with it, so we can move on to the revenge’. I’ve seen worst ways of transitioning to revenge plots, but this one is definitely a very shallow method of doing it.
From that point on we move from a potential ‘Fast and Furious’ clone to a badass one-man-on-the-hunt-for-another revenge story. The story, like a well-tuned Mustang, comes together beautifully and hits on all strides until the end. There are few moments of downtime, as Tobey is trying to find a way to get Dino back, while putting himself in the best possible situation to take care of his crew. The driving doesn’t really stop once Tobey is out of prison, and actually intensifies when Tobey gets to a secret, high-stakes race where he can finally get Dino back.
What’s great about that last race, which does make up the film’s conclusion, is that Waugh shot it tightly, which makes the entire race quite intense. A two-lane road into the country with close-ups of car hoods, racers and fast driving, makes for an intense bit of filmmaking. I won’t lie (and I’m not ashamed to say) that my palms got a bit sweaty towards the end. It’s quite good and fast, though I was expecting the race to have a bit more screen time. Regardless, it was high-sensation fun that didn’t let up.
My only other complaint about the film is how the script was balanced. The opening of the movie (the setup — or act one) was beautifully balanced. We get to know the characters, we get to know the situation and we’re left with the proper transition to act two. Act two runs a bit long. It takes up more than one third of the film, which means it’s a bit of a screen hog, and it doesn’t leave much time for the third act. I honestly was expecting a bit more of the end race, maybe something a bit more Cannonball Run — except revenge filled and violent. Instead, we get a quick race that while satisfying could have been a lot more. To recap the complaint, perfect amount of act one, too much of act two and not enough act three. Thankfully, the story does make up for it, as does the acting.
Aaron Paul handles his lead role pretty damn well. After seeing this young man on Breaking Bad, I wasn’t sure how he could take the reigns in a major film and go forth. He plays off lead characters well (again, see Breaking Bad for details), but has never really screamed the lead role type. I’m quite impressed by how he handled his role as Tobey Marshall in Need for Speed. He showed some range and convinced me he was more than just a shaky loser kid (Jesse) from Breaking Bad. He is believable as Tobey and showed how well he could lead the way as a good-natured guy hellbent on bringing down the bad guy and getting revenge.
In the end, don’t discount this movie because of the name. Don’t discount it because you think Aaron Paul can’t lead the way. Need for Speed is a good film, though not perfect. It certainly has predictable moments, but the racing in it is quite intense and worth your price of admission. Need for Speed has a full package of fun inside of it that may not win Academy Awards anytime soon, but certainly puts it in the top-tier of video game to movie adaptions.
The real treat of this release is how good the movie looks on Blu-ray and how fantastic it sounds. The visuals of Need for Speed are pretty sharp and respectful to the cars the actors are driving (or stunt drivers). You get gorgeous blues, reds, yellows, blacks and whites in the transfer. There isn’t a single flaw in the film and how it was shot (especially the races), which bodes well for the HD upgrade. You get no compression issues, no artifacts or graininess, nor do you get any color banding. The night shots are especially pretty, which are typically the most open for errors in Blu-ray transfers. Visually, Need for Speed is an absolute treat for the eyes.
The visuals are only half of the fun, as the sound, which is beautifully done and representative of the proper car engines, comes to you in DTS-HDMA 7.1. I don’t want to be that reviewer, but had Buena Vista Home Entertainment decided to bring this out in 5.1, it would have been an atrocity. Glad they went with what it should be.
The aspect ratio of the film is 2.39:1.
Finally, as for features, here’s what to expect:
• Capturing Speed: Making An Authentic Car Movie
• Ties That Bind
• The Circus Is In Town
• Feature Audio Commentary with Director Scott Waugh and Aaron Paul**
• Monarch & Maverick Outtakes with Introduction by Director Scott Waugh
• 4 Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Director Scott Waugh
• The Sound Of Need For Speed
• (Easter Egg)
Lots of good stuff to accompany a good film. The audio commentary is gold, as well as the outtakes and the ‘making of’ featurette called ‘Capturing Speed’. It’s quite neat seeing how this movie was shot and what went into it. There’s lots of stuff in the features to make this movie even better.
