Need for Speed

Movie Information

The Story: After being framed for murder, a race car driver seeks revenge behind the wheel. The Lowdown: An imminently brain-dead movie that’s occasionally fun but way too long and way too straight-faced to get the most out of its inherent stupidity.
Score:

Genre: Racing Action
Director: Scott Waugh (Act of Valor)
Starring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Scott Mescudi, Michael Keaton
Rated: PG-13

To get any enjoyment out of Scott Waugh’s Need for Speed, understand one thing: It’s dumb as hell. It’s five stars worth of dumb, which, by itself, isn’t always a problem. I don’t always mean “dumb” in a pejorative sense. Some of my favorite moviegoing memories have resulted from imminently dumb movies. Dumb can be fun, and at its basest level, fun is the point of cinema. So while Need for Speed is occasionally dumb enough to be simply entertaining, it also wants to be taken seriously. This is a problem. Occasionally, the movie has the right idea, especially when it attempts to be little else than a throwback to the crime movies and car chases of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Director Waugh, who’s mostly worked in Hollywood as a stuntman, has an obvious appreciation for this kind of cinematic thrill ride. We see Peter Yates’ Bullitt (1968) being played at a drive-in, and numerous stuntmen make cameos throughout the film. In this way, Need for Speed is a bit loving, and if it had stuck to the simple homage formula, then we might have had something.

Instead, Need for Speed decided to have a plot. The problem is the economy of it all. The gist of the movie — small-time racer (Aaron Paul) framed for the murder of his best friend (Harrison Gilbertson) sets out to prove his innocence — takes about 40 minutes just to set up. The movie then wanders around some, occasionally taking supposedly surprising twists that are so telegraphed they should be covered in neon lights and shooting fireworks. In keeping with its dumbness, none of it makes sense, and each character acts in the most obtuse, oblivious way possible.

Not helping things is Paul, who spends the movie looking sullen and furrowing his brow or getting into a lot of hoary, vein-popping pyrotechnics. If this movie is any indication, his post-Breaking Bad film career is looking shaky. Ideally, the plot is just an excuse to hop from one white knuckle car stunt to the next, but the whole thing is overstuffed (and at 130 minutes, greatly overstays its welcome). It’s continually bogged down in side trips, a bit of man-child comic relief (which isn’t as endearing as the movie wants it to be) and a few too many set pieces that go on too long. Car stunts are inherently cinematic, but the most memorable ones in movie history are often single events that mark a climax. With Need for Speed, the stunts happen so often they become numbing. Those few times the movie hits and manages to mix the dumb with the fun are short-lived and are eventually buried underneath a pile of sound, fury and mediocrity. Rated PG-13 for sequences of reckless street racing, disturbing crash scenes, nudity and crude language.

Playing at Carmike 10, Regal Biltmore Grande.

SHARE

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

2 thoughts on “Need for Speed

  1. Ken Hanke

    You boys are going to get people to look at the review of this stupid movie.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.