When I saw that Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul had been hired to star in a big-budget movie about car racing based on a video game, I was concerned to say the least. Paul has made a career out of playing damaged and emotionally stunted characters. His small stature and stern eyes don’t lead you to believe he could be an action star. Luckily Need for Speed is not your typical movie based on a racing video game (whatever that might be). While there are plenty of fast cars driven by stunt drivers and a relatively thin plot, Paul proves that he can handle himself in an action scenario by bringing a touch of heart that you don’t see often in a movie that would stereo-typically be shallow and mindless. This unexpected heart coupled with jaw-dropping race sequences make Need for Speed the exciting summer movie we didn't expect to see in the doldrums of March.
Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is a small-town mechanic who is known for being able to do amazing things to impressive cars. He is also known for talent at at illegal street racing after-hours occupation. He is given a job by professional racer Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) to fix up a rare Shelby Mustang. Tobey completes the job and is challenged to a race. During the race, Tobey’s friend is killed by Dino. After the smoke settles, Dino is no where to be found and Marshall is framed for the murder. Two years later, Tobey leaves prison looking for revenge against Dino. He sees the opportunity in the Deleon race, a famous secret car race in California, which Dino will be racing. He teams up with racing enthusiast Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots) to make the cross-country drive from New York to California, dodging cops and hit men dispatched by Dino. Tobey sees the Deleon as a change to clear his name and prove Dino killed his friend.
While Paul is very enjoyable, the true star of any car movie is the cars themselves. Any film that features characters watching Bullitt, the quintessential “car movie”, knows what audience it is trying to appeal to. Need for Speed’s action driving scenes use a minimal amount of computer trickery. These are real cars driven by real people. It is a sight we might have forgotten we missed until we see the real thing. Where the Fast and the Furious films seem to be more about the action then they are about the cars and driving, Need for Speed makes the driving the sole focus in action scenes. These characters are very rarely fighting with weapons other than the four-wheeled variety. Each driving sequence is well constructed, thrilling and offer quite a lot of surprises.
One sequence that takes place in downtown Detroit is especially impressive. While the fact that I’ve frequented the city definitely helped me enjoy it (“Look! Comerica Park!”) it is still one of the most impressive driving sequences we have seen in quite some time. Any movie that portrays Detroit as more than the stereotypical cesspool that many stereotype it to be is always welcome. The only disappointment about this sequence is that it made me realized I was so close to Ms. Poots and yet I didn’t even know it. After a long day spent acting in stunt cars, she no doubt would have wanted to meet up with an aspiring film critic and talk over a meal at Slow’s or a drink at Great Lakes Coffee. Maybe that can happen that if Need for Speed 2 gets filmed in “D-Town”. A guy can dream, right?
Need for Speed has a surprisingly large amount of heart, mostly in the form of Paul. We believe Paul is a driver who honestly wants to clear his name and revenge the death of his friend. The film doesn't push the relationship between Tobey and Julia like you would expect them to. While they no doubt have chemistry, the two are very much goal-oriented. They don't even kiss during the film but yet we fully believe that Tobey cares about her. The fact that we care about these characters helps us have a connection beyond "cars driving fast".
The supporting human stars of Need for Speed is where the film falls apart a little. Imogen Poots is pleasant as the female love interest (Seriously, Imogen. Text me. Slow's is amazing!) who is more than just a love interest. Some may complain about her accent but it is a nice change from the pre-processed female interests like Megan Fox in the Transformers films. Cooper spends much of his role as a villain glaring and fighting a losing battle against his English accent. His cold attitude fits his character well though and most of his truly evil moments are done by stunt drivers. Marshall’s lackies (Scott Mescudi, Rami Malek, Ramon Rodriguez) are fairly one-note. This film will garner lots of comparisons to the Fast and the Furious franchise and maybe even 2003’s The Italian Job. Those films have both impressive car sequences and fun supporting characters. You'd be pressed to remember the names of Marshall's friends. The “buddy” roles are just not as fleshed out as they need to be. Mescudi, who is often known by his rapper name Kid Cudi, is grating as the “African American friend” role that has been getting parodied since the late ‘90s. He seems to be under the belief that the louder you are the more charming you will be. His antics along with one very out-of-place scene with Malek miss far more than they succeed.
Michael Keaton makes a fun appearance as Monarch, a racing show host who also puts on the Deleon race. It is always nice to see Keaton in a movie. While he doesn’t play as large of a role as he did in this year’s Robocop he is given some room to branch out here. All of his scenes take place in a room away from all other characters. This freedom allows Keaton to really shine. We get to see occasional flashes of the wild Keaton we haven’t seen much since the ‘80s. Hopefully this and Robocop will put him back into the minds of Hollywood.
While the film fits into the “turn your brain off” action genre (to stop you from thinking “What about all the innocent bystanders who probably die as a result of the car races?”), there is quite a bit to enjoy about Need for Speed. It may not be something you will remember come June but it is an enjoyable and fun exciting film with some truly inspired stunt car work and a serviceable story. It may not go the full 230 mph that the film’s Mustang can hit but it definitely gets you there faster than you expected.
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