This pretender to the Fast and Furious franchise goes nowhere, quickly.
by Anthony Salveggi
Everything about Need for Speed is framed in "tough guy" terms: There's tough-guy teasing; tough-guy expressions of affection; tough-guy one-liners presented as if they're witty (not even close) and, most nauseating of all, tough-guy self-deprecation. In short, it reaches for the same dynamics and interplay as that seen in the Fast and Furious franchise. Unlike that series, however, what's missing is anything like a sense of purpose or fun.When a three-car road race goes wrong and ends up killing the adored kid brother of an outlaw racing outfit, mechanic/racer extraordinaire Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) ends up in jail while the real cause of the deadly accident, the oily Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) escapes justice. Fast-forward two years, and Marshall is out on parole with one thing on his mind: getting his revenge by beating Brewster in an illegal street race called the DeLeon.
It's based on a video game, but that's no excuse for Need for Speed's pervasive, joyless and numbing absurdity. Marshall's friends are mysteriously and unrealistically always at his beck and call for nick-of-time rescues and look-out service. (One character flies a Cessna to monitor traffic and cops as the stunted adolescents below rage through the streets.) Don't bother wondering how they can afford their high-end cars, planes, refueling trucks and copious free time, because Need for Speed requires a suspension of not only disbelief but also reason and sense.
To get an invite to the DeLeon, Marshall believes he has to taunt the cops and outrun them, thus grabbing the attention of the race's host, Monarch (a lively, scenery chewing Michael Keaton, acting as a kind of Greek chorus while conducting an underground online broadcast). Again, lives are endangered as Marshall and the fuzz play cat-and-mouse through a busy, twisting highway, ending when Marshall gets the go-ahead from his eye in the sky (Scott Mescudi) to jump the slope of an on-ramp, fly over cars, and land without destroying the undercarriage of his magic Ford Mustang. For most of the film, that Mustang is the film's star — its introduction is so over-the-top it races past product placement and straight to drooling adoration. Marshall, who is hired by Brewster early in the movie to soup up the Mustang's engine so it can fetch more on the auction block, talks long and lovingly about this particular car being the last Ford the legendary designer Carroll Shelby worked on before dying.
The movie compounds its nonsense with douchey behavior: A minor character on Marshall's team quits his office job by undressing himself to nothing. Later, in defiance of reasoning and sense, he'll refuel Marshall's car as it's in motion on the highway. It's impossible to find a rooting interest when everyone on screen — including Marshall — is a jerk. When Marshall doesn't want the Mustang's caretaker (Imogen Poots) accompanying him on his cross-country trek to the DeLeon starting line, he decides the way to get her out is by driving recklessly through busy streets. Paul, who has risen to some measure of fame through his performance as Jesse Pinkman in six seasons on Breaking Bad, sticks close to that character's intensity and emotionalism. He's also too good for this grade-Z material.
For all the expensive and sleek cars doing battle, Need for Speed isn't about the thrill of going fast. It doesn't capture the sense of freedom or escape that a car affords. It's about boys being irresponsible, women loving them for it and cynical filmmakers trying to pull a fast one on moviegoers.