Review of Need for Speed (2014) by Kaizidokiller — 16 Mar 2014

It's a shame this film waste such a talent that is Aaron Paul after his performance in one of the greatest TV dramas of all time, Breaking Bad. Videos games don't make great films because it's hard to transform a game (especially one that's all about the gameplay like NFS in this case) into a film with a coherent story. Even games with a brilliant storyline (FF) have been unsuccessful in films. I still have high hopes that one day, there will be a good video game adaptation. I heard they're going to adapt AC and TLoU (mostly story-based games) but adapting NFS is like adapting Bejeweled as NFS has never been about story or characters.

I knew this film was going to be bad from the beginning and it's not just because of the "video game adaptations make bad films" trend but because the execution is pure F&F, all sexy sport cars but little on the substances. Alas, and unfortunately, my predictions were right. I've seen far too many movies that I can tell if a film is going to be bad or good just by watching the trailer. NFS film gave away everything in the trailer, and that's always a bad sign. I decided to watch this film anyway, just for Aaron Paul.

The plot is ridiculous, getting revenge on a guy who killed his friend and then framing him (ending up in prison for 2 years) by racing in a cross-country competition against the guy. That's all there is to it plot wise and guess what happens in the end? I won't spoil it for ya but this is as thin as the plot can get and the form of revenge is just so stupid. It would be less nonsensical if he went after and kill the guy but of course, this is a NFS film. Still, you can come up with a better plot that also showcases the film's action sequences and set pieces.

There is very little characterization as there are barely anything we know about the characters except that they all love fast cars. There is no story for any of the characters making them just as stock and cliche like many action movies; one good guy, one bad guy and one girl. It follows a tight formula without making the characters any different than we've seen before.

Although there are a couple of decent action scenes and the cast were strong, there is very little writing and that's precisely the problem with this movie. It doesn't have to be an Oscar winning movie, but a movie about fast cars should be distinct (something F&F have only, and surprisingly, done in their last two movies) because there are far too many of them with the F&F being the most popular. It's a video game adaptation and in no way is this movie a F&F rip-off but because of the execution, it definitely comes off as one. I give it a 2 just for Aaron Paul but no actor could have saved this movie from being a wreck.