Need for Speed (USA, 2014)

Nine Things About the Movie Need For Speed

1. This movie is based on a car racing video game. So you know it’s not going to be deep.

2. It’s also basically a 2-hour long Ford commercial.

3. But the movie is actually fairly interesting. It’s more entertaining, slightly more realistic, and not as stupid as what the “Fast & Furious” movies have turned into.

4. It’s about a former race car driver named Tobey and his friends. There is an ex-girlfriend and an old rival. There’s a plot. Stuff happens. People talk. They race cars. About twenty minutes into the movie you know the rest of the story. I figured out who was going to die, which would inspire Tobey to race for justice and revenge.

5. The story is ridiculous, but the acting is decent. The main female lead was not nearly as annoying as I expected her to be. And Michael Keaton almost steals the movie as a rich weirdo that sponsors a top-secret elite car race.

6. The movie was directed by Scott Waugh, who is an actual stuntman. He hated the fact that the “Fast & Furious” movies used computer-generated cars and races. He wanted to do all the car racing for real. Computer effects were only used to erase crew members and wires.

7. Waugh used up to 40 cameras at once to capture some of the scenes. A climactic crash scene lasted 12 seconds on screen, but took six hours to prepare.

8. The movie is worth seeing for its cinematography and driving scenes.

9. We certainly don’t need two car-racing movie franchises in the world. But if we have to have one, put “Fast & Furious” in the garage and give people the “Need for Speed”.