Need for Speed- Review by Frances Winston

Directed by: Scott Waugh

Starring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Michael Keaton, Dakota Johnson

In cinemas March 12th

Anything Aaron Paul did post Breaking Bad was going to generate a lot of interest which is probably why he was chosen to lead this video game adaptation. These kinds of movies tend to be like Marmite – people either love them or hate them and often have preconceived notions without ever trying it. So having Mr Paul quite literally in the driving seat should surely encourage some bums onto seats.

Paul plays Tobey Marshall who adapts cars for street racing as well as partaking in the sport himself. When a friend of his dies during one of these races he takes the rap for his death even though it’s not his fault. Upon his release from prison he breaks parole and drives across country so that he can take part in an underground winner takes all supercar competition and, in the process, clear his name. Along for the ride is Julia Maddon (Poots) who hooks him up with the souped up Mansarati that he intends to race in the contest which is hosted by the mysterious and reclusive Monarch (Keaton).

The trailer for this makes it look extremely sexy and stylish and indeed they appear to be going for that throughout the movie. However it becomes a case of style over substance. Yes it has a very good looking cast but that is not enough to hold a film together. The story is standard fare that is weakly executed and there are numerous plot holes. Paul does his best in an undemanding role but Cooper plays bad guy Dino Brewster almost as a caricature and Poots is simply not a very good actress so has no hope of carrying such flimsy material. Even the usually wonderful Keaton struggles here with a character that seems to serve no real purpose other than exposition.

The racing scenes are adrenaline fuelled and thrilling but this isn’t enough to hold together what is essentially a hotch potch of a movie. With stilted dialogue and some far too choppy cinematography this never really fully engages the viewer. If they are trying to channel the spirit of the Fast and Furious films they fail miserably and it is unlikely that this will spawn a lucrative franchise. That said fans of the video game will probably like it and it has a ready made audience in them so it should fulfil its box office requirements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e73J71RZRn8