Need for Speed (2014) Reviews

• What else did you expect?

  xundarz2014-03-15

  I walked in the cinema expecting fast cars, street racing, crazy cop chases, drifting and explosions and that's exactly what I got! This film is called "Need for Speed" and is based on a video game. This alone tells us not to expect character development, genius plot twists and memorable dialogues. This films delivers exactly what it set out to deliver. If you like fast and beautiful cars, this is for you. If you like crazy stunts and cars chases, this is for you. If you enjoyed getting chased by the cops in the video game, this is for you. Go to the cinema expecting the above and you'll have an excellent time.

• Wouldn't Expect It To Be So Awesome!

  logicalrick2014-03-18

  Well when I saw the trailer for the NFS movie, I thought "No just no, it's going to be terrible" - Then I saw the cast of Aaron Paul (Breaking bad) and Dominic Cooper (The History Boys). I loved Dominic in The History Boys and like most people enjoyed Breaking Bad. But alas, having some aspiring actors isn't going to make a movie. Then I came here and found at the time a rating of 8.4 from people who had viewed the NFS pre-release. So at that point I thought, OK I'll give it a shot, worse case scenario it ends up being like a bad Fast and Furious rip off. NOPE! Was amazing, never a dull moment, didn't have any scene that was just utterly pointless (which almost every movie does), the acting was fantastic, the action was intense, and the soundtrack and effects were spot on! As a movie it is great, but for someone like myself who grew up on NFS and loves car's it is EPIC. There's a great scene in the end, that anyone who has played the NFS: Hot Pursuit series will instantly go "Yep, this is really NFS!" The only reason I wont give it a 10/10 is because of some minor plot holes - But nothing to bad, and most people wouldn't even notice. Otherwise brilliant, wouldn't be surprised if this becomes the next F&F Franchise.

• Amazing.....RUSH is the impact I got! 7+ Stars!

  huggibear2017-09-11

  And I'm a woman! I watched it alone and sweat was coming out of my pores the entire time. I know about Mustangs. I know about Bugattis. I didn't know about many of the different types of fast cars though. That Bugatti was sweet. All I want to say after watching this movie is....'This is for Pete' and I'll add to it for him.....'You Dirty Rotten Scoundrel!'....Justice SERVED!! Enjoy the ride, PHEW! It's worth it!

• Best Authentic Race movie

  ahurry2014-02-24

  I saw this movie at a early screening. This movie was great. The best authentic no CGI fake cars or wrecks all, old school real cars getting destroyed and flying down the streets. It was fairly predictable to me though I am a HUGE movie fan over 5000 seen. Still it made me feel the way I felt the first time I watched Fast and Furious! I like how they had no stunt drivers and they trained Aaron Paul how to actually drive the cars to make it more real. They replicated the cars to ensure that if/WHEN they did wreck the cars they could truly wreck the cars with no CGI involved. Aaron Paul & Imogen seem to have great chemistry on screen that sells the story also.

• Silly and predictable, but plenty of fun.

  BrentHankins2014-03-12

  Ever since the popularity of video games skyrocketed in the 1980s, Hollywood has been trying to cash in on the craze by bringing well-known franchises to the big screen. While some adaptations have come close to getting it right (Silent Hill is probably the best), most video games movies have been absolutely terrible, with Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter: The Movie serving as a shining example of what not to do. With a well-documented history of failed projects, the expectations surrounding Need for Speed couldn't be much lower - after all, it's based on a decades-old franchise about illegal street racing, featuring a young cast that remains unproven at the box office - but what the film lacks in storytelling and character development is more than compensated for, thanks to the action behind the wheel. Two years after being framed for the death of a friend, Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is released from prison with revenge on his mind. His target is Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper), the shady professional racer that put Tobey in jail and Tobey's friend in a coffin. Taking down Dino will mean beating him at his own game, a top-secret race featuring the world's most elite drivers, and hosted by the mysterious Monarch (Michael Keaton). With less than two days to get from New York to California before the race begins, Tobey embarks on a cross-country trek that features plenty of jaw-dropping moments, made even more thrilling by director Scott Waugh's insistence that all driving stunts be performed by real drivers in real cars. This adds an extra layer of tension that's sorely missing from the Fast and Furious series (to which Need for Speed is destined to be compared), and the film's best moments come courtesy of E-brake drifts, squealing tires, and near collisions. Despite its paper-thin plot and many, many failed attempts at humor, Need for Speed still works thanks to the generous amount of high-octane action sequences, and the undeniable charisma of Aaron Paul. Skeptics may not have believed that Paul could distance himself from his Jesse Pinkman persona, but he delivers a strong performance that should put him on the radar for future action roles. Need for Speed is one of the better attempts at translating a popular video game into a big screen experience, with the practical stunts and real-world action serving as a nice counterbalance to Fast and Furious's ever-increasing ridiculousness. Its silliness, predictability and over- inflated running time keep it from being a truly great movie, but it's still a hell of a lot of fun. -- Brent Hankins, www.nerdrep.com