Need for Speed

Based on the successful racing simulation video game franchise, the ironic gimmick of this high-octane adrenaline-propelled action-adventure film is that it uses no CGI effects. Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is a mechanic who street-races muscle cars. Desperate to keep his family-owned garage afloat, Toby reluctantly partners with a rival: arrogant, wealthy ex-NASCAR driver Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper). But just after Tobey makes a major sale through car broker Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots), he finds himself in a disastrous race in which his protégé, Pete (Harrison Gilbertson), is killed, which allows Dino to frame Tobey for manslaughter. Out of prison two years later, Tobey is determined to wreak revenge by defeating Dino in a secret, high-stakes, no-rules race known as the De Leon, hosted by online shock jock Monarch (Michael Keaton). Problem is: Tobey's in Mt. Kisco, NY, and the race starts 2,800 miles away in San Francisco in 45 hours. Driving a $2.7 million dollar custom Ford Mustang, Tobey and Julia careen across America, dodging cops and mercenaries who want the massive bounty that Dino puts on Tobey's head. Helping along the way are Rami Malek, as a bug-eyed mechanic, and hip-hop star Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi), playing an Army Reserve pilot. Full of numerous plot holes and clichéd dialogue, director Scott Waugh's Need for Speed does boast amazing action—a gravity-defying 160-foot leap in downtown Detroit traffic, hot-fueling aerial flips, and exhilarating helicopter lifts—that is genuine…in contrast to the acting, which is abysmal. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the “Capturing Speed: Making an Authentic Car Movie” making-of featurette (10 min.) and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are an audio commentary by director Scott Waugh and star Aaron Paul, the production featurettes “Ties that Bind” (12 min.), “The Circus is in Town” (11 min.), and “The Sound” (9 min.), deleted scenes (5 min.), outtakes (2 min.), and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an unremarkable film.] (S. Granger)