Yes, Breaking Bad star and two-time Emmy winner Aaron Paul's first major film role is in a video game adaptation. Well if you're going to pick a film based on a video game to star in; you could do a lot worse than Need for Speed- which offers up far more fun than I could've ever conceived it would.
Paul portrays Toby Marshall, a struggling mechanic who owns a garage in upstate New York who street races on the side to get some extra cash. Marshall is framed for manslaughter in the death of one of his best friends (Harrison Gilbertson) by long-time adversary and exotic car entrepreneur Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) during a race. After serving two years in prison, Marshall is hellbent at getting back at Brewster for setting up him and taking the life of someone close to him. Marshall gets his chance after learning that The De Leone-the biggest street race in the United States- is being held in San Francisco in 48 hours and Brewster is participating. With the help of a British car collector (Imogen Poots), Marshall gets his hands on a rare Shelby Mustang that he built for Brewster before he went to prison and hopes to earn a last-minute invitation to the De Leone from race organizer DJ Monarch (Michael Keaton) in the window he has to make it from New York to San Francisco for the start of the race. Marshall has to make quite an impression with his skills behind the wheel during the cross-country drive to get the attention of Monarch and subsequently get his long-awaited revenge on Brewster.
Need for Speed plays out like the older Fast and Furious films that were strictly about street racing. Director Scott Waugh implores an old-school mentality with the production using only practical effects and featuring a lot of classic cars that no longer exist in the modern era. The vintage style gives the racing scenes a grit that hasn't been seen in a car-based film since the golden era for the genre in the '70s. Some car buffs might be sad to see so many beautiful sports cars get wrecked over the course of one film, but it's awesome to see real cars get destroyed and the filmmakers not relying on gimmicky CGI for the copious amount of vehicular stunts that are featured here.
The tone of Need for Spreed is fun and the pacing is blistering for a film that runs over two hours. The writers understand that the events of the film are completely absurd and writes a fast moving, engaging story that is loaded with humor and doesn't take itself seriously for even a second. The actors fully understand what the film sought out to-do and brought exactly the type of performances that are needed for this type of film to work. Paul shows a lot of charisma in his first leading role and shows a much different side than audiences are used to seeing from him. Paul is one of those rare actors that you can throw any material at and get a committed performance out of every single time he is on screen.
The comedic elements of Need for Speed are driven (no pun intended) from Keaton and rapper Kid Cudi in his big-screen debut. Keaton brings a level of zaniness to the eccentric De Leone organizer DJ Monarch that he hasn't displayed since his iconic role in Bettlejuice. Keaton is typically reserved in his roles, but when he plays wacky or unhinged, he's incredibly entertaining to watch. Cudi manages to come out of nowhere with his absolutely hilarious performance as Marshall's helicopter pilot friend Benny. Cudi shows some real acting chops and brings more passion to this role than he has to any of his recent musical exploits. If I were Cudi, I'd consider a permanent career change ASAP because he has the potential to be a really solid actor. Need for Speed is a lovingly absurd and shamelessly entertaining entry to the racing film genre that deserves to go down with Vanishing Point and Gone in 60 Seconds as a classic in the realm of exploitative street racing films.
4/5 Stars
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