Need for Speed (2014)

Most of this was originally published in The Daily Nebraskan on 3/17/14.

The “Fast & Furious” franchise can stay seated. It isn’t going anywhere.

“Need for Speed” doesn’t bring enough inspiration, action or character to compete with the popular racing franchise, and it barely hangs together well enough to work as a standalone film.

“Need for Speed” is two things:  an adaptation of a popular video game franchise and a vehicle for Aaron Paul’s career in a post-”Breaking Bad” world. The problem with movies of video games is that they usually have very little to do with what actually happened in the game. That’s a bigger problem than usual in the film adaptation of “Need for Speed,” based on a series of games that had next to no storyline whatsoever. When the credits roll, and we see, “Based on ‘Need for Speed,’ by Electronic Arts,” I have to ask, which part was that? Was it when all of the main characters were playing the video game in their garage?

 The movie is about Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul), known to be an exceptional street racer, who currently works in a garage modifying cars. After winning a race with a customized car he built, he attracts the attention of former rival Dino (Dominic Cooper), to whom he owes a debt. Dino challenges Tobey and his partner Little Pete (Harrison Gilbertson) to a race to pay off his debt. Little Pete is killed in the race, during a slow motion sequence that is so gratuitous and drawn out that I found it impossible not to laugh.

 Tobey is sent to jail for manslaughter and is released two years later. He wants to get revenge on Dino for killing Little Pete. He’s helped by a plucky English car collector named Julia (Imogen Poots), who can help him prove his innocence. Tobey also has his garage crew to aid him in his quest for vengeance, including helicopter pilot Benny (Kid Cudi), who spots obstacles and traffic conditions from the sky.

Paul should have picked a different role. He looks uncomfortable in this role. He’s effective in some scenes but other times he fizzles, seemingly not sure what to do. I don’t necessarily blame him. I blame the director and the writers. Surely Paul, two-time Emmy winner, is capable of turning in a great performance. The issue in “Need for Speed” is that he isn’t given a real character to portray. He’s simply dropped into the middle of an ill-advised video game property on the pretense that his fame will sell the film. Which it will.

 This movie is not sure which direction it wants to go. Sometimes it’s funny; other times it’s unflinchingly serious. It’s OK to be both, but the film makes no attempt to reconcile its tone shifts. Sometimes it's just baffling; there is a scene where holographic unicorns gallop across the screen at full speed, then shatter into a million bits, scatter towards the camera (because for some reason, this movie just had to be in 3D) and form a pattern on the floor, which then somehow becomes a top-dollar sports car that Tobey built and plans to sell for $3 million. If someone can tell me why this makes sense in a movie supposedly based in reality, I am all ears.

Another baffling scene: Tobey arrives at a friend's workplace after he gets out of jail. He wants to recruit him to his team again, so that they can regain their former racing glory. This friend works in an office building. When he gets the news, he decides to walk out of his job, strip himself naked and kiss his co-worker. He gets into the elevator with an elderly woman, as naked as the day he was born. "Do you work in accounting?" he asks her. She says yes. "Don't you feel like you're dying inside?" "Yes," she replies. He nods. "It's cold in here." It doesn't speak well for a film when one of its most memorable moments has nothing to do with the plot.

Then there's Imogen Poots, seemingly the only competent actor in this film, and the only redeeming quality. She's a joy to watch as Julia, who is just so delightfully British. She tries hard to kick some life into this dud of a screenplay, even putting on a convincing Southern accent in one scene. Somehow, she even manages to make her relationship with Aaron Paul's character seem plausible. I think I'll take this space to point out an obvious metaphor in which Poots is a big part of. Her and Aaron Paul are driving across country. Because they can't stop, Paul's crew need to gas up his car while he is still driving. They can't quite seem to get the gas pump into the tank, so Poots's character hangs out of the window, slinks over the side of the car and places the pump in the tank. If that isn't an obvious metaphor for intercourse, well, I don't know what is. Scenes like this are what prevented me from giving "Need for Speed" an all-out pan.

Even with these occasionally interesting moments, “Need for Speed” is an inconsistent, poorly done film with a few standout moments scattered throughout a directionless, often juvenile script. One gets the impression that this could have been much better. I assumed that Paul would be the redeeming element in what would otherwise be an unremarkable cash grab of a film, and instead he turns in a surprisingly unenthusiastic performance.

Hopefully, the rising star will pick his roles more wisely next time. And maybe rehearse his lines between takes.