No need for “Need for Speed”

Dylan Hong, Staff Writer

“Need For Speed” did not exceed the “ordinary” level of racing films. It was just like past racing movies such as “Speed Racer” without any new ideas. To be honest, it was even worse than some of the racing movies created in the past.

Despite the potential that the movie could have achieved, director Scott Waugh failed to properly direct and save the movie to be categorized in one of the better films. The storyline is mostly predictable, and Waugh couldn’t add a plot twist during the boring racing scenes. The loud car sounds that were supposed to be loud are really not that loud, and the actions between the racing cars were limited, because half the movie is the main character driving through the country. This boring race continues throughout most of the “Need for Speed”, making the movie dismal.

The acting was very stiff, and unrealistic. Performers could not bring the emotional feelings to me, although there were plenty of scenes that were meant to bring emotional feelings to the audience. Also, Waugh shortened up many racing scenes that could have improved the overall level of the movie.

Compared to other racing movies that have recently come out such as “Fast and Furious 6,”  “Need For Speed” lacked the energy and tension that “Fast and Furious 6” contained. Without the appeal of the good past racing movies, “Need For Speed” contained confusing stories that often gave me confusion.

Although the movie is suppose to be realistic, it is not. First of all, Benny (Scott Mescudi), friend of the main character Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul), takes a helicopter and flies it around the urban city, without police chases. Also, when the movie first starts, Tobey and his friends go to a drive-in movie theater, and it almost looks like the 1980s all over again, because the cars that the racers drive look pretty old. However, a few years later, Tobey races with Dino Brewster, with a Shelby GT500 and a Lamborghini Sesto Elemento.

“Need For Speed” has a mediocre level of racing intensity and is filled with great potential, but sadly it was not used properly to make the movie shine to the top. Audiences should wait for the movie to be in the dollar movies or just not at all. Hopefully “Fast and Furious 7” is out soon in a good quality to improve the movie markets.