Kinda Fast...Sorta Furious... "Need For Speed"

Need For Speed (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Scott Mescudi, Rami Malek, Ramon Rodriguez

Directed by Scott Waugh

The Story:

Tobey (Paul) and his buddies at the garage take on a job fixing a Shelby Mustang for former Indy driver Dino Brewster  (Cooper) because Toby needs the money.  Rivals on and off the streets, Tobey and Dino have a race for money which ends in tragedy.  When Tobey is paroled, he sets out to join a famous street race to get revenge on the man who killed his friend and left him to rot in jail.

Easily the best movie about street racing since the Fast and the Furious.  Probably the best one based on a video game racer as well.

:)

Not hard to be the best when there isn't any competition.

Hard to complain too much about anything in this film.  Of course there's plot holes the size of Ferraris, but that's okay, the stunts and driving scenes make up for most of those.

On top of that, most of the supporting cast is pretty fun and adds some layers that would otherwise leave the film really boring and really predictable.

Aaron Paul spends most of his time growling, scowling and grimacing his way through the movie.

If Ben Affleck hadn't been hired, I would assume he's auditioning to be the next Batman. ;)

However, every once in a while he lets out a joke or a smile or a whiff of personality, and he's not half bad in the lead role.

Overall, a silly little bit of fluff that doesn't harm the Need For Speed name at all..

Final Grade: B-/C+ range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Good harmless fun with almost enough charm to own.  Time will tell.

R.I.P. : Paul Walker, 1973-2013

Well, that's the very definition of Hollywood irony...

: /

So by now everyone's heard the news that Paul Walker died in a fiery car crash as a passenger.  His driver?  A professional race car driver.

:: sigh ::

I suppose, sadly, in the day of the internet and fake death hoaxes, the first thing you have to do when  you see these kinds of news stories, you need to verify with several reputable news sites first.

However, even those can be duped rather easily.

When you see it reported on Twitter though, especially by Paul's representatives and all of his co-stars, it's real.

And it's sad.

The only positive I take from his passing is at least he didn't take his own life.  I grow weary of stars that take their own life, throwing away whatever potential future they had for themselves and years of entertainment that they had for their fans.

An accident?  Those happen.

Still tragic.

So then why do fans mourn when celebrities pass away when hundreds die everyday?

I would imagine it's the sense of connection.  These stars brought friends and family together, for 2 hours at a time while we enjoy their movies.

Looking over the movies he's made, there's quite a few good movies on the list.

Naturally, the Fast and Furious franchise is first and foremost the obvious place to point for a career retrospective.

I had the great pleasure to introduce the family to the franchise earlier this year as I had them watch the first 4 movies and then re-watch Fast Five.

Sure, Paul was probably never going to win an Academy Award, but he gave 100% in his movies, and at the end of the day, I was entertained.

That's doing your job, and for that he should be commended!

Other favorites over the years:

She's All That ~ Playing the villain that bets Freddy Prinze Jr. that he can't make Rachel Leigh Cook a prom queen.

Timeline ~ An underrated Richard Donner time travel movie.  Recommended if you've never seen it.

Eight Below ~ A Disney film based on a true story of a team that is forced to abandon their sled dogs to the elements.

I suppose the question now becomes...

What will Universal do with the Fast and Furious franchise?

Was 7 set to be the last?  Were they going to retire and turn the franchise over to some new crew members?

No easy decisions to be made for a franchise that was actually getting better with each new installment after the main characters all reunited.

Condolences to his family and friends and other fans.

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