Need for Speed

By gamers, for gamers. Or, more precisely, by people who present themselves as gamers (because doing so is favourable with respect to marketing), for viewers who consider those people to be gamers (young men from poorer backgrounds without higher education, dreaming that they will pick up beautiful women thanks to their driving skills). Waugh’s film is possibly one of the most thorough video-game adaptations and thus, more than other game adaptations, lays bare the limits of trying to be maximally accommodating toward fans of the source material. The plot is of marginal importance and serves primarily as an unobtrusive (though necessary) basis for the action. However, the mediocre dialogue, overacting, infantile humour and formulaic situations are significantly more irritating on the big screen than in the cut-scenes of the game (though their purpose remains the same – providing the possibility to give one’s eyes and ears a rest). The slavish adoption of certain formalistic techniques from video games (extreme slow-motion eye-candy crashes) necessarily come across as clichéd, since game designers like to go to the movies for inspiration. By faithfully imitating bad imitations of films – instead of drawing more from, for example, the quoted Bullitt or other 1970s action movies (knowledge of which the director can only boast about) – Need For Speed becomes a copy of a copy that doesn’t have any specific character of its own. However, I don’t think it’s a bad film, since it fulfils its mission (escapist automotive entertainment) more satisfactorily than, for example, the most recent, poorly focused instalment of Fast & Furious. In the context of macho action melodramas that, according to the logic of the genre, must contain unrealistic feats that are not conditioned by emotion or reason and red-lined moments of action, there really isn’t much for which to reproach Need for Speed. For me, it was a pleasant way to relax my mind, which I appreciated for not requiring any greater mental effort than playing one of the games in the series. 60% (10/03/2014)

A surprisingly ambitious ride that cannot disappoint even occasional players. The story about racing revenge perfectly suits the various stunts like a hubcap on a wheel, and that Need for Speed would actually extract stronger emotions from me, I would never have expected even in my most optimistic dreams. When perfect rival chemistry between Aaron Paul and Dominic Cooper works, all I have to do is sit behind the wheel and enjoy a few typical locations or shots cut out from your favorite episode. And Nathan Furst's pleasantly plucked soundtrack makes you want to join the final race yourself. (27/07/2014)

Why aren't there more movies based on computer games? Oh, right. And thanks, Need for Speed, ​​for reminding me. Because they always turn out to be a disappointment. I really like the NFS franchise, and although in recent years (actually since “Most Wanted”) the whole series has been going downhill, there’s no other racing game I enjoy playing more. But what I got in those unbelievably long 131 minutes (!) was totally worthless. Even when reading what it was supposed to be about, it was clear to me that no brain activity would be necessary. Let's start with the positives: 1 star for EA’s courage to even film this, 1 star for the two leads. And that’s about it. The rest is truly horrendous. The actors in the supporting roles were selected based on their looks, but they can’t act their way out of a paper bag. The soundtrack, one of the best and most awesome aspects of the game series which had never failed, managed to do so in the movie, being one of its worst parts. The dialogues are strikingly unnatural. Pretty much everything about this movie is wrong. The concept itself of ​​racing across the US within a certain time limit inspired by one of the worst installments, “Need for Speed: The Run,” spelled disaster. Anyway, if the movie managed to make money (which it somehow did), then other movies based on computer games can be made, which means there’s at least something positive about it. Or is there? (05/08/2014)

If you have ever played the game "Need for Speed", or at least watched someone play it, like me, you might have a pleasant feeling of déjà vu during the races, because it's a real ride, and besides, you are not on a circuit, and in the end, you will also get into nature quite nicely. Yeah, it's a pretty typical plot, but that ride can really be enjoyed. (15/08/2014)

Had I seen this as a teenager obsessed with playing NFS, I’d be ecstatic. The movie is full of gaming poetics and the cars are a level higher than in the Fast & Furious series. With its great locations, Need for Speed is like a road trip around US national parks and cities, as if they were levels in a game. As for characters and the logic of the story, however, it couldn’t be lamer. But the 130-minute running time is not grating, as it makes the film into the longest guilty pleasure mind-fuck in the history of cinema. (12/03/2014)