{"id":12295,"date":"2014-03-10T16:04:58","date_gmt":"2014-03-10T23:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qgp.ykq.mybluehost.me\/cinephiled\/?p=12295"},"modified":"2014-03-11T19:24:19","modified_gmt":"2014-03-12T02:24:19","slug":"need-speed-also-needs-judicious-editing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinephiled.com\/need-speed-also-needs-judicious-editing\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Need for Speed’ Also Needs Judicious Editing"},"content":{"rendered":"

In all fairness, you can probably blame the Fast and Furious<\/i> movies for setting a bad example and precedent. After all, each film in that blockbuster series has gotten progressively longer. The last one clocked in at a luxurious 130 minutes, which was also the length of last year\u2019s Oscar winning historical\/biographical drama 12 Years a Slave<\/i>.<\/p>\n

By that standard, perhaps Need for Speed<\/i> deserves a little slack, even if it, too, has a much-longer-than-it-needs-to-be-or-deserves 130-minute running time. However, the auto racing action-thriller meanders so much and takes so long to get its character and situations where they\u2019re going you\u2019ll be tempted to call it Need for Judicious Editing<\/i> instead.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say it\u2019s lacking in the entertainment department. There are quite a few moments, such as several thrilling, \u201chow\u2019d-they-do-that?\u201d racing sequences, that keep it from being an outright bust. But, given that the film is based on a video game series, you do have to wonder if its intended audience \u2013 one with supposed attention-deficiency problems \u2013 will be able to sit that long without some sense of discontentment and discomfort.<\/p>\n

Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad\u2019s<\/i> Jesse Pinkman) stars as Tobey Marshall, a semi-professional auto racer and garage owner who\u2019s had a long-simmering feud with the spoiled-rich Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper), a fellow racer who\u2019s not only taken some big races and paydays away from Tobey, he\u2019s also stolen his girl, Anita (Dakota Johnson).<\/p>\n

One thing Tobey does have in his favor, though is a dedicated crew, made up of his pals; Benny (Scott \u201cKid Cudi\u201d Mescudi), his eyes in the sky; Finn (Rami Malek), a clever tech guy; the resourceful Joe (Ramon Rodriguez), and Little Pete (Harrison Gilbertson), an up-and-coming racer who also happens to be Anita\u2019s younger brother.<\/p>\n

However, their already heated rivalry takes an even-nastier turn when the conniving Dino cheats to win a street race \u2013 with a questionable move that also results in Little Pete\u2019s tragic death. By the time the authorities arrive, Dino is nowhere to be seen. So the shocked and distraught Tobey is blamed and jailed for his prot\u00e9g\u00e9\u2019s death instead.<\/p>\n

Years later, he\u2019s paroled from prison but is still seeking revenge. It appears the best way to do that is by beating Dino in an illegal, high-stakes street race that\u2019s being organized and run by the mysterious Monarch (Michael Keaton). And Tobey does have a killer car for the race: a Shelby Mustang that he and his crew built. The car\u2019s grateful British owners agree to let Tobey drive it, as long as he has their agent, Julia Madden (Imogen Poots), along for the ride.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Tobey only has two days to get to San Francisco for the race. Worse, Dino has put a bounty on his unknowing rival\u2019s head, to make sure he never reaches his destination.<\/p>\n

Stuntman-turned-filmmaker Scott Waugh (Act of Valor<\/i>) was a good choice of director, in terms of the action scenes, at least. He and veteran director of photography Shane Hurlbut keep the cameras at street-level, which gives audiences a front-row seat during the racing scenes, which are obviously the film\u2019s selling point.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s not able to do much with the idiotic script, which comes courtesy of first-time scribes the Gatins brothers (George and John). Along with needless, ludicrous subplots, it\u2019s got even-sillier dialogue and practically nonsensical characterizations. (For instance, why would Anita continue to stay with Dino after people blame him for the death of her brother?)<\/p>\n

As for Paul, he\u2019s all gravelly glowers as the film\u2019s lead, while Cooper oozes so much smarm as his antagonist that w expect him to twirl his mustache for comic effect. Speaking of which, Poots (That Awkward Moment<\/i>) deliberately exaggerates her already-broad accent, resulting in a curiously goofy performance that suggests she believes this is intended to be a live-action cartoon. Who knows, maybe she\u2019s right in that regard.<\/p>\n

Jeff Michael Vice can also be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (<\/i>www.thegeekshowpodcast.com<\/i><\/a>), and can be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity\u2019s Big Movie Mouth-Off (<\/i>www.facebook.com\/BigMovieMouthOff<\/i><\/a>).<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In all fairness, you can probably blame the Fast and Furious movies for setting a bad example and precedent. After all, each film in that blockbuster series has gotten progressively longer. The last one clocked in at a luxurious 130 minutes, which was also the length of last year\u2019s Oscar winning historical\/biographical drama 12 Years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":12297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,99],"tags":[1413,8,1411,1409,1412,1410],"yoast_head":"\n'Need for Speed' Also Needs Judicious Editing - Cinephiled<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cinephiled.com\/need-speed-also-needs-judicious-editing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Need for Speed' Also Needs Judicious Editing - Cinephiled\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In all fairness, you can probably blame the Fast and Furious movies for setting a bad example and precedent. 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