Based on the famous video game franchise of the same name, under the auspices of the production houses DreamWorks and EA Games, this feature film was made with the very popular Aaron Paul, the star of the Breaking Bad series, in the lead role. Films with this theme do not leave too much room for screenwriters to swing and write something that has not been seen in such projects, but the final product, combined with very fast cars, is more than enough for fans of the genre.
Aaron Paul interprets the character of Toby Marshall, a lower-ranking street driver from New York who has not achieved too much success in his career. Instead of racing in the big leagues, Toby takes over his father’s shop, whose main competitor is Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper), a driver who competed in stronger races and even reached the Indie 500 category. when he comes out of there, eager for revenge. He gathers his team again and drives races from New York to California in order to gain the condition for participation in a very important race – De Leon, in which he will be able to beat Dean and take revenge.
Whatever your expectations regarding this film, it is exactly what can be expected from a project based on racing games. The script didn’t have a specific game plot to write on, so it doesn’t have much to do with the game itself, except for car racing, but it is much more reminiscent of the Fast and Furious franchise. Quite a decent plot of viewers very quickly introduces them to the world of cars and crime. The emphasis is definitely on fast cars and crazy races with a lot of stunts. The additional numerous special effects only raise the adrenaline and do a good job and the film is, generally visually, very convincing.
The primary disadvantages of this film are the length of the action and the unnecessary duration of the film of 132 minutes. It sounds paradoxical, but the film about the need for speed is too slow and it really needs speed. There just isn’t enough material to fit in so many minutes that definitely can’t be filled with just racing and cars. Some scenes between races are more than unnecessary and are quite boring. The general impression is that the film could have been shorter by 30-40 minutes and would definitely raise the quality and improve the general impression after watching.
This type of film does not require any acting prowess and that is good. The main actor, Aaron Paul, did his job quite correctly, leading with his experience and the impression that he surpassed the rest of the cast with “half the gas”. The emphasis of his acting was placed on conversations, and he spent most of his time in the car. There is one scene in which he showed the maximum of acting qualities, as in the series that made him famous. There is really no need to mention other actors.
For fans of this genre, this is quite a decent film, while other viewers can agree that it is too boring, straightforward and predictable. However, sequels are expected, which may one day compete with the undisputed franchise of the genre – Fast and Furious.
