Need for Speed

Wenn ich diesen Film im Teenager-Alter gesehen hätte, als ich von NFS schwer begeistert war, wäre ich entzückt. Der Film ist voller Spiel-Poetik und die Autos selbst ein Level höher als in der Serie F&F. Die Schauplätze sind prima, es ist einfach ein Roadtrip durch US-amerikanische Nationalparks und Städte, als ob es Levels im Spiel wären. Man sollte sich aber nicht mit den Figuren und der Logik befassen, dort hätte es nicht schlimmer werden können. Die Länge von 130 Minuten stört mich nicht, der Film wird mit ihr zum längsten guilty pleasure mind-fuck in der Geschichte der Kinematografie. (12.03.2014)

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)

The game “Need For Speed” is something I remember with fondness. I’d be hard pressed to forget it when the US developers keep making one sequel after another every year. Some of them are better, some of them worse. It was just a matter of time before this franchise would be turned into a movie and I must say that from the amount of bullshit we have been treated to during these races, the story the creators picked wasn’t so bad. I enjoyed the action scenes that felt a lot like playing the game. Those made me happy. On the other hand, the characters took some getting used to. Perhaps with the exception of Imogen Poots, who made me happy since the first moment she appeared. Aaron Paul, on the other hand, is a bit wet behind the ears and it took me about half an hour to accept the fact that he’s no Vin Diesel or Paul Walker. I also cringed during every scene with Dominic Cooper. Michael Keaton, however, managed to knock my socks off with how he was enjoying his character. Had it not been for the running time and contained less talking and more action, I would have rated it better. 131 minutes was too long for such a movie. (17.11.2014)

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)

This film is a treat for the fans of the game, or at least for people who have ever played it, the rest will struggle and complain about how unrealistic and illogical it is. The gaming feeling is manifest in every other scene, and the original shots during car crashes and the fantastic "FPS" view from the car are a clear indication that the people behind this film know what they're doing and are teasing us. The screenplay is perhaps nonsense in terms of plot, emotions, and character motivation, but something had to be there, right? Aaron Paul is good and fits well into tough guy roles. The best car scenes in the history of cinema. (30.07.2014)

Ich muss sagen, dass es tolle und sehr schöne Autos und recht interessante Rennen an einigen schönen Locations gab. Ja, aber das ist ungefähr auch so alles, was ich daran mochte (deshalb die zwei *). Meiner Meinung nach wurde die Geschichte ziemlich seltsam erzählt und es war nichts Originelles, eine klassische Rivalität zwischen zwei Fahrern und ein Rachefeldzug für das ruinierte Leben eines Freundes. Im Gegensatz zu The Fast and the Furious wurde ich überhaupt nicht von dem Hauptcharakter oder seiner Bande gepackt (selbst die Hauptheldin fand ich nicht sehr sexy) und so habe ich fast darauf gewartet, dass die Bullen sie schnappen. Ich habe es mit Tschechischen synchron gesehen und weiß nicht, ob es daran lag, oder ob es im Original auch so verrückte Dialoge gibt, aber was die Herrschaften hier sagten und in welcher Art und Weise sie miteinander kommunizierten, waren einfach nur WTF Momente? Und es war fast unhörbar. Irgendwie glaube ich nicht, dass Typen im Alter zwischen 20 und 30 Jahren so miteinander reden würden, wie ich es tat, als ich ungefähr 13 war. Nun, wenn es noch einen NFS geben sollte, hätte ich gerne eine bessere Geschichte, einen charismatischen Helden, ein hübscheres Mädchen und Aussagen, die wirklich hart, treffend und glaubwürdig sind und nicht nur zufällige, lustige Sprüche klopfen, die für die Altersgruppe der 13- bis 15-Jährigen cool klingen sollen... 3/10 (22.11.2014)

Anstelle eines adrenalingeladenen Rennfilms kam ein gewöhnlicher Roadmovie mit der üblichsten und vorhersehbarsten Geschichte von Rache und der gewöhnlichsten romantischen Handlung ins Kino. Die Verfolgungsjagden und Rennszenen haben durchaus Energie, aber alles andere ertrinkt in hoffnungsloser Langeweile. Den Charakteren fehlt Charisma, dem Film fehlt Weitsicht, Spannung und Humor, und der Versuch der Filmemacher, Realismus zu zeigen, ist nach den letzten beiden Teilen der Fast & Furious-Serie ein deutlicher Rückschritt. Verzweifelt langweilig und uncool. (11.03.2014)

My neighbors just love racing movies. The sound of the engine revving in my bass combo is music to their ears, and perhaps the only one that can complain is their broom, which comes into contact with the ceiling a few times in these cases, but is slowly getting used to it. Need for Speed is of course completely moronic in terms of story, but no wonder with this kind of target audience. Which is not the players of the game in this case, because it can't logically make sense to them why they would go to a movie based on a racing game that spectacularly adopts formal film techniques yet at the same time is graphically comparable to reality (because it contains almost no people, only objects). Moreover, there can be no question of any cinematic expansion of the game universe when the game has none. The Need for Speed movie is primarily aimed at those who have to have and see everything that falls under the franchise – all the games, trailers, t-shirts, and of course their Renault Multipla also has a fresh Need for Speed sticker on it. That said, the film's greatest asset is the fact that Scott Waugh and the writers have understood the brief, and thus the whole plot can be summed up as basically 'the main character goes somewhere to drive, thereby avenging the fact that the last time he drove somewhere his friend didn't finish. Ironically, all the characters are stuffed in the pockets of the utterly likable Imogen Poots, and the rest are so bland the film doesn't even try to make them the bearers of a higher truth (unlike the last F&F), such that the center of it all is really just the driving, which is filmed very skillfully, so I couldn't complain too much that, since I personally am more or less only interested in the racing, there's remarkably little of it here, because it's really more about the driving. Otherwise I don't know, but 178 days in jail for street racing, a few dozen misdemeanors, assault on a public officer, and general endangerment is a pretty good deal. Not to mention, the main character probably wouldn't be sitting behind the wheel again for the rest of his life. (23.07.2014)

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)

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)