''Need for Speed'' is a 2014

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed and co-edited by Scott Waugh and written by George and John Gatins. It is the film adaptation of the

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

franchise of the same name by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

. The film stars

Aaron Paul Aaron Paul (born Aaron Paul Sturtevant; August 27, 1979) is an American actor best known for portraying Jesse Pinkman in the AMC series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which he won several awards, including the Critics' Choice Television ...

Dominic Cooper Dominic Edward Cooper (born 2 June 1978) is an English actor known for his portrayal of comic book characters Jesse Custer on the AMC show ''Preacher'' (2016–2019) and young Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with appearances ...

Scott Mescudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi would move to New Yo ...

in his feature film debut, Imogen Poots, Ramón Rodríguez, and

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in '' Beetlejuice'' ...

. It tells the story of street racer Tobey Marshall, who sets off to race cross-country as a way of avenging his friend's death at the hands of a rival racer, Dino Brewster. ''Need for Speed'' was released by Touchstone Pictures on March 14, 2014, in 3D, IMAX 3D, and conventional theaters. After its release, the film received generally negative reviews, criticized for its direction, nonsensical story, and acting of the supporting cast, though some praise for Paul's acting. The movie grossed $203 million worldwide.

Plot

Tobey Marshall is a former race car driver who owns his late father's garage, Marshall Performance Motors, in Mount Kisco, New York, where he and his friends tune performance cars. Struggling to make ends meet, he and his crew participate in street races after hours. After a race, Tobey's former rival Dino Brewster conscripts them into completing the build of a rare Ford Shelby Mustang worked on by the late

Carroll Shelby Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified dur ...

, in exchange for 25% of the car's sales revenue. The completed Mustang is displayed for auction at a party in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Tobey and Dino meet Julia, an English car broker whose client, Bill Ingram, wants to purchase the car if they can prove it will drive over 230 mph, as Tobey claims. Despite Dino's objections, Tobey takes the Mustang to a local race track and successfully drives it at 234 mph, convincing Ingram to purchase it for $2.7 million. Enraged by Tobey's disobedience to his objections, Dino challenges Tobey and his friend Pete to a race after Pete flatly tells Dino that everyone knows Tobey is a better driver than him. Dino offers to relinquish his entire share of the Mustang sale if Tobey wins, otherwise Tobey will have to forfeit his share. He challenges them to race with his uncle's three Koenigsegg Agera R cars illegally imported from Europe. On the home stretch, realizing he is going to lose, Dino intentionally bumps into Pete's car, sending it down a ravine and killing Pete as it bursts into flames. Dino disappears from the scene, while Tobey is arrested by the police and sentenced to two years in prison for involuntary manslaughter, unable to prove Dino was there. Upon his release on parole, Tobey sets out to avenge Pete's death. He borrows Ingram's Mustang to enter the De Leon, a winner-takes-all

exotic car A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

organized by the mysterious Monarch, but as a condition, Ingram requires Julia to accompany Tobey while Tobey is driving the Mustang. The pair have 45 hours to reach

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

before the race starts. In

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, they cause an interstate chase with the

Michigan State Police The Michigan State Police (MSP) is the state police agency for the U.S. state of Michigan. The MSP is a full-service law enforcement agency, with its sworn members having full police powers statewide. The department was founded in 1917 as a wart ...

and upload the footage. Dino offers his rare Lamborghini Sesto Elemento to anyone who can stop Tobey entering the race, causing a group of truckers to go after the Mustang as well. Julia retaliates by convincing Monarch of Tobey's innocence, securing his invitation to the De Leon. In

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, Tobey and Julia are ambushed by truckers, forcing them off the road. Benny, a member of Tobey's crew, appears in a military helicopter stolen from the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, and carries the Mustang mid-air to Tobey's crew at the

Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bur ...

, getting himself arrested in the process. Tobey and Julia reach San Francisco's Mark Hopkins Hotel in time to register for the race, but on

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highes ...

, a tow truck smashes into the Mustang, wrecking it and injuring Julia. Desperate to get another car for the race, Tobey meets Dino's fiancée Anita, his ex-girlfriend and Pete's sister. Having discovered Dino's involvement in Pete's death, Anita gives Tobey the location of Dino's hidden Koenigsegg, which Tobey and crew member Joe extract. Tobey meets Julia at a San Francisco hospital, confessing his feelings for her with a kiss and letting her know that he has a "fast" car, and that this is for Pete. The next morning, Tobey surprises Dino by showing up in the red Koenigsegg he drove that killed Pete, and giving him Anita's engagement ring, informing Dino that she is through with him. Besides the Koenigsegg and Dino's Lamborghini, the other participating cars and drivers include: :*Texas Mike's

McLaren P1 The McLaren P1 is a limited-production mid-engine plug-in hybrid sports car produced by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Automotive. Debuted at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, sales of the P1 began in the United Kingdom in October 2013 and all ...

:*Johnny V's

GTA Spano The Spania GTA Spano is a limited-production sports car produced by Spanish automobile manufacturer Spania GTA, a sister company to GTA Motor Competición. Only 99 units of the GTA Spano are expected to be built. Development After 15 years o ...

:*The Gooch's Saleen S7 Twin Turbo :*English Paul's Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport In the ensuing race along the Pacific Coast Highway, the racers and pursuing

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enforcem ...

officers crash one-by-one, leaving Tobey and Dino racing side-by-side. Dino attempts to ram Tobey the same way he killed Pete, but Tobey dodges, causing Dino to crash and flip over. Tobey pulls Dino from the wreckage before reaching the finish line, but not without punching Dino to avenge Pete; both are subsequently apprehended by the police, with Dino eventually convicted of the murder of Pete. 178 days later, Tobey is released, and Julia meets him at the prison gates in a 2015 Ford Mustang. The couple drives to a prison in Utah, where Benny is getting released early for good behavior.

Cast

as Tobey Marshall: a

blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...

mechanic and skilled former race car driver from Mount Kisco, New York who is framed for a federal crime he didn't commit. *

as Dino Brewster: a former Indy racer and Tobey's fierce rival. * Imogen Poots as Julia Maddon: a savvy exotic car broker, who becomes Tobey's love interest. *

as Sergeant Benny "Maverick" Jackson: a member of Tobey's crew, and a former National Guard soldier. He is a pilot, able to fly small aeroplanes and helicopters, and is often called "Liar One" because fellow crew members don't believe he can fly a military helicopter, which he later proves. He owns a

Cessna 182 The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engined light airplane built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats in the baggage area. Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a ...

. * Ramon Rodriguez as Joe "Beasty" Peck: a member of Tobey's crew. He is the crew's professional mechanic, and drives a modified 2011 Ford F-450 called "The Beast". * Rami Malek as Finn: a member of Tobey's crew. He serves as the crew's computer expert, monitoring cameras to record races. *

as "Monarch": a reclusive and eccentric host of an "underground"

supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

race competition, De Leon. He operates from a lighthouse on a small farm where he lives. *

Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, she made her film debut at age ten with a minor role in the dark comedy film ''Crazy in Alabama'' (1999) with her mothe ...

as Anita Coleman: Pete's older sister, Tobey's former girlfriend and Dino's fiancée. * Harrison Gilbertson as Pete Coleman: Anita's younger brother and Tobey's protégé and friend.

Production

In July 2012,

DreamWorks Studios DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

was committed to a film based on the ''

Need for Speed ''Need for Speed'' (''NFS'') is a racing game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Criterion Games, the developers of ''Burnout''. The series generally centers around illicit street racing and tasks players to co ...

'' series of video games by

, initially with a release date of February 7, 2014, and later March 14, 2014. Brothers George and John Gatins had written a script that was being shipped to studios by April of that year.

Taylor Kitsch Taylor Kitsch (born April 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor and model who has portrayed Tim Riggins in the NBC television series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). He has also worked in films such as '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' (2009), ''Battle ...

was offered the lead role in July 2012, though the role eventually went to

that October. Paul had originally auditioned for the role of Dino Brewster, although director Scott Waugh and DreamWorks head Steven Spielberg decided against that and cast him as the lead. The same month, Imogen Poots was cast as the female lead. In January 2013,

, Ramón Rodríguez, Rami Malek and Harrison Gilbertson were cast in the film.

was cast in February 2013.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began in Macon, Georgia, in mid-April 2013. Other filming locations include

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

Braselton, Georgia Braselton ( ) is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 7,511, and in 2018 the estimated population was 11,6 ...

, on May 12, 2013, the 13th Street Bridge in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

and Phenix City, Alabama, and Campus Martius in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, beginning on June 1, 2013. Other production locations include sections of California's Highway 1 north of Point Arena, the

Point Arena Light Point Arena Light is a lighthouse in Mendocino County, California, United States, two miles (3 km) north of Point Arena, California. It is approximately north of San Francisco, in the Fort Point Group of lighthouses. The lighthouse featur ...

house, and Highway 253 between Boonville and Ukiah; and also Highway 128, between the town of Navarro and the Navarro Bridge linking Highway 128 North to Highway 1 South to Point Arena. For the film's chase sequences, the filmmakers decided against the use of computer-generated imagery, instead employing practical effects, which required the cast to receive extensive driving lessons. All of the exotic cars seen in the film (with the exception of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Roadster) were kit car replicas.

Marketing and release

On September 25, 2013, a trailer for the film was released on iTunes.

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

and DreamWorks announced the film's post-production conversion to 3D on February 5, 2014. ''Need for Speed'' held its world premiere at the

TCL Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre (branded as TCL Chinese Theatre for naming rights reasons) is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. The original Chinese T ...

on March 7, 2014. The film was released by

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...

through the Touchstone Pictures banner on March 14, 2014, in selected 3D, IMAX, and conventional 2D theaters. It was also released worldwide by Disney, except for territories in Europe, Africa and Middle East, where the rights are sold by

Mister Smith Entertainment Mister Smith Entertainment is a British film distribution company involved in the acquisition, financing, production, licensing and distribution sales of films for the global theatrical market. Co-founded by David Garrett and Constantin Film, Mi ...

to other industries.

Reliance Entertainment Reliance Entertainment Pvt Ltd is an Indian media and entertainment company. It is a division of Reliance Group, handling its media and entertainment business, across content and distribution platforms. The company was founded on 15 February 20 ...

had released the film in India, while

Entertainment One Films Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...

released it in the United Kingdom. ''Need for Speed'' was released by Touchstone Home Entertainment on Blu-ray Disc,

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and 3D Blu-ray on August 5, 2014.

Reception

Box office

''Need for Speed'' grossed $43.6 million in North America and $159.7 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $203.3 million. In North America, it topped the box office with $6.7 million on its opening Friday, March 14, 2014. However, the film finished in third place over the three-day weekend with $17.8 million. Outside North America, the film debuted in first place with $45.6 million on the same weekend as its North America release. It remained in first place for a second weekend. Overall, the film's largest territory is China, where both the film's opening weekend ($21.1 million) and its total earnings ($66.2 million) are higher than in North America. Following these two territories in total earnings is Russia and the CIS with $13.8 million.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "With stock characters and a preposterous plot, this noisily diverting video game adaptation fulfills a ''Need for Speed'' and little else." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a score of 39 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Michael Phillips of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, remarking that "Paul has talent, though the actor's idea of simmering intensity in the context of ''Need for Speed'' comes off more like a serial killer in the making. Cooper, by contrast, seems to be having some fun playing a dashing, dastardly, sexy beast." Phillips added, "At its occasional best, the thrills in the film recall the delirious fun of the ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...

'' franchise." Betsy Sharkey of ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' felt similarly, writing "In trying for the vicarious varoom of the street-racing video game that inspired it, and no doubt dreaming of ''Fast'' success, ''Speed'' clocks in at a long two-plus hours and falls painfully short." Jason Torchinsky of the automotive blog

Jalopnik G/O Media Inc. is an American media holding company that runs ''Gizmodo'', ''Kotaku'', ''Jalopnik'', '' Deadspin'', ''Lifehacker'', '' Jezebel'', '' The Root'', '' The A.V. Club'', ''The Takeout'', '' The Onion'', and ''The Inventory''. Hist ...

decried the movie for insulting gearheads with its far-reaching suspension of disbelief on many plot points and tropes and stated the film was nothing more than a glorified car commercial for the 2015 Ford Mustang. Danny Korecki of automotive outlet The Drive discussed the thought that the Need for Speed film may have been better had it been a TV series. A.O. Scott of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' gave a more positive review, praising the film's car chase sequences, while declaring the overall film "an energetic, unpretentious B movie".

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack, composed by Nathan Furst, was released by

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...

on March 14, 2014. Interscope Records released a separate EP on April 8, 2014, which featured four songs; "

Fortunate Son "Fortunate Son" is a song by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival released on their fourth studio album, ''Willy and the Poor Boys'' in November 1969. It was previously released as a single, together with "Down on the Corner", in ...

" and " Back in the Saddle" by

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles " I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in t ...

, "

All Along the Watchtower "All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, '' John Wesley Harding'' (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original ve ...

" by Jamie N Commons, and "Hero" by Kid Cudi featuring

Skylar Grey Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Mazomanie, Wisconsin. In 2004, at the age of 17, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music ...

. Linkin Park's song "Roads Untraveled" from their 2012 album '' Living Things'' was also featured in the film. Score performed by a 77-piece The Angel City Studio Orchestra: 60-piece string orchestra conducted by Tim Davis and 17 musicians on brass section consists 8 French horns, three trumpets, five trombones and one tuba conducted by Suise Benchasil Seiter.

Track listing

Cancelled sequel

In 2015,

China Movie Channel China Movie Channel (), the trade name of (), an agency at the Chinese Government's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. In mainland China, the agency provides programming to the China Central Television chann ...

and Jiaflix Enterprises teamed up with

EA Games Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

to develop a sequel with the film to be set and shot in China. However, as of 2022, no progress has come of the sequel, indicating its possible cancellation.

Notes

References

External links

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