Need For Speed (2014) Review Links

You always go back…You never leave a man behind.

From DreamWorks Pictures comes “Need for Speed,” a visceral and evocative return to the great car-culture movies of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Tapping into the significance of the car and the open road in American car culture and the freedom and individualism with which they both provide, the film is a story of honor, friendship and loyalty and the testosterone-fueled journey of one man looking for revenge and ultimately, redemption.

For Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul), who runs his family’s auto shop and races the underground street circuit with his buddies on weekends, life is good. But his whole world is turned upside down when he is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. In prison, he spends the next two years thinking about one thing: vengeance. While questioning the morals to which he has always adhered, he is nevertheless determined to bring down his enemies … no matter what the cost.

Based on the eponymous car racing video game franchise, “Need for Speed” captures the freedom and excitement of the game in a real-world setting while bringing a level of intensity and authenticity to the action on-screen.

The film stars Aaron Paul (two-time Emmy® winner for “Breaking Bad”), Dominic Cooper (“Captain America: The First Avenger”), Imogen Poots (“Fright Night”), Ramon Rodriguez (“Transformers”), Rami Malek (“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”), Scott Mescudi, Dakota Johnson (“21 Jump Street”), Harrison Gilbertson and Michael Keaton (“Batman”).

“Need For Speed” is presented by DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment, produced by Patrick O’Brien, John Gatins (Oscar®-nominee for “Flight”) and Mark Sourian (“Delivery Man”) and directed by Scott Waugh (“Act of Valor”). The screenplay is by George Gatins (“She’s Out of My League”). The story is by George Gatins & John Gatins, based on the video game series created by Electronic Arts. Executive producers are Stuart Besser (“3:10 to Yuma”), Scott Waugh, Max Leitman (“Act of Valor”), Frank Gibeau, Patrick Soderlund and Tim Moore (“Gran Torino”) with Shane Hurlbut (“Act of Valor”) serving as director of photography, Jon Hutman (“Rock of Ages”) as production designer, Ellen Mirojnick (“Cloverfield”) as costume designer and Paul Rubell (Oscar® nominee for “Collateral” and “The Insider”) and Scott Waugh as editors.

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