Movie Review: Need for Speed

Need for Speed
DreamWorks SKG, Reliance Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Bandito Brothers, USA, UK, France, Philippines, 2014.

Based on the "Need For Speed" racing video game series.

I feel the need...the need for speed!

Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is a rising racer but struggling with money troubles. He earns extra bucks in illegal street races. Rich boy Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper) hires Tobey and his mechanics to build a Ford Mustang Shelby. Mr. Ingram's (Stevie Ray Dallimore) buying agent Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots) wants Tobey to show if the car is really as fast as Tobey says it is. However Dino is annoyed that Tobey is better driver than he, so he challenges Tobey. 

Tobey Marshall

Dino Brewster

Mr. Ingram and Julia Maddon

In the following race with Koenigsegg Agera super cars Dino pushes Tobey's friend Little Pete (Harrison Gilbertson) off the road and Pete dies. Dino escapes and Tobey goes to jail for two years. Meanwhile Dino also steals Tobey's girlfriend Anita (Dakota Johnson). Tobey wants revenge and also to clear his name.

Anita

Ford Mustang Shelby

Monarch

Mystical millionaire Monarch (Michael Keaton), who is kind of homage to the DJ from "Vanishing Point", is arranging De Leon Race for the best street racers. Tobey makes a deal with Mr. Ingram so he can borrow the Mustang. But he needs also an invitation to the race, so he must gain attention and drive across the USA in 45 hours while evading cops. Julia comes along. First their cooperation has a rough start, but not surprisingly they begin to like each other. Tobey's pals pilot Benny Jackson (Scott Mescudi a.k.a Kid Cudi) and mechanics Finn (Rami Malek) and Joe (Ramon Rodriguez) work as their support team.

Benny 'Maverick' Jackson

Finn and Joe

Guys playing Need for Speed (What else?)

Then Tobey hits the pedal to the metal until the foot almost goes through the car floor.

Cockpit views give video game style appearance

The plot goes roughly the video game career mode: in the first races older muscle cars are used, later the cars get more powerful and expensive. Although the story is basically the plot of "200 M.P.H." on steroids the racing scenes and crazy stunts make it worthwhile. Absurd plot and video game logic will deter those looking for intelligent entertainment but as a popcorn racing movie it works well. There is a bit cheesy drama and hit-or-miss jokes, but the main point is the exciting driving scenes with expensive supercars. Also Aaron Paul's and Imogen Poots' acting saves a lot. It is also a decent video game movie.

Rating: Good

Starring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Scott Mescudi, Rami Malek, Ramon Rodriguez, Harrison Gilbertson, Dakota Johnson, Stevie Ray Dallimore, Michael Keaton, Alan Pflueger, Brian L. Keaulana, Logan Holladay, Carmela Zumbado, Jalil Jay Lynch, Nick Chinlund, Chad Randall, Buddy Joe Hooker, Rich Rutherford, Tony Brakohiapa, Brent Fletcher, Paul Dallenbach, Kanin Howell, Michael Rose, Beth Waugh, E. Roger Mitchell, Antoni Corone, Frank Brennan, Tara Jones, Han Soto, Jill Jane Clements, Rick Shuster, John Gatins, Kerry Gatins, Adora Dei, Charles Black, Tierre Turner, Michael C. Smith, Tim Gilbert, Mike Massa, John Meier, Thomas Rosales Jr., Jacki Hill, Chloe Warren, Chelsea Small
Director: Scott Waugh

Movie Review: 200 M.P.H.

200 M.P.H. a.k.a Fast Drive
The Asylum, USA, 2011. 

Tom Merchant (Tommy Nash) gets a job as manager and gets a cool sports car. He and his little brother Rick (Jaz Martin, British actor who has appeared in "Emmerdale") are also street racers. Rival racer and gangsta Kayce (Darren Anthony Thomas) challenges Tom. Tom accepts so that he can pay Rick's tuition fees if he wins. Tom crashes his car and dies. Kayce bribes the cops so he can't be accused. Rick wants revenge. Together with his friends Kelly (Hennely Jimenez), Albert (Jared Kahn) and Phong (Zedrick Restauro) he builds a custom MX-5 car that he plans to use to beat Kayce.

Rick and Tom

Kayce

Phong and Albert

Officer Flynn (Paul Logan, TR-4 from "The Terminators") is not tolerant to illegal street racers. Well, at lest others than Kayce, as he is a dirty cop. Latino thug Domingo Juarez (Mack-b) helps Rick to add a nitro booster to the car but things do not go as planned.

Kelly

Claudia

Flynn

As a curiosity Rick's girlfriend Claudia (AnnaMaria Demara) is a stripper and so is his mother Debbie (Janet Tracy Keijser). They even work in the same bar. Now is that awkward or what? Their presence gives a reason to add some dull drama.

Rick and Tom with their rides

Debbie

This is The Asylum piggybacking "Fast and the Furious" series but with zero budget making a formulaic movie without the spectacularity of the big budget action films or the charismatic actors. The racing scenes in the beginning and the end are acceptable for the low budget but the CGI-effects are rubbish. Except for some rare cases the acting feels as if  the actors are reading their lines from the paper. Also the same driving scenes are copy-pasted over and over again.

CGI is laughable

This is not really recommendable even for the most hardcore car fanatics, except for purpose of racing movie drinking game. In IMDB car enthusiasts chewed the film apart for inaccuracies in car specs. As a bonus I present here Car Movie Bingo for your delight:

Still it is mind boggling how similar the plot of this film is to "Need for Speed" (2014).

Rating: Bad

Starring: Jaz Martin, Hennely Jimenez, AnnaMaria Demara, Darren Anthony Thomas, Zedrick Restauro, Jared Kahn, Paul Logan, Janet Tracy Keijser,Tommy Nash, Sam Aaron, Cleo Berry, Mack-b, Pason, Sean Cory Cooper, Meredith Thomas, Michael Gaglio, Jadarrel Belser, Damien Collins, Joe Dioletto, Leslie Gamero, David Dustin Kenyon, Justin Kleiman, Brian Koger, Omar Nazel, Patrick O'Keefe, Josue Zeta Rojas, Brandon Thomas, Chris Trouble Delfosse

Director: Cole S. McKay

Movie Review: Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road
Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, Kennedy Miller Productions, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, South Africa, Australia, USA, 2015. 

Several years after nuclear war and the collapse of civilization Max (Tom Hardy) is haunted by all the lives he could not save. He is abducted and forced to become a blood donor for army of despotic ruler Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). Joe oppresses the people who have to worship him as a god. Joe's most trusted warrior Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) steals something from Joe, so Joe sends his army after her. Max is taken along as a living blood bag. 

Max

Imperator Furiosa

Immortan Joe

Max manages to escape and reluctantly allies with Furiosa and her cargo. Joe's allies the Bullet Farmers and the Gas Towners join the chase. Trip through hellish landscape can start. The odds are against Max and Furiosa but sometimes allies can come from surprising people. 

Compared to the original trilogy there are some differences in the timeline as in the first movie Max was somewhere between 20 and 30, and it is implicated that over twenty years have passed since the apocalypse so Max should be middle-aged now. Now he looks quite young for his age. Also the fate of some characters is left on the cutting table (the deleted scenes extras reveal some of the mysteries).

Doomsday rally

Miller takes the elements of one of the most influential post-apocalyptic action films "Mad Max: The Road Warrior" and makes it even more insane. Mutant freak bad guys, crazy acrobatic henchmen and badass vehicles. Couple of the vehicles seem to be inspired by spiked VW Beetle from "The Cars that ate Paris." There are war drummers and a blind dude playing electric guitar. And biker grannies. The CGI-enhanced action scenes use refreshing amount of real vehicles and stunts. The action scenes look epic and fill most of the film's duration, this is like "Hard Boiled" of car chase movies.

Nux

Spiked Beetle

After the energetic start there comes tranquil moments crucial to character development and the Mad Max Universe. Beneath all the craziness lies an inspirational story with even some touching scenes. The heroes are all in someway damaged or abused and have lost their humanity and reason to live, just trying to stay alive. In the beginning Max is an hunted animal caring nothing else than surviving. Furiosa is chasing dream that proves to be false. It is interesting to see how the trust between Max and Furiosa rises through their mutual actions after a rough start. Strong emotions are expressed with minimal dialogue. Unlikely alliances form and War Boy Nux (Nicholas Hoult) rises from fanatical foot soldier to tragic heroic figure. At first Nux is brainwashed by Joe and he seeks only heroic death on the Fury Road. In the end Max finds a temporary reason to help others to avoid the path he has chosen for himself and his demons of his past seem to accept the decision. Furiosa finds a more realistic dream and Nux finds a real reason to fight for. Furiosa goes straight in the pantheon of great action-film female heroes.

In the era of generic looking action epics, newest Mad Max is an insanely energetic action film that has not sacrifized the quirky Australian style of the prequels.

My ranking of the Mad Max movies:

1. Road Warrior
2. Fury Road
3. Beyond Thunderdome
4. Mad Max

Rating: Very good

Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Josh Helman, Nathan Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, John Howard, Richard Carter, Iota, Angus Sampson, Jennifer Hagan, Megan Gale, Melissa Jaffer, Melita Jurisic, Gillian Jones, Joy Smithers, Antoinette Kellermann, Christina Koch, Jon Iles, Quentin Kenihan, Coco Jack Gillies, Chris Patton, Stephen Dunlevy, Richard Norton, Vincent Roxburgh, John Walton, Ben Smith-Petersen, Russ McCarroll, Judd Wild, Elizabeth Cunico, Greg van Borssum, Robert Jones, Sebastian Dickins, Darren Mitchell, Crusoe Kurddal, Shyan Tonga, Cass Cumerford, Albert Lee, Riley Paton, Ripley Voeten, Macyn Van Borssum, Hunter Stratton Boland, Nathan Jenkins, Fletcher Gill, Whiley Toll, Ferdinand Hengombe, Gadaffi Davsab, Noddy Alfred, Jackson Hengombe, Christian Fane, Callum Gallagher, Abel Hofflin, Lee Perry 

Director: George Miller