Review Roundup: NEED FOR SPEED Races Into Theaters

Dreamworks Pictures' NEED FOR SPEED marks an exciting return to the great car culture films of the 1960s and '70s, when the authenticity of the world brought a new level of intensity to the action on-screen.

The film centers around Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul), a blue-collar mechanic who races muscle cars on the side in an unsanctioned street-racing circuit. Struggling to keep his family-owned garage afloat, he reluctantly partners with the wealthy and arrogant ex-NASCAR driver Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper). But just as a major sale to car broker Julia Maddon (Imogen Poots) looks like it will save Tobey's shop, a disastrous race allows Dino to frame Tobey for a crime he didn't commit, and sending Tobey to prison while Dino expands his business out West.

Two years later, Tobey is released and set on revenge - but he knows his only chance to take down his rival Dino is to defeat him in the high-stakes race known as De Leon - the Super Bowl of underground racing. However to get there in time, Tobey will have to run a high-octane, action-packed gauntlet that includes dodging pursuing cops coast-to-coast as well as contending with a dangerous bounty Dino has put out on his car. With the help of his loyal crew and the surprisingly resourceful Julia, Tobey defies odds at every turn and proves that even in the flashy world of exotic supercars, the underdog can still finish first.

NEED FOR SPEED races into theaters nationwide today.

Let's see what the critics had to say:

Peter Travers | Rolling Stone

"What to say about a racing movie that's stuck in idle as drama? For starters, don't race to see it. (NEED FOR SPEED) stars Aaron Paul... a good actor... but he's not a screen-filling star... This stings because there's nothing to distract you from a plot so tired there are tire tracks from other racing movies all over it." Read the full review here.

Michael Phillips | Chicago Tribune

"When the actors are in cars, the movie's fun. When they get out to argue, or seethe, it's uh-oh time. Happily, director Scott Waugh comes out of the stunt world himself, and there's a refreshing emphasis on actual, theoretically dangerous stunt driving over digital absurdities." Read the full review here.

Ty Burr | Boston Globe

"If you know your muscle cars and supercars and don't care too much about other people, the movie will be your bottle of Yahoo, so pardon the rest of us if we look on these self-absorbed camshaft brats and wish them a speedy flat tire. Paul will survive but he's an actor who needs comedies, dramas, and other slow-moving vehicles." Read the full review here.

Joe Morgenstern | Wall Street Journal

"NEED FOR SPEED rides roughshod over morality. We're encouraged to laugh when a street racer in Mount Kisco (NY) destroys a homeless man's marketbasket and almost kills him. In California, police cars pursuing the outlaw racers are demolished, one after another, in horrific crashes and spinouts that could only be fatal." Read the full review here.

Scott Foundas | Variety

"To say that NEED FOR SPEED is one of the better movies derived from a videogame source may not sound like much of an endorsement given the competition (STREET FIGHTER, TEKKEN, SUPER MARIO BROS.), but it's an apt description of this mash note to the American muscle car in which high-flying stuntwork routinely trumps plot, plausibility or particularly memorable characters." Read the full review here.

Amy Nicholson | L.A. Weekly

"At least NEED FOR SPEED is the rare case where the press notes tell the truth. Allow me to quote: 'When EA first began thinking about the possibility of bringing their iconic video game to the big screen, they decided to take a proactive approach and not wait for the right script.'" Read the full review here.

Joe Neumaier | New York Daily News

"The action drama NEED FOR SPEED is like a great-looking roadster with a junky engine. This movie is so dumb for most of its running time, you walk away wishing there was less plot and pointless posing and more of the fuel-injected coolness that brought you to the multiplex in the first place." Read the full review here.

Jessica Herndon | Associated Press

"Despite its clichéd elements, this adrenaline-fueled stunt fest is an unequivocal thrill that deserves to be seen on the big screen. Starring 'BREAKING BAD's' Aaron Paul, NEED FOR SPEED is fiercely entertaining, loaded with beautiful cars, winding roads and racers in leather coats." Read the full review here.

Did you see NEED FOR SPEED this weekend? Add your review to the roundup in the comments below.

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