Need For Speed

Seems strange but Need For Speed is actually a decent adaptation of the videogame. It's almost a direct port: pink slips, cop chases, mysterious race organisers and all.

Unfortunately it also transfers over the game's lack of story.

You can count the number of good videogame films on the hand of someone who's had all their fingers cut off (Wreck-It Ralph and Scott Pilgrim don't count because they weren't existing franchises) but this kinda works if you go into it with the videogame knowledge that anything is possible.

You also need a dollop of salt to get over the mentality that 'everything ever must be solved by street racing' and that the whole film goes from 'convenient excuse to race to convenient excuse to race in slightly faster cars' but those who've played any of the games knows this is the drill.

The revenge story is believable largely thanks to Aaron Paul (who boosts an already considerable reputation here) but there are a few crater sized holes (why leave damning evidence on the desktop of your permanently unlocked computer?! Why not hand this over to the police seeing as your brother was killed?!) but if you like the sound of engine noises you can forgive that.

As far as car porn goes this is a winner, but it's certainly no Drive as far as story goes and certainly no Rush as far as making racing look sexy goes.

As a videogame port it's surprisingly good, as a car chase movie it's great but as a film? The engine noises and Chris Dayman's passion for it lift it.

3 stars ***