Need For Speed (2014) - Scott Waugh

Blue-collar mechanic Tobey Marshall has never had a ton of money but along with his team of mechanics, he appears to do alright skillfully restoring and/or rebuilding muscle cars, as well as racing them.  When his garage comes under financial strain, Tobey reluctantly agrees to partner with the wealthy, incredibly arrogant driver Dino, who used to race in NASCAR.  After successfully restoring an extremely rare car as part of the deal, a tragedy strikes during a race between Dino and Tobey, with Dino framing Tobey for manslaughter.  Out of jail after servicing two years, Tobey is out for revenge.  Scott Waugh's Need For Speed is an incredibly silly, unnecessarily long cross-country action film that ultimately tries to take advantage of the success of the Fast and Furious franchise.  While that franchise has reached a fun level of self-awareness, Need For Speed takes itself way too seriously, with Aaron Paul's scowl doing its best to give the film some poignancy.  Need For Speed's narrative is very simplistic and doesn't come close to justifying its 130 minute running time.  The film plods along with very recognizable plot points one would expect, reaching the climatic final race between Dino and Tobey that unfortunately is one of the least interesting races of the film.  If there is one reason to see this movie it's Michael Keaton's performance, which almost, keyword ALMOST, makes this film bearable.  

---