Need for Speed
Director: Scott Waugh
Starring: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots
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It takes a lot for a film based on a video game to impress a crowd these days, given the advancements in gaming technology. But despite its clichéd elements, Need for Speed's adrenalin-fuelled stunt fest is an unequivocal thrill. Starring Aaron Paul, it's fiercely entertaining, loaded with beautiful cars, winding roads and racers in leather coats. Following a prison sentence for a crime he didn't commit, the mechanic Tobey (Paul) is determined to get revenge on Dino (Dominic Cooper), the man who framed him. To do so, Tobey battles Dino in a high-stakes race dubbed the De Leon. The plot is heavy with questionable logic and monotonous dialogue – and often attempts to be a dramatic thriller, even if it's best when consciously comical. But overall, this flashy underworld of supercharged machinery and intense action is a blast.
[ artslife@thenational.ae ]
