A few days ago, another full length trailer for the new Need for Speed movie was released. I remember playing the video games when I was younger and loving the arcade-like action and high speed crashes that resulted in nothing worse than a few seconds penalty while your car magically righted itself in the center of the track and flashed back to life. Nothing against Gran Turismo and other “driving simulators”, but sometimes you just want to blow by the cops at one hundred miles per hour in Los Angeles in your Ferrari. Unless you’re Justin Bieber and can make up some lame story about being chased by the paparazzi, the closest you will get to this without a night spent in jail is popping a copy of Need for Speed into your Playstation or Xbox.
This latest trailer displays the standard Hollywood “action car movie” elements that have become the new reality in our post-Fast and the Furious movie world: Expensive, fast cars chasing other expensive, fast cars, explosions, improbable jumps and rollovers, manual transmissions that seem to have sixteen forward gears, and conveniently scheduled underground street races that may or may not result in blowing the welds off of the intake manifold of the hero’s car. All of this is then tied together with a smoke-thin plot that revolves around one man’s quest to defeat The Man, which more often than not is some variation on the local police force, the federal government, a crime kingpin/drug lord, or, if available, The Rock.
Sometimes this basic formula works: The 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds is on my “Don’t change the channel if it’s on while it’s raining outside” list, and the original Fast and the Furious isn’t THAT bad in retrospect (Ok, I’m a F&F apologist and have watched all of the movies. I may even own one or two of them. Admitting you have a problem is the first step towards recovery).
Other times, it’s really bad (Even I can’t defend the hot mess that was 2Fast2Furious).
Hollywood hasn’t yet found a way to convince an audience to pay $10-12 to watch a pre-recorded video of someone playing an actual driving video game, so the Need for Speed movie looks to be following the formulaic plot outlined above.
In this case it may not have been possible to write a better plot, as it’s based on a game franchise that itself barely has any story other than what is necessary to explain why you are racing through the streets of London against several other supercars (Maybe this is self-explanatory? I know that the first thing I’d like to do with a Veyron is the exact opposite of sedately driving through Boston while obeying all posted traffic laws).
With the rare exception of 2011’s Drive, I can’t think of any action movies in recent history that provided more than the bare bones needed to carry the film from car chase to car chase. When film makers try to provide the back story that puts the audience in touch with the man behind the machine, they always seem to resort to a documentary format. Don’t get me wrong, Senna is absolutely brilliant and has a permanent spot on my Netflix queue along with Love the Beast, but neither are major motion pictures. There is hope in the form of 2013’s Rush, which managed to tell a complete story without any cameos from The Rock or Vin Diesel while also garnering critical acclaim, and with any luck the upcoming Carroll Shelby piece and the rumored film about Phil Hill will be just as good.
That said, where are all of the good car action movies for audiences that want plot along with their action? I’m not asking for the automotive version of Casablanca, but I’ll even take some off the wall modern day version of Vanishing Point if it’s thought-provoking enough. And no, that garbage 1997 remake with the dude from the Lord of the Rings doesn’t cut it. I don’t think that asking for a gripping plot and character development that expands beyond “Yo mama” jokes with your fellow underground street racers is unreasonable. There are plenty of thrillers and whatnot being produced by Hollywood each year, but us gearheads seem to be stuck with the same F&F clones.
So what’s the deal? Am I expecting too much whenever I watch the trailer for a new car movie?
If you stuck with me through this rant, here’s your reward in the form of the latest Need for Speed trailer. Who am I kidding? I’ll be watching it anyways.
Dave, you are getting upset about a movie that isn’t made for you, or any other adult gearhead. These movies and the like of the F&F franchise are made for teenage boys, ages 13-19. The ones that would pay to see these movies more than once in the theater. The ones that think stupid, unrealistic car chases, jumps and drifting in crowded downtown Tokyo is actually cool. The moronic plot lines and one liners reflect the crowd that Hollywood is going for in the movies.
Don’t waste your breath getting peeved that these movies suck to any car guy. They are not made for you. Hollywood is too stupid to make a smart, realistic car movie anyways. Hollywood execs have never been to real race, swap meet, or even a car show at the local burger joint; so what the hell do they know? They do see their idiot kids playing those video games and yelling how cool it was they just got their Nissan GTR to do a double gainor off the building.
My suggestion, Dave, is for you to write a script and pitch around the studios. I wish you the best of luck and hope you can sell it.
YEP,,,,,,LAME FOR SURE. EVERYTHING TURNS OUT SO HOKEY NOW DAYS.
I haven’t seen it yet but, I have high hopes for the “Snake & Mongoose Movie”
I just received “Clutch” but haven’t had time to watch it yet…. anyone seen it?
I saw the movie Rush, and have to say it was an amazing movie. The details were spot-on, the story was real and well told. My wife even enjoyed the movie. I have yet to see Snake and the Mongoose, but have heard from friends that it too is well done and authentic.
On a side note, alot of people do not realize that there was a second American Grafitti film call More American Grafitti. My wife bought me the box set a few years ago, and I think that the second movie way actually better than the first.
The second american graffitti was only good during milners racing and toad trying to get out of nam.
First off, this isn’t a “car movie.” It wasn’t meant for gearheads. Its a VIDEO GAME movie, ’cause all the ridiculousness in that trailer was typical gameplay from ANY of the Need for Speed games. Like Scott said, its aimed at the age range that play the games, while hoping to suck in a few auto enthusiasts. ‘Cause once they get that ticket price outta you, they don’t give a damn about your opinion.
Don’t take it for anything more than another smash ’em up full of special effects fluff.
The best car movies I’ve seen this year are “Snake and Mongoose” and “Rush”, and I would go see them again and buy the DVD’s when they come out.
I agree with you Dave, I would like to see a modern version of Vanishing Point.
I like it. I dont care what you guys think about it. Cool cars doing stupidly impossible stuff is still cool in my book. If you think about it, its no different than any other action flick. Not much of anything done in action movies is humanly possible.
Saw the last Fast & Furious on a plane a few weeks ago and this one looks just as stupid. Goin’ way back, I liked “Fast Company” with William Smith.
Every time the main character speaks, he sounds as if he’s trying to be Clint Eastwood. Movie looks as lousy as his voice.
California kid, with martin sheen. was kind of corny, but still for the day was a great movie.
thanks for this story Bangshift…you just made me watch Clutch… Story is okay, not high end but the cars are very cool (trans-am style stuff) and pretty accurate, no fake F&F races (which I like to watch too on occasion)
The original “Gone in 60 Seconds” is still the king. 0% CGI, 100% Bad Ass!
You can’t hate the Need For Speed Franchise in gaming. A new game every November since whenever. They have begun to swing in ever widening arcs between Fantasy and Street Racing and Reality and Track Racing, grounding themselves with the Sim-Ish yet fun Shift Games. This movie is obviously of the Fantasy variety. Hopefully we can see a NFS Shift Movie soon as well. Personally I feel they hit the best balance with NFS Pro Street way back in 2007, but I still check out the new ones to see the Tech progress. The graphics get so good you can’t help but feel some pulse acceleration.