When you think of video game franchises that could be adapted into successful movies, Need For Speed isn’t necessarily one that springs to mind straight away. Not known for its overall story arcs, the Need For Speed franchise certainly places its focus on the cars and adrenaline rush of avoiding cops etc. To that end, the excitement and thrill of playing such a game should translate well to the big screen and director Scott Waugh has a lot to work with visually, and it’ll be interesting to see George Gatins’ script and the overall storyline they’ve attached to the well-known franchise.
From the casting to the trailers, we’ve picked out our Top 5 things that have got us excited about the release of Need For Speed (12A) this 12 March.
1. Aaron Paul
Perhaps the most obvious pick by far, the man formerly known as Jesse Pinkman is setting his sights on Hollywood dominance after lighting up the small screen in Breaking Bad. News has filtered through that he’ll even be taking on the Reasonably Priced Car challenge on Top Gear soon! An actor whose career is certainly on the up, Aaron has won legions of fans with his willingness to cooperate with numerous requests to call them ‘bitch’ and a general enthusiasm and love for life displayed at award ceremonies and the like. Much like fellow actor Tom Hiddleston, Aaron Paul simply comes across as a genuine, likeable and funny guy who everyone loves to watch. Need For Speed gives him the opportunity to lead a movie and hopefully his usual A-grade acting ensure a top-notch movie.
2. Cars, cars and more cars
In a movie like Need For Speed, the cars can be just as important characters as the acting talent. While the Fast And Furious franchise moves away from its original car-based roots towards the action genre, Need For Speed has the opportunity to deliver that adrenaline rush to petrol heads around the world. From a Ford Mustang to a 68 Gran Torino, the film looks packed with spectacular chase scenes and a wide variety of four-wheeled fiends that look good and drive even better.
3. Less CGI, more real stunts
We can’t deny that as an audience we love the idea of real stunts rather than everything being computer-generated in post-production. There’s just something far more exciting about filmmaking when it’s as real as possible, and Need For Speed aims to deliver as authentic an experience as possible. It may have been expensive to have cars specially built, but director Waugh wanted to capture the real danger of illegal street racing, and the only way to do that was crashing kit cars and specially adapted rarities. That’s suffering for art!
4. An eclectic cast
A pre-Fifty Shades Of Grey Dakota Johnson and the rarity that is Michael Keaton star in the film alongside homegrown talent Imogen Poots and Howard Stark himself Dominic Cooper. The quality of the cast certainly speaks for itself and gives the film added credibility. The idea of Aaron Paul tearing it up on screen with any of the above-mentioned actors is enough to get our interest!
5. Maybe we’ll get an adaptation into a video game
Yes, it might be a bit strange to adapt a video game into a movie and then adapt that into a video game, but the idea of controlling Aaron Paul and driving him around is sure to appeal to many people out there! Get a bonus RV in there and you’ve practically got a Breaking Bad video game ready made. If this happens now, I expect a cut… 😉
Need For Speed is out in the UK on 12 March 2014 & in the USA on 14 March 2014.
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