So the movie version of Need For Speed is about to be unleashed in the world, and finally the official reviews are in. The verdict?
Variety tells us, “Need For Speed is one of the better movies derived from a videogame source may not sound like much of an endorsement given the competition, but it’s an apt description of this mash not to the American muscle car in which high-flying stuntwork routinely trumps plot, plausibility or particularly memorable characters.” Variety also called it “modest, diverting fun.”
The Wrap was much more critical, writing, “Aaron Paul can’t get this vehicle off the lot,” and calling the film an “aggressively-idiotic video game adaptation.” The Hollywood Reporter also wasn’t terribly impressed and wrote, “You wouldn’t think a movie called Need For Speed would feel so slow..a flat, sexless movie that seems not to understand why people like to sit in the driver’s seat and rev that big engine.”
So Need For Speed will probably have a big opening weekend, although we’re not sure it’s going to have legs. It’s going to be another year before there’s another Fast and Furious movie, and maybe this will fill the gap for fans. At the same time, this certainly won’t be the game changer that will make video game movies the next hot genre. That’s probably at least a year or two away with World of Warcraft, or another big movie adaptation that could finally save the video game genre.