Need For Speed
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: March 14, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
39
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
19
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 17, 2014
Subtle it isn't. But the entertainment rev counter more or less keeps turning over. Read full review
60
TimeRichard CorlissMar 17, 2014
This is cinema reduced or distilled to its purest definition, of movies that move. If you want dewy humanity in your entertainment, watch Lifetime. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMar 13, 2014
An energetic, unpretentious B movie — the kind best seen at a drive-in like the one in an early scene — it is devoted, above all, to the delivery of visceral, kinetic excitement. Read full review
60
Film.comJames RocchiMar 12, 2014
A snoozy-but-diverting, lightly constipated B-movie. Read full review
60
VarietyScott FoundasMar 11, 2014
Paul plays the part with the flinty, tightly wound charisma of a small man who makes up in moxie what he lacks in stature. There’s something of the young James Cagney in him, and he’s by far the best thing Need for Speed has going for it. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyMar 14, 2014
Every stage of the race and chase is announced on a webcast conducted by the secret impresario of the illegal De Leon race, a billionaire car enthusiast known as the Monarch, who “nobody knows.” Actually, the Monarch is clearly visible in a corner of the computer screen and he’s played, with jive-spouting brio by Michael Keaton. Hey, the movie isn’t called Need for Logic. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 14, 2014
Though overlong and formulaic, two things keep this street-racing movie of interest all the way to the finish line. The first is Aaron Paul ("Breaking Bad"), a sensitive actor in his first major movie showcase. The second: some extraordinary racing sequences.
50
Portland OregonianJamie S. RichMar 14, 2014
Credit to Aaron Paul for fully committing to this ridiculousness. There isn’t a scene he doesn’t play with the utmost seriousness. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMar 13, 2014
Based on the popular video games, this is a movie with breathtakingly visceral racing scenes, and they are matched by a breathtakingly, breathtakingly terrible script. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyMar 13, 2014
Waugh has a good feel for the cars and action extremes, while director of photography Shane Hurlbut acquits himself nicely. But the screenplay written by George Gatins is full of potholes. Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMar 12, 2014
The cast doesn’t have the sassy swagger of the “Fast & Furious” crew. Paul, surrounded by co-stars of the same modest height, isn’t particularly charismatic in this setting. He’s not a natural “quiet tough guy.” But the actors are second bananas here — to the Koenigsegg Ageras, Saleens and Shelby Mustang that feed America’s Need for Speed, on screen and off. And the cars deliver. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyKeith StaskiewiczMar 12, 2014
A moderately popular racing series that the powers that be have tried to turn into a turbo-boosted stunt-car extravaganza of the same make and model as the "Fast & Furious" franchise. Read full review
40
EmpireJames DyerMar 17, 2014
Less a three-lane pile-up than a minor traffic violation in a residential area. Three points for Waugh, then, and a £60 fine. Read full review
40
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 14, 2014
If not for the "Fast and Furious" franchise, Need for Speed probably wouldn't exist outside of the video game series that inspired it. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyMar 13, 2014
The racing scenes are its one hope of reclaiming your attention, but there aren’t nearly enough of them to justify such a killing duration. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 12, 2014
If you like watching people drive really nice cars really fast, Need for Speed scratches that particular itch. But expect nothing more, because everything else about it is just running on empty. Read full review
40
Time Out LondonAnna SmithMar 12, 2014
After a creaky, clichéd start, Need for Speed picks up a bit. The script is still as corny as hell, but the chase scenes are pretty spectacular. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterMarc BernardinMar 11, 2014
Need For Speed is a flat, sexless movie that seems not to understand why people like to sit in the driver’s seat and rev that big engine: Because of the transgressive rumble in your nethers. Read full review
40
Total FilmJames MottramMar 10, 2014
The cars are hot, the action is decent, but the characters and plot need a serious tune-up. Read full review
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