Need for Speed (2014)

Elevator Pitch: Despite rivalry between them, professional racing driver Dino persuades Tobey Marshall, the owner of a tune-up garage to rebuild a Shelby Mustang, and thereafter race a trio of supercars for its ownership. During the race one of Tobey’s guys is killed, effectively by Dino, but Tobey is jailed for manslaughter. When Tobey comes out of jail, Julia, who has brokered the purchase of the Mustang, turns up in it, offering Tobey the chance to enter a race in California if they can cross the country in 48 hours. Supported by Tobey’s crew and with the help of a guy spotting for them from the air they take up the challenge. Will they make it?

Content: No sex or frontal nudity. A bit of drinking but no drug taking or smoking. A succession of road races take place, usually with crashes and cars bursting into flames. On the cross country trek a lot of shots of the Mustang from the air and some crashing police cars. Dino and Tobey glare at each other a lot. Julia and Tobey are attracted to each other. Monarch, a web based racing commentator, is seem at his console making smart remarks.

A View: Although this was a really terrible film I was oddly attracted to it, maybe because the shots of the cars were so good. The Mustang speeding across the desert in Utah was wonderful. Imogen Poots had some terrible lines but she and Aaron Paul managed to indicate attraction to each other without actually doing anything.  Even so this is not really a film for anyone other than petrol heads, but if you are one, it rivals Fast & Furious at times.

Other car based films you might try. The original F&F, The Fast and the Furious, Baby Driver, Le Mans ’66 about the Ford GT40.