Fast Films: "Need For Speed" vs. "The Fast and the Furious"

    I grew up in Los Angeles, a city in which car culture is the name of the game; a place where a lot of people know and love their streets, highways, and especially their cars.  I’m also kind of a car guy.  I love cars.  I love looking at them and learning about them.  But I’m also a movies guy, and so when cars are put into movies, naturally, I’m drawn to them. 

     Since The Fast and the Furious came out in 2001, the series that has followed has been about cars; not just any normal cars, but cars that are made for street racing.  On March 14, a new film came out (that’s sure to have its share of sequels), Need for Speed, that’s sure to compete with The Fast and the Furious series that we are all quite familiar with by this point.  Both of these stories offer similar things, like cars and street racing, but they’re a lot more different than you might think.

     The first Fast and the Furious film took us to the streets of Los Angeles, where we met characters like, police officer Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker), an undercover cop, and Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), already involved in the underground street racing league.  The first three films introduce us to all the main and most important characters in the series while keeping the story about street racing.  By the fourth film, we see all of these characters, not just as street racers, but as a family; almost like a crime family constantly on the run from the law as the stakes of their races get even higher, and as they bring down drug lords.  This is where the story takes a different side.  It’s less about street racing and more about these characters bringing down drug lords.  Fast Five (the best one of the series in my opinion), takes them to the streets of Rio de Janeiro where they attempt to take down the biggest drug lord they’ve met, all while being chased by the FBI.  Fast and Furious 6, the newest film in the series, just released last year, is pretty much the same thing, only instead of in Brazil, the story takes place in Europe. 

      Throughout the series, we see as these characters all become like a family.  They are people the audience can rally behind and cheer for when they succeed and feel sorry when they fail.  But the street racing really happens in the beginning of the series.  And that, in my opinion, is the best part of the whole series.  I love watching the street races and I love seeing all the cars, especially with all their customization and after-market parts.  Street racing is the foundation for the series and it’s the foundation and the real story in the new film, Need for Speed.  

      Aaron Paul stars in this film, playing a street racer named Tobey Marshall from Mt. Kisco, New York, fresh out of prison.  He was framed for the death of his fellow mechanic and friend, named Pete (Harrison Gilbertson) who was killed in a street race involving him, Marshall and a business associate named Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper).  He intends to get revenge for Pete’s death by entering the Deleon, a secret race whose location is known only to its invitees, a race he knows Dino will be a part of.  The winner goes home with all the cars involved in the race.  And trust me, there are some sweet cars; close to $8 million worth of cars. 

       While there are fewer women in this film than there are in the Fast and the Furious series, all the characters in this film have the same family like dynamic that exists among the characters in that series.  They all are in the situation together as a singular unit, all rallying behind Marshall as he tries to avenge Pete’s death. 

        I pay more attention to production cars because those are cars that you can actually find and buy without going to underground dealers.  While these cars that are used in Need for Speed are quite rare (in some instances, less than 10 cars of a certain model exist in the entire world), they are still cars that if you look carefully for them and if you go to the right parts of town, can be found.  They can be more easily found if you go to your local auto show, depending on what city you live in.  You’ll find Bugattis, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and a whole lot of other cars that will make your jaw drop.  In The Fast and the Furious, the cars start out far less expensive than in Need for Speed, but are highly customized.  It is the contrary for Need for Speed. 

       So if you’re into cars, and some good racing action, these movies are not to be missed.  Also, a plus for Need for Speed, the new 2014 Ford Mustang, the 50^th anniversary model of Mustang, is unveiled in the last scene of the film.