If you consider the 90 second trailer that came out in September just a teaser, then DreamWorks just released the first full-length official trailer for Need For Speed, their new upcoming action film based on the renowned auto racing videogame of the same name. And as the trailer illustrates, the film, like the game, appears to rely heavily on high-energy action sequences, which include a wide array of car chases (and corresponding wreckage) to drive an otherwise low-risk storyline.
In the film, Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) plays Tobey, an unjustly convicted streetcar racer who, after being released from prison, sets out to avenge the wrong done to him by rival and classic antagonist archetype Dino (played by Dominic Cooper). Adding to the tension is the intimate relationship between Dino and Tobey’s lover, played by Dakota Johnson (21 Jump Street, The Social Network), which formed in Tobey’s absence. In addition to the above-mentioned actors, the cast includes Michael Keaton (Batman, Jackie Brown), Kid Cudi, and Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later, V for Vendetta).
Not so surprisingly, the film is directed by a former stuntman, Scott Waugh, who due to his outspoken dissatisfaction with poorly executed stunt scenes which are commonplace in action films, made it a point to capture a great portion of the film’s action via real-life stunts rather than CGI.
In an interview with EW, the director justifies his resolve to put everything, including safety, on the line in order to get the shot, explaining, “Audiences know when things are fake. They know when they’re being lied to… I’m not shooting Two and a Half Men.”
The trailer below, a rapidly cut jumble of chaotic clips which include intense car races between Tobey and Dino, certainly reflects the filmmaker’s propensity toward action, stuntmanship and melodrama.
Commenting on the unique spirit of camaraderie invariably associated with such extreme action filmmaking, Paul, who did a large portion of his own stunt driving, claims “The community of stunt men and women is a family. During these big sequences there’s a silence that goes on around set… They’d huddle around and say ‘I’ll see you on the other side.’ It’s amazing what they do. To see that family and that brotherhood was a really cool thing.”
The film is set to make U.S. distribution by March 14th.
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