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When the first trailer for the Need for Speed movie dropped in 2014, the internet did what it does best: it scoffed. After the massive, globe-trotting success of the Fast & Furious franchise, the idea of another street racing movie seemed redundant. Critics dismissed it as a "carbon copy" or a "videogame movie curse" victim.

But if you love the sound of a supercharger whine, if you remember playing Hot Pursuit on PlayStation 2 until 3 AM, or if you are simply tired of cars flying through space—give this film a shot.

It is The Cannonball Run meets The Count of Monte Cristo . It’s simple. It’s visceral. And it works. This is the hill I will die on. Fast & Furious is fun, but it has become a superhero franchise. Cars fly between skyscrapers. Dom Toretto flexes his way out of a burning helicopter.

Need for Speed did the opposite.

If you skipped it because you thought it was just a two-hour commercial for EA Games, it’s time to buckle up. Here is why this film deserves a second lap. Forget spies, heists, or saving the world from nuclear bombs. Need for Speed goes back to the basics of the video game franchise: a lone driver, a cross-country race, and a score to settle.

8/10 (Add 2 points if you watch it with a surround sound system.)

Director Scott Waugh made a radical decision: They built custom camera cars. They attached IMAX cameras to the sides of Koenigseggs. When a Mustang flips off a highway overpass at 100mph, a stunt driver actually flipped a Mustang off a highway overpass.