Being successful on television is not a guarantee that you can parlay that success onto the big screen. It’s an undeniably true aspect of Hollywood that while some people may be fortunate enough to jump to and from the small and big screens with ease, encouraging audiences to make the leap with them, many others can only find true success in one medium.
One of the many thrills of the seminal AMC drama “Breaking Bad,” for example, was not just in watching Bryan Cranston, formerly so well-known for being so cartoonish and outrageous on the Fox sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,” evoke self-involved villainy as Walter White. It was also in watching Cranston’s co-star, Aaron Paul, as the hapless small-time meth dealer Jesse Pinkman, struggling to make a name for himself and potentially go straight, even as the man who would be Heisenberg dragged him further to the brink. Considering that there were only 62 episodes of “Breaking Bad” across a handful of years, it’s even more impressive that Paul was able to make clear to audiences and critics that he was an actor of immense talent and emotion, winning three Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor to boot. (In hindsight, it’s hard to believe three other actors almost played Pinkman instead.)
Award-winning though he was, however, Paul hasn’t quite ever made the successful leap to the big screen. It’s not for a lack of trying, though, when you think about the timing of his first big project post-“Breaking Bad.” On paper, it seemed like the kind of thing that shouldn’t have faltered. It was a genre film, specifically an action movie full of intense car-driven set pieces. Paul was surrounded by a talented ensemble, too; he could carry himself well as Jesse, but there’s no shame in working with a strong group of actors to make your work all the better. The film in question also had built-in name recognition, seeing as it was inspired by a popular set of video games.
Yes, the 2014 film “Need for Speed” sure seemed like it was destined to become a hit … but it actually proved to be a big-time swing and a miss (at least in the United States).
The Need for Speed movie had all the right ingredients
It’s easy enough to see why DreamWorks Pictures and the Walt Disney Company (through its Touchstone Pictures distribution arm) felt there was potential in turning the “Need for Speed” video games into a film. The games weren’t just about racing, but they focused specifically on illegal street racing — and when you think even for a second about the massive success Universal Pictures has enjoyed with the “Fast & Furious” franchise, it’s basically a no-brainer. Just as a studio will demand a sequel to a popular film if the first one does well enough, demanding more of the same, other studios will want to be copycats if they see a competitor do well with a formula that seems easy to replicate.
As a bonus, the “Need for Speed” video games also extend back to the mid-1990s, which means most audiences have at least a passing familiarity with them (even if they don’t fully understand why or how they do).
The film that sprouted from this copycat idea at least has an impressive cast, a few of whom were still early in their careers. Aside from Paul playing Tobey Marshall, a mechanic and street racer who yearns to clear his name for a crime he didn’t commit, there’s Imogen Poots as an exotic car seller and Paul’s love interest; Michael Keaton as a raffish and reclusive live-streamer who hosts the underground racing competition that Tobey participates in; a pre-“Fifty Shades of Grey” Dakota Johnson as Tobey’s ex; Dominic Cooper as Tobey’s main rival; and even a young, pre-“Mr. Robot” Rami Malek as one of Tobey’s associates. (Fun fact: while “Need for Speed” was Keaton”s first major video game project, he’d nearly starred in the notorious 1993 “Super Mario Bros.” film before it.)
Need for Speed was a critical and (domestic) box office disappointment
It’s worth noting that /FIlm actually gave “Need for Speed” a mildly positive review at the time of its release, although most critics were less kind to the film when it was hit theaters in March of 2014. Part of the issue with this film is simple: it’s just as ridiculous as the “Fast & Furious” films (at least before that latter property went even bigger and deliberately sillier with its latest entries), and yet nowhere near as fun. The premise of “Need for Speed,” in which Tobey is set up by his rival Dino (Cooper) for the death of his friend during a race that turns super-violent, is as intense and dour as possible, with Paul almost committing too much to making you feel the severity of his character’s loss and the cruelty of being accused of a crime he would never commit. No doubt Keaton as well as his fellow co-star Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi (who plays one of Tobey’s more comedic allies) are trying to be playful in their performances, but their tone doesn’t match the slower, turgid pacing of this 130-minute film — one that, sadly, doesn’t have enough cool car chases or action to offset the vibes.
Of course, a film not being successful with critics doesn’t mean a whit when it comes to the box office. But “Need for Speed” was one of those types of films where it all lined up. Just as critics were largely displeased with the film, audiences weren’t clamoring to see it … at least in the United States. The film didn’t open against massively heavy competition, just the repeat performances of the animated film “Mr. Peabody and Sherman” and the swords-and-sandals epic “300: Rise of an Empire.” Even so, “Need for Speed” failed to top the box office for its opening weekend, netting just $17.8 million stateside. When all was said and done, its domestic box office was over $43 million against a reported budget of $66 million.
Despite performing well overseas, Need for Speed never got a sequel
Now, fair is fair: as is the case with the “Fast & Furious” films, “Need for Speed” made a whole lot more money overseas, resulting in a total worldwide gross of $203.3 million. Because of that, plans for “Need for Speed 2” were actually announced in 2015. However, for various reasons, the project fell apart over the decade that followed, putting the future of the franchise to bed along with that of Paul’s film career. It didn’t help matters that the first movie’s American distribution arm, Touchstone Pictures, was on the verge of being permanently retired before its theatrical release anyway.
As for Paul? He’s had a reasonably successful post-“Breaking Bad” TV career since then. Soon after the failure of “Need for Speed,” he headed back to the small screen to serve as one of the main characters on the brilliant Netflix animated comedy “BoJack Horseman,” and subsequently showed up as a recurring character in later seasons of the HBO sci-fi drama “Westworld.” But his movie career hasn’t been all that impressive in comparison, despite him having appeared in a number of indies over the last few years.
That wasn’t for lack of trying, of course. If you watched “Breaking Bad,” you could see easily how immensely talented Paul was. The show’s genre trappings would’ve let many people to figure that if he successfully moved to films, Paul would’ve been in action movies and thrillers for years. But audiences just weren’t feeling the “Need for Speed,” so he quickly moved back to television for his future work.