Will ‘Need for Speed’ make the surge in racing films backfire?

This weekend, millions will turn out to see “Need for Speed,� DreamWorks’ heavily promoted, erratically constructed car-racing/man-on-a-mission movie. Or so the studio hopes.

With its Super Bowl ad and ABC prime-time tie-ins, distributor Disney has been pushing the pedal to make “Need for Speed� a broad hit. But just as important as (and, in fact, related to) the question of whether it can pull that off — an estimated $25 million to $30 million weekend doesn’t exactly make a blockbuster — is how the film throws a monkey wrench into the modern car-chase movie. And not necessarily the good kind of monkey wrench.

If you think you’ve been seeing a lot of driving movies in the last few years, you’re right. The racing genre ebbs and flows, and lately it’s been gushing. There’s, of course, the “Fast & Furious� franchise, which will come back with a seventh installment next year, but also Ron Howard’s Formula One movie “Rush,� the Ayrton Senna doc “Senna� before it, Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive� — not to mention animated movies such as “Cars 2� and a good chunk of “Wreck-It Ralph.�

REVIEW: Next to ‘Fast & Furious,’ ‘Need for Speed’ stalls out

All of these movies have succeeded on either a critical or commercial level, and pretty much all have been satisfying to watch. And that’s because, though they’re about as far apart as you can get, they all master a subgenre of some kind: “Drive� the at once ethereal yet violent mood piece, “Fast & Furious� the springtime thrill-ride, “Rush� the classic Hollywood character-based entertainment.

But “Need for Speed� may be something else: the first driving movie that wants to be like all driving films. It’s packaged as “Fast & Furious,� has aspirations to “Drive� and comes off as a paler “Cannonball Run,� or a “Death Race 2000� without the dystopia. (If you’re heading out to see it this weekend, write and let us know what you think of it.)

Centering on Tobey, a taciturn mechanic and master street driver (Aaron Paul), it imagines what happens after he watches a good friend die in a street race and is then framed for the murder, eventually leading him and love interest Imogen Poots on a cross-country, law-flouting joy ride (“Cannonball Run,� check, with some “Bonnie & Clyde� detours) so the pair can reach an underground car race narrated by a grating, omniscient broadcaster (“Death Race 2000,� check).

Though it’s based on a video game and directed by stunt master Scott Waugh to include plenty of loud and admittedly exciting road-level racing scenes (“Fast & Furious,� check), “Need for Speed� comes packaged in surprisingly melancholy wrapping. There’s a cloud of loss hanging over the movie, right down to its persistent downbeat score, and a grim-faced expression on several of the main actors, including Paul, doing his best Ryan Gosling cum Steve McQueen (“Drive,� check and check again).

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That tone may be explained by the presence of screenwriters George and John Gatins — the latter responsible for another transportation-themed redemption story in “Flight� — while the reluctance to simply embrace the “Fast & Furious� fun of it all may explain some of the weak reviews (currently just 23% on Rotten Tomatoes).

We’ll see how it all shakes out in the coming days with audiences, but suffice to say that a hit is needed for DreamWorks, which since “Lincoln� 15 months ago hasn’t had reason to take many victory laps. (“Delivery Man,� anyone?) But the lesson seems to be about more than just one film or studio. It’s about how a genre can be humming along one minute and stalling out the next. Racing is popular on-screen, sure, but the best movies in any category know where they fit in. With “Need for Speed,� the driving renaissance continues. But it can’t continue in all directions at once.

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Movie review: ‘Need for Speed�

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