Dear Matt,

Muscle cars. What other modern frivolity mocks both environmentalism and common sense? The answer is simple: movies about muscle cars (says the Fast & Furious apologist). Yet Dreamworks, Disney, Electronic Arts, along with the other makers of Need for Speed, hired you to help cut back their carbon footprint. Good on them. In fact, they really take the whole reduce, reuse, and recycle thing to heart.

Where to start?

You must have warned them against the dangers of the carbon monoxide spewing from the actors' mouths, so, thankfully, any dialogue that might create a nuanced sense of character is kept to a minimum. The black guy is sassy, the Latino guy is scary, the short guy is spunky--you know the drill. There are custom cars, sure, but the characters are stock. Throw in a childhood rival and a know-it-all love interest, and BAM!--you're off to the races.

Your main wheelman is Aaron Paul, who, in terms of conserving energy, might be doing the best job of the entire cast. He does a lot of brooding and idle gazing, but at least he's got a good engine under the hood. To my pleasant surprise - despite how Breaking Bad ended - he didn't just drive his Jesse Pinkman character straight into this film. Instead, he's the everyman hero, the Ford pick-up truck--no fuss, no muss, just get the job done.

You certainly made sure that the filmmakers stuck to a strict reuse policy. Hence the title, appropriated from a video game, and the numerous dashboard shots pulled directly from a 90s arcade machine. Not that the film ever feels like CGI (in fact, the studio rep at my screening made sure to point out how all the car shots in the film are real). This anti-Speed Racer approach was a breath of fresh air, actually; the stakes are so low, plot-wise, that it was nice to see a bit of substance up on the screen. Even the star is a used car: a Shelby Mustang that must have been driven straight of the set of Getaway. This conscientious salvaging of props from even worse films is a true testament to your positive influence.

I was most impressed, however, by how well you encouraged them to recycle. Rather than pollute the world with an original idea, you made sure to stick with familiar plot points, archetypes, and visual styles. In a great bit of biosphere-friendly reprocessing, actual scenes are lifted straight out of far superior Speed-related films (like hitting a homeless person's shopping cart). But by including actual references to more successful car chase films (like Bullit, and, yes, Speed), director Scott Waugh advertises his decision to recycle. He must know that, just like when we see those three iconic folded arrows, there's comfort to be found in knowing a product is made up of other junk.

This is how Hollywood really remains sustainable.