Fast and Furious Review

I got the chance to see a preview screening of the fourth film in the Fast & Furious franchise. This one has Vin Diesel and Paul Walker returning to the roles that launched their careers.

The original film, The Fast and the Furious, came out of nowhere in 2001. With no-name stars and a small budget, it managed to earn over $140 million. Vin Diesel moved onto bigger (not better) roles like xXx and decided not to return for the sequel. Paul Walker stayed for 2 Fast 2 Furious, but not Tokyo Drift; which had Lil Bow Wow, Ludacris and some guy with a southern accent.

I have to admit, I never watched either sequel, but I did see the original when it first came to theaters. It was a fun blend of high-octane street racing and L.A. gang violence. I loved the characters, becoming invested in that genius hacker guy who could have gone to Harvard and Paul Walker's cop, who has to make a lot of questionable decisions. The open-ended finale was brilliant.

Fast and Furious (that's right no more numbers, subtitles, or "the's") is nothing more than a sub-par retread of the original. The action sequences and street races are fun, but the everything in between is torturous. Vin Diesel was himself, but everyone else is terrible. It doesn't help that the writers feed them laughably horrendous exposition. You know there's something wrong with the script when people are laughing during a funeral sequence.

Vin Diesel was not a good actor when The Fast and the Furious came out. Eight years and seven films later, he's still not a good actor. By now, you'd think that directors would know how to work with him. Give Vin Diesel a few growly one-liners and fight scenes and he'll deliver. The writers of this film choose not to heed this device, unnecessarily bogging him down with emotional, heart-aching scenes.

The same goes for Paul Walker, who quickly realized his career was going nowhere (did anyone see The Lazarus Project.? I didn't think so) and came back to this franchise. Walker is one of the most useless actors working today. He doesn't bring anything to his roles, with deadbeat acting and lackluster charisma. In this film, is presence is phenomenally poor even by action movie standards. A hobo walking onto the set could deliver better lines than Paul Walker (sorry Paul, I'm sure you're a nice guy, but get a new job). I'll go ahead and recommend people to watch this movie for an introductory course in ineptitude. Watch the scene in the diner with Paul Walker confronting Jordanna Brewster's character, his girlfriend in the original film. Even the most casual of movie-goers will be crying with laughter.



Acting aside, Fast and Furious certainly exceeds expectations for its signature car races and shootouts. The trailer showed an extended clip of Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez hijacking a gas tanker in the Dominican Republic, which kicks off the film. It's filled with "Oh My God That's Awesome" moments, complete with popped eyes and dropped jaws. I never thought I would be saying this, but compliments to the cinematographer for beautifully capturing the dry, barren highway strip. After this slam-bang opening sequence, the movie kind of goes downhill, even though the action is always cool.

There's also a parkour-style chase sequence filmed with a shaky camera (that's all the rage these days). The requisite street race feels forced, but is fun nonetheless. I'd really like to know how they filmed the sequence, with the cars moving at high speeds through crowded streets. The finale is grand and exciting, with a chase involving the highest number of participating cars since The Blues Brothers.

The plot itself isn't that bad, with unexpected (well, not anymore) twists. It'll be slightly confusing for those who have seen the original. The relationships established in The Fast and the Furious are crucial. There's also a handful of dialogues that reference actions and conversations from that film, so I'd recommend anybody who hasn't to see it first.

If you walk into Fast and Furious, hopefully you know what you're getting yourself into. Ignore the acting and dialogue, just marvel at how nice it looks to see cars chases and explosions along the US-Mexico border. Overall, I liked it, even though I was ready to walk out at several moments. Fast and Furious is a nice mix of nostalgia (2001 was a long time ago) and diversion, which is exactly what we need for entertainment.

*** out of *****