While this may not be the best film in the series (I still love 'Tokyo Drift' something fierce), it is an undeniably enjoyable bit of slick, trashy, fuel-injected B-movie fun. (There's a little too much brooding and pontificating on Vin Diesel's part, and the bad guy is about as threatening as a mattress manufacturer's warning.) Still, this is a solid entry, and just what the franchise needed - the return of the original cast members who made the first film so special with just the right amount of freshness behind the camera (thank you, Mr. What works, works marvelously (the noir-y setup, the returning cast members, and the races) what doesn't work doesn't seem like a spectacular failure, either. I mean, come on, this is the fourth film in a franchise that has never been prized for its originality. There's also a neat road race through the streets of Los Angeles that's inter-cut with GPS directions that feels somewhat fresh. Besides the South American-set prologue, there are a couple of cross country rallies, with a team of racers making an illegal run to Mexico (and back) through a series of secret bootleggers' tunnels. For one, it's a more international movie. But there's enough new here to keep things fresh and exciting. The entire movie hinges on familiarity, since that was supposed to be the big draw, and yes, it is a total blast to see the old crew back together. While 'Fast & Furious' (the ampersand tells you it's the fourth movie, or something) lacks that neon-tinted kick that 'Tokyo Drift' had, it's still a whole lot of fun. So there's a revenge plot, with Vin searching for justice, a return to the first film's bromantic rivalry (Walker is looking for the killer too, since he is of course an international drug dealer with ties to underground street racing), and lots and lots of car racing. After a wonderful prologue set in the Dominican Republic, with the old gang stealing gas from a land train, Vin Diesel is thrust back into the United States following the murder of an old flame. Original Parts." The storyline this time shifted gears yet again to become a kind of muscle car noir. The man was back.Īnd so, 'Fast & Furious' was born, with 'Tokyo Drift' director Justin Lin back in the driver's seat, and original cast members Vin Diesel and Paul Walker (along with Michelle Rodriguez and the lovely Jordana Brewster). And in the closing moments, a familiar face returned to kick it into overdrive (This is the first of many car puns. It was energetic, stylish, and just what the franchise needed. That third film lost the 'Point Break' shtick and instead told the coming-of-age story of a rebellious American teen (Lucas Black) sent to live with his father in the faraway land of Tokyo. Thankfully, by the third film, new blood had been transfused in the form of director Justin Lin, who took the action to Tokyo and gave us the most entertaining entry in the franchise, 'Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.' to Miami, which made for even more garish colors, but while it was still a lot of fun to watch, much of the freshness was gone (and Tyrese didn't make for quite the same tough guy foil). John Singleton's sequel, the silly '2 Fast 2 Furious' (2003) lost Vin Diesel and instead stuck with the first film's Paul Walker. Part of the movie's appeal came from the inside peek it offered into the world of underground street racing another part was the fierce intensity of Vin Diesel who, depending on how you looked at him, resembled either a hit man or a cuddly teddy bear but most of the draw came from the sheer, 100-miles-an-hour fun of watching cars driving really, really fast and smacking into each other. Since its junky, inauspicious beginnings as a mildly entertaining 'Point Break' ripoff in 2001 titled simply 'The Fast and the Furious' (even the name was stolen from a drive-in classic, a forgotten 1955 American International Pictures movie), I've been hooked. I'll admit it: I'm an unabashed fan of the 'Fast and Furious' franchise.
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