The Fast and the Furious
It’s taken me a little while to get going with film reviewing this year for some reason. I don’t really have an explanation for it, but I’m hoping to pick up the pace and hit the gas for more writing in the near future. In that regard, I decided to finally check out The Fast and the Furious. I’ve seen bits and pieces of other films in the series on cable and so on, but I’ve never actually seen the 2001 flick that started it all.
It turns out that The Fast and the Furious isn’t so bad. Directed by Rob Cohen, the film has this sort of drive-in movie feel that helps when it comes to getting over little details like the inherent lack of plot, good acting and quality writing. In place of complex characters and a storyline that matters, The Fast and the Furious provides a lot of burning rubber and fancy car gear.
Paul Walker stars as Brian O’Conner, an undercover LAPD officer sent to track a gang of daredevils that are holding up semis in audacious heists. Brian, using a cover job at an aftermarket automotive parts shop, infiltrates the world of street racing to get close to the gang and soon gains the trust of the leader, Dominic (Vin Diesel).
As Brian gets deeper undercover, he develops a friendship with Dominic and falls in love with the leader’s sister (Jordana Brewster). The street racing culture becomes intoxicating, too, and Brian’s friendship with the gang threatens to derail the case. The FBI and LAPD start to put the squeeze on Brian to turn in evidence on his friends, but his loyalties are divided.
This movie is eye candy for car people, of course. There’s a good glimpse at the import scene, complete with nitrous boosters and all of the other goodies that come with the territory. The street racing scenes are kind of exciting, especially when it seems that nearly every race comes down to finding the right time to hit the nitrous button. I don’t know much about cars, but I’m assuming it’s a little more complicated than that.
Luckily, The Fast and the Furious doesn’t really demand much attention to detail. It gleefully asks us to check our brains at the door and plug in to what becomes an increasingly enjoyable good time. The heists are quite spectacular and the CGI crap appears limited to perhaps providing some camera tricks whenever someone nits the nitrous.
Women don’t factor in much except as arm accessories, although there’s the obligatory “tough chick” played by Michelle Rodriguez who gets to pop a guy in the jaw. Most of the women presented in collections of butt shots and bare midriffs, like hood ornaments with towering hair and more plastic enhancements. This doesn’t detract from the purpose of the film, though, and kind of fits the neo-exploitation vibe Cohen goes for.
This isn’t the sort of thing you dissect too much, but The Fast and the Furious is an entertaining enough ride if you’re in the mood. Walker makes for a barely-there protagonist, while Diesel is just slightly better as a bad boy with a past with anger issues. Perhaps the best performance in the flick comes late when Dom rolls out in a 1970 Dodge Charger. Now that’s something!
Trailer:
