I was very chuffed to hear that ‘Fast & Furious’ would have Vin Diesel back in the lead. The original 2001 film by Rob Cohen was excellent. And, without a doubt, it was a full out ‘boys’ movie. Fast cars, hot women, a buff male lead and more action than could possibly fit into it’s run time.
The sequel (2 Fast 2 Furious – clever) ran on it’s predecessor’s name and fame… and whilst very entertaining, was far 2 inferior. By the time Walker had left and the cars started to ‘drift’ in Tokyo… I had lost interest. I did however hear, through various media, that Diesel had a small cameo as one of the fellow racers at the end of the film. Perhaps it was a nod to those looking for a 4th film that he would return. He didn’t disappoint.
Diesels draw card is the fact that he is a very imposing figure. He’s big, he’s mean and his voice sounds like a bear gargling jet fuel. But, he has a rare believable quality that brings this huge persona down to earth. He is immediately likable and his acting talent is undeniable. His first films Multi-Facial and Strays are proof (he wrote them too). He followed those up with superb supporting roles in Saving Private Ryan and Boiler Room (another excellent but under-rated film).
Anyway, lets get back to the review. The teaser trailer for the film (and the marketing campaign) was simple but effective. The trailer showed a 4 carriage fuel truck on an ominous pass in the Dominican Republic – ready for the taking. It’s street value was $1.4 Million dollars. We see 3 vehicles appear.. ready and prepared to ‘jack’ the fuel carriages. It’s an elaborate, dangerous and action packed scene. We never see the driver of the lead vehicle, until the trucker decides he’s not going down without a fight and swerves the truck, whips out a shot gun and starts blasting. As the car spins and does a 180 degree turn (now driving flat out in reverse – awesome!), the driver looks back over his seat and we see Diesel’s face – frowning and ‘agro’. Immediately you are interested in seeing the film. The trailer then continues to show Walker, Rodrigues and Brewster. It finishes with : New Model. Original Parts. Classic tag line.
The film offers a chance to find out what the rest of the original cast had been up to after Walker let Diesel free at the end of the 1st film. The truck jack scene at the beginning of the film is awesome, and hopefully you get the chance to see it on the big screen because it’s edge-of-your-seat stuff. Not since Jurassic Park’s raptors were trying to jump and bite the cast climbing into the ceiling of the computer room had I actually tried to keep myself from the danger that lurked… it’s the same with this scene… trying to keep myself from falling off the edge of the pass. The film offers a few unsuspected events – one early on in the film that you don’t see coming. Walker and Diesel team up again which is great, because their rivalry/friendship (Walker walking a fine line between Cop & Criminal) is a key factor that keeps us interested. Brewster is a little under-utilised and is essentially back to fuel Walker’s romantic feelings. She is of course also eye candy for the guys watching the film.
And so we get to the real stars of the show. The cars. This time we’ve ditched the suped-up imports for American muscle… and boy are they beautiful. We saw one of them play co-star to Clint Eastwood this year, and it makes a big appearance in this film. Ford must be loving the nostalgic advertising.
The film doesn’t bother too much with cementing plot and building characters. It doesn’t really need to though. We know the characters from the previous films and all we really want is an excuse for the leads to get behind the wheels of a few V8’s and drop the hammer.
It doesn’t get much better than this for an hour and forty two minutes of unintellegent mind-numbing action. The group I went to see this this with was about 12 strong. There were 11 enthusiastic thumbs up and 1 severely down. There were 11 guys and 1 girl. You get the point! I’m giving this 7/10 for love of Deisel’s voice, the big V8 American muscle cars and the movie itself.