Fast and Furious

Basically, the "Fast and the Furious" series is eye-candy for motorheads. Fast cars, fast women, tough guys, it's all there. What is lacking is any sort of substance. I'm not even sure why I decided to check this one out since the original was sort of a mediocre rip-off of "Point Break". It's probably because I haven't quite given up on Vin Diesel, who is more talented than his resume would indicate. In any event, this movie is exactly as advertised: a Reunion of sorts of the orginal "The Fast and the Furious" cast. The "big get" here is the return of Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, who has been on the run since the first film. His desire to avenge the death of a loved one forces his return and he and FBI agent Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) find themselves in a race to bring down the drug kingpin responsible. That's it, folks, that's the plot. Sprinkle in some car race and chase sequences and you have yourselves a movie. Visually, it's fun to watch, although they make the odd choice of having some of the major set pieces filmed in the dark (not just at night, but inside a mountain), making even those scenes difficult to enjoy. The opening pre-credit sequence was pretty amazing and, yet, they showed most of it in the trailer, taking away its impact and "wow" factor. Of course, trailers ruining movies is another whole discussion and is a rampant problem these days! Diesel is exactly what you would expect, the cool and collected tough guy who never shows any fear as he tries to rise through the cartel's ranks. Walker is his opposite: intense, emotional and somewhat explosive. There is a story here, but the requirement to fit street racing (can I say shoehorn?) into the plot becomes a distraction. Unless you're a Diesel fan or really enjoy meaningless car chases, I can't really recommend this one.

Grade: D+

Trailer: