film: review

> THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (2001)
A real joyride of a film from beginning to end…

By John C. Lyons
Film Critic

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Jordana Brewster

Directed by: Rob Cohen

Written by: Ken Li

Genre: Action

Our Rating: 9 out of 10

If you're one of those people that loves cars and loves action movies, then this is the movie for you. Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) could only dream of being this good. The Fast and the Furious is a real joyride of a film from beginning to end. The cars are awesome (and pretty realistic according to my car fanatic buddies) and the action is fast. I'm not a huge car nut myself, but I know what looks good and damn do these cars really kick ass! What more can you ask for in a movie titled The Fast and the Furious? The movie lives up to its name, and delivers in all the ways it is meant to. They kept pushing the release date of this film back further and further until they finally stuck it in the heart of the summer movie season; someone knew what they were doing.

The story is basically this: young, undercover cop (Walker) poses as a wannabe street racer in an attempt to uncover the culprits in a string of semi-truck hijacking incidents. Not a bad plot for a big summer car flick. As I mentioned earlier, the film is paced really well, and when it slows down it does for only about a minute or two before it kicks back into high gear. The characters are basically the nuts and bolts you would expect in a film of this genre: gangsters, hardasses, techno-geeks, California pretty boys…you get the idea.

Dominic (Vin Diesel) stands out in this group as the leader of the underground street racers. Diesel is really growing on me as an actor (check out some of his other films like Boiler Room, Pitch Black, and of course Saving Private Ryan) and stands out not only because he's a big guy, but because he always seems to have a great on-screen presence and a ton of confidence. He just seems to fit perfectly in the roles he chooses. Paul Walker also does well as Brian Spindler, the cop who grows fond of the street-racing lifestyle and of Dominic's sister (Brewster).

So the story is fine, the action is great, and the scenery is impressive. As might be expected the only negatives I found with this movie were a couple silly lines of dialogue here and there. But those aren't a big factor in a movie like this, and it is bound to happen in a film where the testosterone is exploding left and right and everyone is being so cool and tough. The plot was actually really good for a film like this too, sure it's not the best, but it could have been really dull. Like for example, stealing cars to save a buddy. Overall, The Fast and the Furious really impressed me and entertained me. Definitely worth the price of admission.

I saw this film at the Tinseltown theaters on upper Peach Street in Erie.

PROs: The cars; the intensity throughout; Vin Diesel; NOS.

CONs: Some cheesy dialogue; I know Vin is tough, but barely a scratch after flipping a car?

(01-0701)

related links:

The Fast and the Furious - official site