You can always tell when things are tough for actors. Especially when those actors were made famous in a highly popular and profitable film or series of films. Most actors that got their “big” break in one or two films, but don’t want to do any more sequels of those films, think they can move on to bigger and better things. But when their plans don’t pan out and they star in some box office bombs, look who comes running back to the film franchise that made them all that money and gave them fame in the first place. Fast & Furious is the fourth film in the franchise that got started back in 2001 with The Fast and the Furious. It starred Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster. Walker was the only one to star in the following sequel, 2 Fast and 2 Furious. Diesel would only make a brief cameo in the third film. The girls were nowhere to be found in either film, but that all changed with 2009. Yes, the gang is all back together for another big paycheck.
Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) breaks up his gang, including his girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and friend Han (Sung Kang), and heads undercover, when the cops get close to busting them. But then a member of his gang gets murdered by a drug dealer named Arturo Braga (John Ortiz), and that brings Dom back to Los Angeles. Dom decides to join the criminal’s gang of drivers and get some payback. But standing in his way is old friend and nemesis Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker). Now working for the FBI, O’Connor wants Braga as well for all of his drug dealing activities. Reluctantly, Toretto and O’Connor form a partnership which once again takes them inside the world of underground street racing. Meanwhile, Dom’s sister and Brian’s ex-girlfriend, Mia (Jordana Brewster), worries about the fate of both men, while the FBI wants answers.
As previously mentioned, the main cast members from the original Fast & Furious are back again. This pretty much sets the tone for the entire film. First, they don’t have to waste time explaining who these characters are and the relationships between them. Second, all of the actors are comfortable with each other so they have decent chemistry with each other. But that also means that the cast doesn’t really have to try to hard in the acting department. Vin Diesel is the only one who seems to really care about what he is doing on screen. As for the plot, you can guess that it’s fairly basic. Still you have to give some credit to the plot of this film. While the previous sequels in the franchise didn’t take any time to create any kind of plot, Fast & Furious at least has this central revenge storyline that propels the action forward between races.
But if you are thinking about watching this film, you are not going to care much about the characters or the plot. These films have always been about the cars, the action, testosterone, and giving viewers an adrenaline rush. The majority of Fast & Furious delivers on all of those things. You can tell that some racing scenes are heavily influenced by CGI, especially during the final tunnel scenes. So at times the action can be unbelievable and not as realistic when you compare it to the original. That said, director Justin Lin knows that hardcore fans of this series would be waiting to see if Fast & Furious could top all the other films in the franchise. On that aspect, this film delivered, and there is no way they could have topped the “craziness” factor without some help from computers.
The original The Fast and the Furious is probably still the slightly better film, comparatively speaking, of the two due to the more consistently believable racing scenes. But if you are hardcore fan of this franchise, there is no doubt you will enjoy this film. It’s an action-packed entertaining film for everyone who likes cars, action, and testosterone. If you don’t enjoy that type of movie, obviously you should stay away. There is no doubt, though, that you will see a fifth installment in a few years with the same stars returning again to keep their careers going at a break-neck speed.
The video included is available in widescreen color presented at the 2.40:1 aspect ratio, which is enhanced for 16:9 TVs. The quality is great. The colors are bright and vibrant and all the small details pop out for the most part. No major problems here really.
The audio included is available in either English DTS-HD 5.1 Surround sound, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound or French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear, so no major problems here either. But is not really much better than the newer DVD releases of the previous films.
Audio Commentary – There is a full-length audio commentary with director, Justin Lin. This commentary is fairly insightful, but not much on the entertainment scale.
Gag Reel – There is five minutes worth of bloopers from filming this film. Nothing really that funny, though.
Fast & Furious is probably a close second to the original film, so if you are hardcore fan, this film will be a no-brainer purchase for you. If you have never seen a Fast & Furious film before, this is about as good as any to get you started. I should also mention there’s a two-disc special edition DVD release if you want eight more featurettes involving the making of this film, as well as a short film and music video.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment presents Fast & Furious. Directed by Justin Lin. Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, John Ortiz, Laz Alonso, Gal Gadot, and Sung Kang. Written by Chris Morgan. Running time: 107 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on DVD: July 28, 2009.
Available at Amazon.com
