Director: Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker & Michelle Rodriguez
An entertaining sequel that, whilst not adding anything particularly original to the franchise, is still enjoyable due to the return of Vin Diesel.
In 2001, The Fast and the Furious was an unexpected Box Office success which rocketed actor Vin Diesel, just coming off a notable performance in the low budget Sci-Fi/Horror Pitch Black in 2000, to stardom. Despite a fairly bland plotline which bore similarities to 1991’s Point Break, it still entertained audiences because of its effective high-speed race sequences, which were impressive for the film’s low budget, and on the charisma of its lead actor Vin Diesel.
It is now 2009 and, after a brief cameo at of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (the third film in the series), Vin Diesel returns to the film series he helped launch. The timing could be good for Diesel as, following a series of Box Office failures, he needs a success and the popularity of the Fast and the Furious series of films in Diesel’s absence should reward him with success in his return to the series. However, Diesel is not the only actor returning to the franchise. Also joining Diesel is his co-star from The Fast and the Furious, Paul Walker who went on to appear in the series’ first sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious in 2003, and original cast members Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez. However, while an improvement over the second and third films in the series, the return of the series’ original cast has not resulted in a film that equals the entertainment value of the first film.
In Fast & Furious, dropping the “the”s from the title, Diesel’s Dominic Toretto returns to Los Angeles after the end of the first film to investigate the death of a close friend. The investigation brings him to a smuggling ring using high-speed drivers and also brings Toretto into conflict with FBI Agent O’Conner (Walker), his former friend who’d been undercover to try and capture Toretto in The Fast and the Furious. Forced to work together and go undercover to break the smuggling ring, O’Conner looking for arrests and Toretto looking for revenge, and also having to engage in high stakes and high speed driving to maintain their cover. The storyline is fairly straightforward, as before, though has some added emotional weight for Diesel’s Toretto this time around but audiences are mainly going to be drawn to the film for the action sequences, particularly the race driven action sequences. In regards to the action sequences, Fast & Furious certainly entertains and makes the most of the developments on CGI effects since 2001 to deliver even more unbelievable yet enjoyable race sequences. However, whilst the boost in effects pushes the limits of what can be achieved in race sequences it also adds a feeling of disappointment to several sequences too as the presence of CGI is obvious enough that the action not only looks unbelievable, but feels it too. One sequence in particular uses CGI in an effort to insert GPS maps into a race which not only fails to make GPS look exciting but also distracts from the race itself.
In regards to the performances of its cast, Fast & Furious mainly survives on Vin Diesel’s efforts. After an unwise decision to sideline the enjoyable Michelle Rodriguez in the first act, the remainder of the film rests mostly on Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. Jordana Brewster and her character are rarely seen throughout the film and the cast comprising the film’s villains and O’Conner’s fellow Agents are mostly forgettable, one-dimensional characters. While Paul Walker is enjoyable, though offering nothing particularly memorable in his performance, Vin Diesel does manage to entertain. Bringing his physical presence to the film, Diesel’s return brings an intensity that the previous two films in the series has lacked. The ground Diesel may be covering in Fast & Furious is familiar but it is still enjoyable whenever he is on screen.
Overall, whilst lacking anything original in plot or performances, Fast & Furious is still enjoyable based on the presence of Vin Diesel and the action sequences are also entertaining despite an over-reliance on CGI this time around. Fans of the series, or even just the first film, should enjoy this.
Rating: 3/5
