Fast & Furious (2009)
By Shane Rivers
While Fast & Furious is far from a masterpiece, it’s the film that the original–The Fast and the Furious–wanted to be. The race scenes actually seem compelling, and the music and attitude mesh together to create a high-octane world where drivers live to race and race to live.
The fourth entry in the franchise, Fast & Furious technically takes place between the events of the second and third films. Picking up five years after undercover cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) allowed street racer/thief Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) to escape justice, the movie finds Toretto and crew hijacking petroleum tankers outside the borders of the United States.
When the cops start getting too close, Dom decides to go his own way and draw heat away from his team, including longtime girlfriend Lettie (Michelle Rodriguez). But when Dom later receives a call from his sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster), he hears the shocking news that Lettie has been murdered. Eager to get revenge, he returns home and encounters O’Conner, now an FBI agent assigned to bring down a mysterious drug kingpin known as Braga. As luck would have it, both men end up on the same trail and form an uneasy alliance.
We’re re-introduced to the lead characters through a series of effective opening action sequences: Dominic and crew brave gunfire, explosions, and treacherous road conditions to complete their latest hijacking; O’Conner runs down an informant amidst the cramped back alleys and rooftops of a Los Angeles neighborhood. Both scenes effectively establish our protagonists to be men of action, while also giving the audience plenty of bang for their buck.
Things occasionally slow down so pesky issues like plot and characterization can be addressed, but Fast & Furious is always just a high-speed turn away from launching into another frenzied action sequence. When it comes to excitement, this film is light years ahead of the original.
If you’ve read my review of The Fast and the Furious, you may remember my complaints about the film’s reliance on racers mindlessly pushing nitrous oxide buttons to achieve victory. That overdone technique is almost entirely gone, replaced instead by actual racing skills and steely determination. While many of my readers probably stand a decent chance of beating Diesel or Walker in a street race, the film does a successful job of making them seem like juggernauts behind the wheel.
The movie does downshift in the second half, however, as the thin plot and lackluster villains siphon some juice from the tank. Even a couple of out-of-nowhere “twists” fail to elevate it back to the breakneck pace of the opening half hour.
The scowling presence of Michelle Rodriguez is also missed throughout much of the film. While her role in the original wasn’t substantial, this critic was hoping for more screen time for the beautiful and physically capable star. One of the few actresses working today who can legitimately sell an action scene, her character doesn’t even get a proper on-screen sendoff. If Dom needed motivation for revenge, why not kill off the far-less-interesting Mia?
Despite average acting, a lackluster plot, and the occasional seizure-inducing editing during action scenes, Fast & Furious remains a harmless film brimming with mindless fun. If you liked any of the previous three films in the series, you might as well strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.
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This Fast & Furious movie review is copyright 2009 Small World Marketing and Shane Rivers. This Fast & Furious review should not be reprinted without the permission of the copyright holders.
This movie review of Fast & Furious expresses the opinion of the author only. Other Fast & Furious movie reviews are available online, and some of those might or might not express different opinions on the movie. Like those other Fast & Furious movie reivews, this Fast & Furious review is intended for the entertainment and education of the reader. This Fast & Furious movie review is provided as is with no warranty or guarantee implied.
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