Last week, me and a friend decided to meet up and go to the cinema. After looking at the listings, the only thing we could come up with was Fast and Furious. I have not seen the earlier films in the franchise, but knew enough about them to know what to expect. Plenty of action, car chases, mindless fun, Vin Diesel, and brains left in the lobby. I was not disappointed, in fact it was better than I expected.
The film starts with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and others, including girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) in Mexico, carrying out a hijack on a tanker road train. Good effects, improbable driving, and it finishes with some spectacular pyrotechnics. I was also seriously impressed with the sound at the new Showcase Cinema at Highcross in Leicester, at some points the whole place seemed to be shaking. We later learn that Letty has been killed back in the US, and Toretto returns to try to find her killer, and bring him to "justice"
(IE kill him). After some investigating, the trail leads to Fenix, who works as a driver for a drug runner Braga. Whilst on Fenix's trail, Toretto comes across Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) who is working for the FBI, and Toretto is one of his targets. O'Conner and Toretto have had a run in in the past, where O'Conner tried to infiltrate his group by dating Toretto's sister Mia. This time though, it seems Toretto and O'Conner have a common purpose, since they both want to get into Braga's organisation, Toretto to get Fenix, O'Conner to bring down Braga himself. They both realise that the best way in is to take a driving job with Braga, and the only way is to pass a driving "test" which involves being the first to finish a street race. They both enter, and are both neck and neck at the finish, before Toretto "cheats" and forces O'Conner off the road, winning the race, and getting the job. O'Conner though isn't stupid, and busts one of Braga's other drivers, and steps up to take his now vacant place. The job is bringing Drugs across from Mexico, but things soon turn bad, and now Toretto and O'Conner find themselves working together, with the FBI seeming to promise Toretto a pardon if he helps them bring down Braga. Their first try, in the US, goes wrong, and they head back across the boarder to Mexico, and trying Toretto's way. I've probably given too much away already (this is my first film review) so won't give away the ending, but it's pretty spectacular, and then is followed by some twists, although like most twists, they can be seen a mile off, particularly if you've seen Tokyo Drift which is set after this.
Being 12A, the film was pretty toned down in all respects. No real sex, no nudity, limited swearing, and whilst it was pretty violent, nothing graphic or gory, and a low body count (especially when you take action film rules into account). I don't think this damaged the film, since none of that would have added to it, in fact in many ways it was better, after all, sex scenes just waste time that could be spent on action scenes.
Overall I though it delivered what it was supposed to. The story was simple and fairly predictable, the action exciting, the effects were good, and the acting whilst not up to Oscar standards was pretty good, although Vin Diesel really isn't suited to softer moments. It did have a lot more going for it though that just car chases. There was friendship and loyalty, love and loss. There was some decent humour too. One interesting point about the film was that whilst it was still a 12A film appealing to 12A audiences, I think it had also made efforts to grow with the original fan base, as those teenagers who saw the original are now in their 20s. Also, despite having not see the earlier films, I didn't have much trouble getting into it.
If your wanting something intelligent or cultured, then keep well clear of this. If you want something "adult" then this isn't for you either. If you want some good, harmless (mostly) action that you don't have to think about (and usually with these films it's best if you don't think too much), then this is well worth it. I would also say it's one of those films that's well worth seeing at the Cinema, as unless you have a really good home cinema system, you're not going to get the full benefit.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Action/Adventure - Director: Gore Verbinski - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Chow Yun-Fat
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Advantages: Back to the cruising scene with great cars, great sound systems and great girls. Action packed Disadvantages: It's not as good as Fast and Furious, poor acting, unrealistic story
very helpful by (100%):
