‘The Fast and the Furious’ is a pure adrenaline rush

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in ‘The Fast and the Furious’

If you want to go to a movie and simply enjoy two hours of pure nitro, this is the movie for you! This is one movie that actually lives up to its title.

Vin Diesel plays Dominic Toretto, the badass leader of a Los Angeles underground street racing gang. Paul Walker is Brian, an undercover cop sent in to investigate a hijacking ring. First, Brian investigates Dom’s sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster) and soon becomes part of the “family” But, not before the traditional West Side Story/Romeo and Juliet sidebar leads us astray. Throw in some Chinatown hoods and you have 105 minutes of action packed entertainment.

I love fast cars and bad boys so this movie was perfect for me. I came into the theater with no expectations. I only wanted to see Vin Diesel in some sort of undress and I got just what I bargained for. Vin cut his teeth in Pitch Black and Saving Private Ryan. In The Fast and the Furious, Vin embodies Dom. This is a part that starts franchises. Remember Mel Gibson in Mad Max? Vin is the sum of all his parts.

Vin’s baritone voice sounds like the soft sweet hum of a fine tuned engine. His voice resonates with a melodic rhythm. Every part of his body seems to burst out of the frame. Making the screen look too small to handle his physique.

Walker seems to sleep through his performance. Think Keanu Reeves in Breaking Point. Walker even has the same monotone speaking patterns as Reeves. Brian visually is the screen opposite of Dom. Where Dom is dark and secretive; Brian is blonde and wants membership into this exclusive car club.


I thought this movie would only be about fast cars and fast woman. It lived up to its title. This is one movie that gives the audience everything it wants and more.

This movie has everything. Good-looking cars, women, dangerous chase scene, bad guys and crime. Some of the best car stunts scenes that I’ve seen in a long time. Fast and Furious pays off where Gone in 60 Seconds misfired. You have cars going under moving semis, peoples hanging from semis, people jumping out of sunroofs onto semis.

Whew.

This movie is a pure adrenaline rush.

Even the women in this film keep up with the action. I am sure filming this movie was a stuntman’s heaven and hell. Watching these scenes on screen propels this movie to a fast paced crescendo.

The surprise is how far street racing has evolved. A not so well kept secret. Look at all the website that promote this illegal pastime.

Street racing on film is not new ground. Rebel without a Cause, American Graffiti, Driven, Gone in Sixty Seconds. Those movies were great. But what The Fast and Furious has is Vin Diesel, flashy cars and the ethnic flavor of living in East L.A. in 2001.

The Fast and the Furious also delves into the fact of how young urbanites find the financing for their car creations. Many of the young actors themselves did not even have driver licenses at the time this movie was shot. Not one of these characters has a job that pays more the minimum wage. Yet, everyone is throwing $100k plus for the upkeep of his or her cars. Do we care? NO! Just keep racing those cars. Yes, there is plenty of posturing and sizing up of the other guys “pistons.”

If you want something hot to watch this summer, seek out this film and inject yourself with it. And remember, don’t let up on the pedal.

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