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The Fast and the Furious

The Fast and the Furious

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Definetly A "Guy Movie"
Review: First things first. This is a guy movie. There is close to nothing that will peak the interest of women in this movie. There are no sappy love stories, no people traveling around the world to win back their lover's hearts. No, instead there's pulse-pounding action, unbelievable stunts, lots of high-tech racing cars, and LOTS OF WOMEN. Girls making out with each other and lots of skin makes this movie that much better. If this is your kind of movie, get it. You won't be disappointed.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Weak story, but heart stopping action
Review: This film examines the street racing subculture and provides ample thrills for the 25 and under set. Based on the box office numbers this film threw up, every teenager in the U.S. must have seen it at least twice, since it doesn't have much appeal outside that demographic.

The screenplay pretends to be a detective story about an undercover cop Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) who infiltrates the street racing scene to try to find a group thieves that has been hijacking tractor trailers and stealing the cargo. Make no mistake about it. This is not a detective story. This is a racing story replete with fast, NOS guzzling street machines, horsed up to burn rubber and detailed to attract babes. Fasten your seatbelt for a screaming ride to testosterone city.

The script panders shamelessly to post pubescent boys with hormone overload. Universal wisely kept it PG-13 to maximize the film's target audience. There is plenty of strutting, getting in people's faces, muscle flexing and a street fight about every fifteen minutes. Everyone demands respect and if they don't get it there is either a brawl or a race. Director Rob Cohen, who cut his directorial teeth on "Miami Vice", has an implicit understanding of what makes male movies work and he pulls out all the stops in this film.

Unfortunately, Cohen gets so immersed in the street culture that he recklessly reinforces antisocial conduct as normative. The film sends a consistent message that honor and loyalty to one's friends are more important than the obeying the law. The police are portrayed as jerks and fools. The only way to handle injustice is to take matters into your own hands. You stick up for your friends even if they are criminals and you are a cop. If another cop disrespects one of your undercover friends, you slug him. While this might be an accurate reflection of the culture, I feel compelled to interject that the movie industry has a social responsibility to teach our youth good lessons rather than bolster countercultural behavior in the name of realism.

Once you get past the script, the film gets extraordinarily high technical marks for the action photography and stunts. The cars are first rate. Most of the ones seen at the race wars were owned by actual street racers who brought their cars from everywhere to be in the film. The film has so much adrenaline pumping action that by the time it is finished you need oxygen and a yoga session to settle yourself down. I can't ever remember a film that had so many cars going airborne. There is more molten, smoking rubber in this film than in a Perelli manufacturing plant. The final stunt where the cars are racing to beat the train across the railroad crossing is an awesome, heart-stopping thrill ride. It is easy to see why kids flocked to this film.

The most notable member of the cast is Paul Walker (The Skulls, Pleasantville) who steps up to the lead for the first time. In the featurette included with the DVD, Rob Cohen declares Walker a modern day Steve McQueen. I'm afraid not. McQueen, who saw his heyday in the 1950's and 60's, was a swaggering, audacious male lead brimming with machismo and frequently compared to Paul Newman (who was the star in "Somebody Up There Likes Me", the first film in which McQueen appeared). Walker is a pussycat by comparison. If Walker were to be compared to anyone of that generation it would be Troy Donohue, the good looking heart throb of the 1960's. Donohue wasn't extremely dynamic, but the camera loved him, and so did the teenage girls. Walker fits comfortably into that description.

If there is one standout in the film it is Vin Diesel as Dominic. Diesel carries every scene in which he appears with a pure and imposing power that is present whether he is scrapping or just standing there. He is mostly tough, but in the scene where he tells Brian about his father, he shows that he can conjure up a vulnerable side. He presents his character in a way that is both charismatic and complex, part villain and part hero. No one else in this cast is anywhere near Diesel's league as an actor.

Jordana Brewster shows some promise as Dominic's sister and Brian's love interest. Rick Yune, whose performance I enjoyed in "Snow Falling on Cedars", is menacing and believable as the leader of the Asian gang.

This film has a limited audience, but is well done for its target market. I rated it a 7/10 on the strength of the action and stunts. The story is about a 2/10, but the racing and chase scenes are as good as it gets.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Another Anti-Asian Whitewash and Smear Job!
Review: "The Fast and the Furious" is supposed to be about import-car racing. Import-car racing is a phenomenon started by Asian American auto enthusiasts, and it's still predominantly Asian American today. Also, this movie was inspired by an article written by an Asian American journalist.

How does "The Fast and the Furious" pay tribute to the sport's Asian American heritage? Why, of course, by whitewashing the story with white and Latino main characters and by making every Asian character in the movie either a villainous gangster or a moll. What a smear job! Even outright anti-Asian movies like "The Year of the Dragon" and "Rising Sun" at least made the pretense of being evenhanded by including some "positive" Asian supporting characters. "F&F" doesn't even make that puny effort.

Imagine a Hollywood movie about jazz where all of the jazz musicians are white -- where the art form's black heritage is completely ignored -- and where all of the black characters are the irredeemable villains we're supposed to hiss. Maybe you'll get an idea of just how egregiously anti-Asian "F&F" is. What's especially disappointing about this movie is that it's directed by Rob Cohen, who also made the laudable "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story."

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Point Break with Expensive Toys
Review: The plot is a blatant rip-off of Point Break. At least it has some good car scenes though.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Making a movie by the numbers
Review: Here is a movie made by the numbers--stock plot scenerios--that is saved by the racing of high performance cars. Only in the movies would an undercover cop risk everything to solve a case, and then once he has done so, let the suspect not only walk away, but provide the means to do so. Just like in "Breakpoint." But this is all a big "nevermind." This movie hardly needs a plot. The whole purpose is to show ten seconds worth of racing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sick Movie!!
Review: Oh my god this movie was the bomb!! A total guy movie though. This movie hit the spot when it comes to action, especially the racing scenes. Anyway wait for this to come out and buy it and really get a bargain.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Chargers doing wheelstands on the street???
Review: Although there were many holes technically in the movie, it still delivered visually with more impact than expected. It also accurately depicted the SoCal street scene to my surprise. The reasons why I didn't give it a perfect score were that they needed a little help in the technical advisory department as well as suffering from somewhat "corney" acting among a few of the performers. But hey, the love of street racing made me forget about the cons! Overall, this movie rocks with many props going to Cohen for its creation. I've waited a long time for the "Millennium edition" of "American Graffiti" to hit the big screen. Definitely worth to have in your DVD library.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great,but could have been perfect
Review: I totally loved this movie, i've always liked cars and are very interseted in them (well fast ones) anyways so natuarally i would like this movie,and there was a few extremly attractive guys in it, so thats a big plus,This movie could have been better most of the cars featured in this film, were imports which is ok,but i may be speaking for more people than myelf when i say they should have used ''better cars'' Our generation digs fast and LOUD cars, no bumble bees aloud, i personally would have rather seen vipers, Z28's, mustangs, gto's, more so like the charger sure the cars in the movie was fast but think of how much faster they would have been if the cars were fast in the first place NO 4 BANGERS ALOUD,but anyways im gonna shut up now, but it really was an awesome movie.later

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Fast and the Felonius
Review: I knew when I rented this movie that it wasn't going to be an intellectual tour de force, or an excercise in brilliant writing or Oscar nomination material.

I did however expect some exciting and well done chase scenes. Instead what I got were a bunch of cluttered, ill defined shots of what used to be good cars chasing each other needlessly, recklessly and carelessly by a bunch of no good kids who need a dope slap, a real dose of reality and some honest work.

This movie showcases what is wrong w/society and values today. To make matters worse, it glamorizes and endorses dangerous driving, terrible music and anti social behavior.

I could forgive any of this had the movie been filmed well and realistically. The editing was terrible, there was no continuity within what was supposed to be the same chase.

Also, I'd be fascinated to know how each of these cars managed to get a seemingly unlimited amount of nitrous. Don't they come in small bottles and last for about 30 seconds each? Wish my car had the fuel capacity these third world slot cars do.

Save yourself some money, some time and rent a movie that has interesting people, interesting cars and superb chase scenes. Bullit, The French Connection, and What's Up Doc are three that come immediately to mind. With those movies you get a bonus; decent acting, professional photography, and a good screenplay.

The Fast and the Furious needs to come in for a major tune up, tear down and a frame up restoration. It's too bad that the screenplay wasn't stolen with the contents of one of the trucks.

Save your money and play a similar arcade game. You'll have more fun, and get a bigger rush.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Take me for a ride
Review: Paul Walker as an undercover cop, and a street racer was a very exciting role. He did a great job by being the snowman, or the guy who at first was not respected. The movie ending to most people would be incomplete, but was truly amazingly thought up. This movie, other than the fact it may influence young watchers to try these wicked stunts, was an amazing creation. With no doubt, I would definately give it five stars.


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