THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker
Directed by: Rob Cohen
Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Date: 6/19/01
By: Rice

    One of the perks of being part of a world class university is being able to attend advance screening for movies that wish to guage initial audience reactions before hitting the mainstream theatres. The Fast And The Furious came along to UCLA a couple weeks ago and I was lucky enough to get hooked up with two passes for the event. My roommate and I waited outside the Grand Ballroom for about an hour and barely got the last few available seats. Plus Vin Diesel himself came out after the showing for a short Q&A session. He just emanates badass-ness. Curiously, he opened the Q&A with a short spiel on his newly acquired puppy named Roman. That was decidedly un-badass.

A movie for guys who like movies.

    The movie itself caters heavily to import car enthusiasts, or at the very least, people who appreciate the adrenaline pumping power that a turbo-charged NOS engine provides. The opening sequence throws you immediately into the action. Four identical Honda Civics with spoilers the size of a 747's wing and glowing green from the bottom chassis speed towards a 18-wheeler carrying expensive electronic equipment. The director, Rob Cohen, focuses in and out on the rapidly spinning rims of the Civics, with sounds of high revving engines blasting from all speakers, effectively telling us these guys aren't anywhere near the speed limit. If that doesn't get your blood going, then this flick definitely isn't for you.

    That's because there isn't much else to the movie except fast, nice looking cars. The story centers around Paul Walker's character, who's looking to get accepted into the underground street racing culture where Dom, played by Vin Diesel, rules the roost. Sprinkle in some women, crime, and a rival gang, and you've got The Fast and the Furious. There are some serious gaps in the plot which will leave you scratching your head at some of the decisions that the script writers put in. Not to mention it's relatively predictable and the ending tries too hard to be cool but instead leaves you dangling. I left the screening with a bunch of questions regarding loose ends that the movie forgot to tie up.

This is about as raunchy as the movie gets.

    None of the acting jobs stood out in particular. Vin Diesel played his badass self to the max, while Paul Walker holds his own. The women stood around looking fine, and that's about it. The real stars of the movie had names like Nissan Skyline, Mazda RX-7, Toyota Supra Turbo, Honda S2000, and Ferrari F355... all with only 1% stock parts. There's even a classic Dodge Charger in there for old American muscle car enthusiasts. Hearing them rev and explode forward from the starting line is the true redeeming quality of The Fast and the Furious.

    This is a stripped down, unadulterated adrenaline pumping summer action flick at its finest. You have fast cars involved in non-stop action, guns, violence, and well endowed women. What I appreciate about the movie is that it doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. It relies on a well-proven formula to churn out an excuse to wreck damage and make lots of noise. This makes the movie going experience a lot simpler. If you enjoy the things I mentioned in this review, then by all means, you'll enjoy The Fast and the Furious. If not, save your money and catch it on video later. I do have a beef about its PG-13 rating though. What the heck, just rate the damn thing R and include some more gratuitous hormone charged scenes!

This thing may be old, but it can fly.

An Eclipse over looking the L.A. cityscape.

That baby's illegal in some places.

Grade: B
-- Would've been a grade lower if I wasn't a car nut. Watch it for the cars!

Babe-o-meter: A-
-- Lots of chicks. Jordana Brewster's pretty cute from certain camera angles.