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The Movie: During the summer months between the end of Grade 11 (Junior) and the beginning of Grade 12 (Senior) an event occurred that changed the lives of my entire graduating class. An event that would drastically affect a couple students and one in particular. One night for whatever reason a group of people I knew decided to go drag racing along a major street in our neighbourhood. I was not there and to this day I am unsure if alcohol or drugs played any part in the decision. All I know is that on one early August morning they raced down the street and one car hit a tree. One student involved was hurt pretty bad. There was a time when his life was touch and go and it was also thought that he would never walk again. News broke out through out the school when it started back up in September and the entire year had started off on a bad note. As luck would have it the situation improved slowly but surely and by January the injured student was not only up and walking but was back at school. He didn't escape the accident unscathed though and he isn't the same guy he was before. The event didn't happen to me but it did hit close to home as I had known the kid for 10 years. Recently the number of drag racing incidents in my home city has been on the rise and has led to a number of causalities both for people involved and people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It seems as though the number of these incidents increased with the release of last summer's Gone in 60 Seconds, a film containing a number of high speed car action sequences. Now with the release of Universal Picture's The Fast and the Furious , I only hope that people don't see the movie and begin to re-enact it on the streets. I know first hand that lives can change in an instant and I wouldn't want to see anyone hurt because of a movie. The Fast and The Furious starts off both fast and furious as the viewer in thrown straight into the action. A truck is driving down on an open road in the dark of night when all of a sudden these 4 cars with green neon tubing come from out of nowhere. They start systematically cutting the guy off driving every which way. It's clear there intentions are to hijack the truck and take the goods for their own personal use. Flash forward to an empty parking lot overlooking the beautiful city of Los Angeles. Brian (Paul Walker) is speed testing his new ride, a stylish green Nissan. After pushing it to the limit he only achieves a maximum speed of 140. Upset at his speed, he speeds through a windy neighborhood to head to Torettos, a small shack of an eatery located in the middle of nowhere. It's here that we learn that he's been a regular there for the past 2 weeks and has been ordering the same thing from the waitress Mia (Jordana Brewster) who he appears to have a crush on. Her brother Dominic (Vin Diesel) is known as one the leaders of the underground racing subculture and Brian needs to get in. You see Brian is a cop who is assisting the FBI who want to take down the gang that is hijacking the trucks before the truckers take things into their own hands. So Brian needs to be friend Dominic and try and uncover as much information regarding the hijackers as possible. What he doesn't count on is falling for Mia. This complicates things quite a bit as he is now torn between doing his job and remaining loyal to his friends. The performances in the movie are not spectacular but they aren't terrible either. Aside from star Vin Diesel the performances are pretty much on the average side. Vin Diesel who is best known as the convict from Pitch Black and the voice of The Iron Giant plays Dominic, a tough guy who does what he knows how to do best and that is race cars. Vin is an excellent actor and is someone who improves with every role. Watch for Vin in the upcoming film Knockaround Guys. As Brian, Paul Walker (The Skulls, another Rob Cohen directed movie) doesn't really display much acting talent here at all. He's just another pretty face that was most likely cast in the movie to bring in the teenage girl market. Jordana Brewster who showed promise in 1998's The Faculty plays the stereotypical girlfriend role here and doesn't really add much new life to it. While I wasn't expecting much from the character I was hoping Jordana would bring something to the role as I feel she's a genuine talent. Also appearing are Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight) , Rick Yune (Snow Falling on Cedars) and the latest rapper turned actor Ja Rule. Director Rob Cohen whose previous films were Daylight and the dreadful college thriller The Skulls fares much better this time around. By keeping things moving fast and by not trying to overplay the romantic aspects the movie turns out to be a fun fast thrill ride. One flaw I saw in the story was the very unbelievable romance between Mia and Brian. It simply didn't work, it seemed like it was tacked on. While the editing was already tight removing this ridiculous love story plot would have made for an even tighter movie. Fast and the Furious is your typical guy's driving fast cars movie. It's taken from a cookie cutter mould and delivers a fast paced never boring 104 minutes of pure adrenaline. Check your mind at the door and grab a popcorn and hold on for your life. While it won't win any awards come award season as a summer popcorn movie The Fast and the Furious succeeds and does it well. And remember when the movie is over to drive home safely and responsibly. Reviewed by Mark McLeod on June 25th 2001. |