The Fast and the Furious

The Fast and the Furious is probably the first movie to get me into cars while at the same time enjoying myself without having to worry about a plot.

Paul Walker plays Brian O'Conner, a hot shot police officer, who goes undercover as a car junkie Brian Spilner to see if a local street racer/mechanic by the name of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diseal) has anything to do with hijacking a bunch of cargo from DVD's, TV's, entertainment sets, and so forth while at the same time falling head over heels for Dominic's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster). Brian comes so close while at the same time gaining trust to the target (Dominic) itself where it's only a matter of time before the truth comes out.

The film itself has the best action sequences involving street racing and high octane action where despite a so-so plot to follow, or one that's been seen before (such as Point Break), you don't have to worry about a thing. It's just pure fun.

The film also stars Michelle Rodriguez (S.W.A.T.) as Dominic's girlfriend, Letty; Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs) as Sgt. Tanner, and singer Ja Rule in a small cameo as a contestant against Dominic.

This is the movie that created a brand new mega movie franchise. Generally when there's movie franchises they make movies in the form of trilogies. But later this year when Fast and the Furious 6 comes out it'll be the sixth movie in the series which shows the level of box office appeal the series has to be able to pump out an average of 1 movie every two years is quite impressive. The only other series doing that kind of productivity with different directors on basically a once every 2 year rate is the James Bond series.

Vin Diesel who outside of his other series Riddick movies generally puts out mediocre to bad performances was basically made to play the role of Dominic Torretto. Same goes for Paul Walker, normally when I see he's going to be in a movie I don't bother watching it. But somehow when these 2 guys get together in a movie about driving fast cars with hot girls it turns into a guilty pleasure.

Is it cheesy ? Definitely. Is it corny ? Oh ya. Did anyone deserve an Oscar? What do you think.

Is it a cultural icon that has had a decades long lasting impact on pop culture worth your time ? ABSOLUTELY.

Back in 2001 this movie was the next big thing. Everyone wanted a graphic'd out rice burner to drive around town in pretending they street raced.

Everyone wanted a Mia or Letty. Everyone wanted to have Dom's muscles and Brian's hair.

There's not enough to say about how this movie changed everyone in 2001. Just watch it yourself and put yourself in the mindset of 2001.

Officer Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) goes undercover in the Los Angeles street racing circuits in order to find out which of the racing crews is committing crimes with their muscle cars. But going undercover is never easy, especially with such affable miscreants.

The basic premise is really nothing special. But then again, it doesn't need to be. The point of this movie is in its style. It has fast cars, lots of racing, lots of hot, greased-up babes, muscle-heavy men (and cars) and a killer soundtrack. You don't watch it to be intrigued by carefully orchestrated plot points or tragic backstories or the heaviness of its pathos. No, you watch it to kick back, relax and have a good time.

And in delivering that, the movie more than delivers. But if it was just that, I'd probably rate the film a bit lower. What actually elevates this film above its immediate peers and helped launch a huge franchise, is the fact that this film is punching above its weight class and succeeding. And it does that by having some real good actors playing roles they were born to play. Walker is one of them, but I also have to mention Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez.

The dialogue is also surprisingly snappy and memorable. The plot, while basic, succeeds in making you care for these characters, and it also manages to make itself feel novel, despite arguably being at least a little clichéd. Once again, the fact that you care for these characters matters a lot.

Not a groundbreaking movie by any means, but it has surprising quality underneath all the testosterone being forcibly pumped into your veins.

Today I saw Tokyo drift and yesterday I saw 2 fast 2 furious for the fifth time, but I still find myself drawn toward the original. It stars Paul Walker as an undercover cop who infiltrates the street racing underworld of LA to catch a crook who has been hijacking millions of dollars worth of electronics from 18wheelers, causing the truckers to take matters into their own hands, ultimately ending in deaths and multitudes of money stolen. Now, you would think that because of the semi weak plot, this movie wouldn't be that good, however, the main storyline is just a small part of this movie, the other elements being action and some interesting relationships regarding vin diesels character. Diesel plays a street racing god, one of the best in the LA scene. Walkers character, Brians, way into the world is through Dominic Toretto (Diesel). Toretto has an air about him which draws other in, and Brian is no different. Throughout the movie, Brian is getting to know Dom, earning his trust, etc, but at the end of the movie, both Dom and Brian are forced to make a decision about each other... The whole relationship is interesting to watch. As for the action, there is plenty of it. Besides the many races, there is also some gunplay and some hand to hand fighting, and some interesting hijacking sequences.

All in all the cars are hot, the girls are hotter, the cars are fast, the guns are loaded, and for the more serious, the relationship between Dom, Mia, Vince, Letty, and the others is amazing.

If you haven't seen this movie, rent it tonight