The Fast and the Furious

RATING: C-

The Fast and Furious series has become one of the more longer-running current franchises, and have gained plenty of mixed opinions along the way. These days the films are known for doing crazy things like pulling off a heist with cars, defeating a tank with cars, and driving a car in midair from skyscraper to skyscraper. 

But back in the earlier installments (certainly this first one), these films were actually racing films. More or less what you'd expect. It combined the plot of an average spy/fight movie from the late 90's or early 00's and combined with it the world of underground illegal street racing. An interesting combination; and one that it ultimately couldn't keep going properly as they ultimately gave way to focusing on the street racing. 

The film focuses on Brian O'Conner, the undercover cop who is trying to figure out the culprits of a gang of semi-truck hijackers. Along the way, he gets caught up in the underground racing world led by reckless racer Dominic Toretto and now has to decide where his loyalties lie. And knowing the kind of movie this is, it's ultimately no surprise what he ultimately chooses. 

This is honestly kind of a weird and ludicrous movie. Among other things, it feels *way* too much like a 1990's film for its own good. There are moments where it actually seems to be trying to be intelligent, or trying to be carrying out a decent plot, but particularly in the finale, it throws all of that to the wayside for the sake of an exciting automobile chase/fight scene and an incredibly stupid ending involving an impromptu race between the leads. 

Although most of the characters in the film are actually criminals, there's actually some interesting ones to be found among the bunch, particularly Dom Toretto. The acting is hit-or-miss, though the script didn't really help it out. Vin Diesel's pretty entertaining though, almost no matter what he's doing. And the film actually does have a few charming and/or exciting moments here and there. 

But the problem is, there's just too much inconsistency as well as a dose of stupidity. It feels like it's all too easy for Brian to go undercover and become best buds with Toretto, and all the same, it seems like Dom forgives Brian all too easily after the inevitable revelation of "oh yeah, I'm a cop." (Man, this plot really writes itself, doesn't it?) And the villains? They're arguably some of the most forgettable ones I've ever seen, taking a backseat to the dynamic between Brian and Dom. It literally does feel as if the studios just said "screw it" for the final 20 minutes. 

As far as films with brainless thrills go, one could certainly do a lot worse. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker help keep things interesting, at least. But it's just difficult otherwise to get into a film that's mostly strictly about racing and can't decide if it wants to be intelligent or not before just saying "whatever" eventually. There is definitely certain types of people that might be able to enjoy this if they're not too demanding, but if you want something a little more realistic and sophisticated, stay as far away as possible from this movie.