Review: ‘Fast & Furious’

Most big-time critics absolutely hate the Fast and the Furious movies. Why, you might ask? Well, the acting isn’t ever completely top notch, the story lines are unbelievable and the racing is just too unrealistic for them, but the wonderful thing about these movies is that to the real people, none of that matters. To preteens, teenagers and adults who have been fans for almost a decade, it doesn’t matter that the movies will never win an Oscar. What does matter is how fast and furious these films actually are, and as a fan from the beginning, I am telling you the newest addition is more than just fast and furious. It will be the most fun you have had in the movies in a long, long time.

After eight long years the original cast if finally back and ready to hit the streets to where these movies first kicked off. The first couple minutes of the movie will remind you of the first time you saw were introduced to the story. It gives you that, ‘this is going to be really good’ feeling, and from there things only go up, and rather quickly.

There is a major turn of events within the first few minutes that really sets up the story line and I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. I will say that Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) is still with the agency he was with from the beginning, and he meets up with Dom (Vin Diesel), and the two aren’t happy to see each other, as things ended on bad terms if you saw The Fast and Furious.

Michelle Rodriguez and Jordan Brewster are both back as well. Brewster has a larger part in Fast & Furious than she ever had in the first, and actually steals a few of the scenes. Other than that Vin Diesel really carries this movie like it is completely his own, which was totally fine with me. His character is tougher than ever, and when you see him on the screen you know something awesome is about to happen.

The movie was directed by Justin Lin who also directed Tokyo Drift, but fortunately the two have few in common and I have a feeling this one will be much more successful than his first. Another welcomed addition to the movie was the amount of humor that was used. It definitely isn’t a comedy by any means, but more than once the audience would crack up and break out in applause. I would definitely recommend going back and re-watching the series before checking this one out to understand the inside jokes.

As always the soundtrack was spot on as well. The fast cars and fast music combine to make an experience that is hard to forget, and this movie is no different from the others. Everything flows wonderfully.

While I may be being incredibly too lenient for this movie, I am simply a fan who left amazed and didn’t think one single thing was wrong with where this movie went. Critics who are looking for the movie of the century aren’t going to find it in Fast & Furious but that doesn’t mean these movies aren’t well done. If you are a fan or someone just looking for a good movie to see that will kill some time and leave you on the edge of your seat, definitely check this one out.

It’s rated PG-13 for language, some drug use, little sexual content and intense violence. While it may not be the best influence on kids who are learning to drive, I still recommend this movie for anyone from the ages of eleven and up. It’s about an hour and forty minutes. It opens on Friday, April 3, 2009 and is definitely guaranteed to satisfy. It’s fast, furious, fun and pure entertainment.