Fast & Furious (**)

Directed by: Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez
Seen: April 10th 2009

** Out of ****

Zero to ridiculous (but great fun) in barely any time at all. Better than the second and third instalments, but not as good as the first, Fast & Furious does however offer some of the best action sequences in the series. The opening scene (re)introduces the world to Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and Letty (Rodriguez), and is a spectacular set-piece of vehicular carnage. The next scene (re)introduces Brian O’Connor (Walker), in a brilliant foot-chase after a small-time criminal who might have information on Arturo Braga, an infamous drug lord.

Dom and Letty are involved, but since Dom is a wanted criminal, he leaves Letty for fear of her being hurt because of his connections and actions. Letty gets killed after this, and Dom investigates, finding reason to believe that people linked to Braga murdered Letty, and Dom, good boyfriend that he is, goes after the killers.

The only way to get close to Braga is to become drivers in Braga’s drug-cartel, good drivers to cross the American border from Mexico with cars full of contraband. The drivers are selected in street-races, and Dom and Brian are set against each other for the last spot on the border-crossing team. Dom wins, but Brian gets a place by using his police connections, effectively rendering the race between Dom and Brian useless, or simply brainless entertainment.

A favourite critic of mine labelled the film as “Car Porn”, and that is appropriate, since there is not only an obsessive fascination with cars, but also with scantily clad women, lots and lots of them, often with small groups of them making out on screen, which seems unnecessary, sex selling. Dom is also able to identify cars from the nitromethane traces they leave behind, what better explanation for that than labelling it “Car Porn”?

The car chases and tricks are great fun however, and I felt a reminiscence of the feeling I had when walking out of the cinema eight years ago, wanting to get in my car and race it between stop-lights, however stupid that may sound. The film is quite retarded (I found some dialogue more ridiculous than the car action), but so much fun that you wish for yet another sequel, and I’m sure that, in time, we will not be disappointed.