Fast & Furious: Review By Chad Langen

The careers of the original "The Fast and the Furious" cast consisting of Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriquez appear to have fallen significantly; that or Universal gave each of them a paycheck they couldn't decline to convince them to return for the fourth installment in their successful racing franchise. Helmed by Justin Lin ("The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift"), the lamely titled "Fast and Furious" is by far the weakest entry in the series. While the first 20 minutes of the film explode with action, it's all downhill from that point. There are seemingly endless car chases during the course of the movie, yet the frequent close-ups and limited aerial shots fail to showcase these sequences to their fullest.

The plot is about as unoriginal as they come. Dominic (Diesel) and Brian (Walker) attempt to bring down a drug kingpin by going undercover as members of his gang, who rather than try and sneak drugs across the border, drive flashy cars that are fast enough to outrun the police. It's a premise that has been used in nearly every action franchise to date (minus the cars). Of course, when it comes to this particular franchise, viewers never really expect an award winning script. Then again, the action is usually consistent enough to distract audiences from the simplicity of the plot. In this case, however, the bare-as-bones story-line sticks out like a sore thumb.

While the plot is far from intriguing and the action severely lackluster, a majority of the sorry fanboys who actually pay their hard earned money to see this thing theatrically are anxious to see Diesel and Walker reunite which hasn't happened since the original picture. Needless to say, both actors fail to deliver and what's worse? Co-stars Brewster and Rodriquez are far more compelling than either of the two headlining males. That's pretty pathetic considering their roles demand far less. On many occasions, the script is usually at fault in failing to explore the characters, but with "Fast and Furious", that's not the case at all. Both Diesel and Walker show little emotion on screen and furthermore, they don't seem to care. It's almost as if they believe they're too good for this particular production when in actuality, the paychecks they received were probably the biggest they've seen in years.

Even fans of the three previous "Fast and the Furious" features will be utterly disappointed. Justin Lin is a talented director thus he could've easily made this a more visually intriguing picture, but even a more satisfying form of spectacle couldn't have saved this film. It's hollow, pointless and far from entertaining. "Fast and Furious" is a perfect example of a studio attempting to rake in some profit from viewers who can be sold on a two minute trailer consisting of a few flashy cars and familiar actors behind the steering wheel. You'd be better off simply watching the preview as it contain everything even remotely please that the film has to offer.

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