The Fast and the Furious (Widescreen)

The movie opens with a bang, a visual adrenaline / testosterone combo rush in which several guys and a girl in supercharged little black cars attack and rob a semi truck as it roars down an interstate highway. The scene reminds me of the old Westerns where robbers attacked a moving stagecoach. It's a silly scene because it's so obviously impossible, but it's also totally exhilarating to watch. In real life, if you absolutely must rob a semi, try one that's parked.

The plot involves a not-so-bright ...[man] named Brian [Paul Walker] who infiltrates a group of street racers led by the charismatic Dominic [Vin Diesel]. The group may or may not be the thieves. Along the way, Brian must prove his worth as a racer, and these scenes involve some rather amazing races along the streets of LA. He also manages to fall in love with Dominic's sister, Mia [Jordana Brewster]. Incidentally, the plot seems ...

Vin Diesel dominates the cast. He was also appealing in two movies in 2000, Pitch Black and Boiler Room. He is probably our next great action star. Paul Walker, who sounds like Keanu Reeves and looks like the young Rob Lowe, makes a good white bread kind of hero. Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez are great to look at, but this is a guy flick, so it's hard to gauge their acting skills here.

The Fast and the Furious is one of the most visually interesting movies of 2001. Director Rob Cohen keeps everything, well, fast and furious. The movie is in constant movement. The photography is outstanding. The colors and lighting create an LA that is appropriately dreamlike, since we know that all the things we are seeing could only really happen in a movie. This is street racing and crime as a fantasy.

This movie may be all style and no substance. It's a guilty pleasure, trash mixd with class....

"The Fast And The Furious" is an amusing movie because the director and cast never pretended to be part of a groundbreaking film, they knew that they were filming a popcorn movie, so they enjoyed the whole process, and the result is evident, "The Fast And The Furious" is an entertaining movie.

Of course, this kind of trick only works once, but Hollywood don't care, the studios love to repeat successful formulas, even if they know they are going to release a bad movie, they do it because they also know that it's going to do well in the box office. So Hollywood made a sequel, "2 Fast 2 Furious", but obviously that movie is just average or below average. This kind of formulas (cars + visual effects + attractive women) only work once.

Anyway, "The Fast And The Furious" it's a very amusing, entertaining film. I would recommend you to rent it first, and if you like it a lot, well, get it. If you don't like it that much, at least you will have a good time for two hours.