The Fast and the Furious **** (2001, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Rick Yune) – Classic Movie Review 311

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker take the fast track to stardom in the heart-pounding 2001 action thriller The Fast and the Furious, a fine example of a high-octane thrill-ride of a movie totally exceeding a mundane script. 

This 2001 heart-pounding, brilliantly kinetic action thriller The Fast and the Furious is a fine example of a high-octane thrill-ride of a movie totally exceeding the expectations of a mundane script, based on the magazine article Racer X by Ken Li and screen story by Gary Scott Thompson. Their work is transformed into something else, a new level, by the sheer energy of director Rob Cohen and his team, especially the stuntmen.

Vin Diesel stars as Dominic ‘Dom’ Toretto, who drives the streets of LA as if he owns them and, as far as his crew is concerned, he does. He spends his days putting wrench time into high-performance Japanese racing cars – make and model matter less than the computer-controlled fuel injection that makes them fly.

Nights, Dominic pilots his own earth-bound rocket, pocketing as much as $10,000 a ride when somebody has the nerve to race him. The races are street theatre, tribal gathering and battlefield combined, fuelled by adrenaline, sexual tension and raw, out-of-control speed. Throngs pack otherwise desolate streets to cheer and jeer – and just belong.

Then along comes Brian ‘Bri’ O’Conner (Paul Walker), an undercover FBI agent posing as another racing-car freak, who infiltrates Diesel’s little gang, who are also executing heists on trucks delivering costly electronic equipment. As Walker starts to fall for Diesel’s younger sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), while forming a mounting respect for the charismatic Diesel, he now struggles to decide where his loyalties lie.

Well that’s the setup and the plot. They are serviceable enough, but it’s the driving direction, stunts and cars that turn the movie into something special – plus the allure of the performers. And, we have to say, Diesel and Walker are in their prime. It motors a lot on their undeniable charms. And Michelle Rodriguez impresses as Letty.

The Fast and the Furious proved a surprise smash hit in the US, where it grossed $145 million against a cost of $38 million. No wonder sequels were required. But Diesel was reluctant to do any more. The first sequel was 2 Fast 2 Furious with Walker and Tyrese Gibson.

Diesel has a cameo in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and returned properly to the franchise with Walker in Fast & Furious, which appeared in 2009. The series is still running and Fast & Furious 6 appeared with Diesel, Walker and Gibson all back again in 2013, followed by Fast & Furious 7 [Furious 7] (2015). Fast & Furious 8 [The Fate of the Furious] appeared in April 2017.

Thank God for fast cars!

Producer Neal H Moritz appears as a Ferrari driver.

The producers had to buy the title rights to producer Roger Corman’s 1955 movie The Fast and the Furious to re-use the title.

Diesel and Cohen re-teamed for xXx (2002). And, when that was a hit, Diesel wouldn’t do the sequel to that one either, leaving it to Ice Cube in xXx: State of the Union [xXx 2: The Next Level] (2005). However, Diesel eventually thought better of it, and 2007 brought him back in xXx: Return of Xander Cage.

Tragically, Walker died aged 40 in a single-car accident on November 30 2013 alongside friend Roger Rodas. His last fully completed film is Brick Mansions, though he had done much filming on Fast & Furious 7 [Furious 7] (2015).

Diesel turns 50 on 18 July 2017.

The Fast Saga: The Fast and the Furious (2001), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Fast & Furious 7 [Furious 7]  (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), F9 (2021), Fast X (2023).

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© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Film Review 311 derekwinnert.com

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