The purpose of these reviews is to take a movie, any movie, and run it down in a paragraph. An exercise in short form criticism, if you will, from someone who once pumped out nearly 4000 words on My Fair Lady. Yeesh.
The Fast and the Furious - 2001, Universal Pictures
After seeing The Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw this past week, I took it upon myself to revisit the franchise from the beginning, starting with Rob Cohen's franchise launching film. Crafted as an adrenaline fueled soup of street racing and crime, the film follows undercover police officer Brian O'Conner (played by the late Paul Walker), as he attempts to infiltrate Dom Torretto's (Vin Diesel) crew of street racers to determine if they're responsible for a series of truck hijackings. Directed by Rob Cohen, known nowadays for his commercial work, the film is at its best when it focuses on action. There are three major car sequences in the film, two heists and a drag race, and each one is more visceral and intense than the last. It trips itself up when the story puts the brakes on, as Walker struggles to deliver a believable performance as an experienced police officer, and Diesel doesn't really get to bring any depth to his role as the hot shot leader yet, but the movie still manages to be a solid start for the now billion dollar franchise. Come for the fast cars and loud soundtracks, stay for the potential of future installments I guess.
3/5 - Fun, but ultimately unmemorable.
