Fast & Furious (2009)

Directed by: Justin Lin | 107 minutes | action, crime, drama, thriller | Actors: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Laz Alonso, Gal Gadot, John Ortiz, Sung Kang, Kofi Natei, Wilmer Calderon, Ron Yuan, Liza Lapira, Shea Whigham, Tego Calderon, Neil Brown Jr. Mirtha Michelle

It could have been a dime-a-dozen action movie, but it turned out to be director Rob Cohen’s best bet: ‘The Fast and the Furious’, the super-fast action movie from 2001, with sexy cars and overheated babes. The innovative aspect was not so much in the specific ingredients – car chases and beautiful women had featured prominently in films before – or in the story structure – the film was in fact ‘Point Break’ with cars – but in the special insight that Cohen thus gave in to an as yet unknown (sub)culture: that of (illegal) street racing. The whole spectacle of the races themselves, the tension that comes with organizing them, but especially the feeling of togetherness that prevails among the racers, were things that came across well in Cohen’s film and provided a unique film experience. The film went on to become a huge hit—and the muscle-bound Vin Diesel breakthrough—and two new “Furious” films soon followed: ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’, and ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’, both made by other directors. And now there’s part 4, simply called ‘Fast and Furious’, without articles. Like ‘John Rambo’, ‘Rocky Balboa’, the title promises a return to the roots of the series. And through the collaboration of original cast members Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster; the presence of ancient themes of loyalty, betrayal, revenge, and the dividing line between good and evil; and its focus on straightforward racing scenes in (North and Central) American locations, ‘Fast and Furious’ is indeed a feast of recognition for fans of the series. At the same time, there is still just enough news to discover in the film to give ‘Fast and Furious’ a raison d’être and add something to the bigger story.

The film is still not high-quality filmmaking, but at least there is something of the old atmosphere to discover and director Justin Lin has taken revenge for the somewhat disappointing, faceless ‘Tokyo Drift’. The action is familiar and refreshing at the same time; the testosterone level is nice and high again, and old ties are strengthened and where possible strengthened. With new villains, a new mystery babe, and a nice Latino club rock soundtrack, ‘Fast and Furious’ has become a cool, unpretentious action movie. One that really should be experienced in the cinema, where the cars speeding by can affect the viewer in surround and at full volume. ‘The Fast and the Furious’ became a big hit in 2001, which resulted in a more colorful street scene, including in the Netherlands. Suddenly – in imitation of the film – many cars appeared on the road with large spoilers, cool music installations, and often blue, red or green neon lighting at the bottom of the car. And of course a large engine under the hood, possibly assisted by a nitrous oxide injection system that can give the car an enormous boost with a simple push of a button. This element is back in ‘Fast and Furious’, minus the neon lights. No more complicated slipping and sliding, which formed the main part in ‘Tokyo Drift’, but tough, no-nonsense races, which in turn provide tasty (and better) adrenaline kicks for the viewer.

In the first real race of ‘Fast and Furious’, anti-hero Vin Diesel and beach boy Paul Walker face each other again as they try to infiltrate the gang of one Campos, each with their own intentions. Toretto (Diesel) wants revenge for something done to him by Campos or one of his henchmen, and Agent O’Conner (Walker) simply wants to arrest criminal Campos. It’s nice to see these two characters again in such a duel, because of course they have to compete again for the first and second place. It is fun playing with the viewer’s knowledge of the outcome of the race in the first film. Then O’Conner became overconfident and pressed his boost buttons too quickly and eagerly, causing him to wreck his car and lose the race. Now the same seems to be happening. There are more such nods to earlier parts. For example, a reference is made to ‘Tokyo Drift’ when Han tells Toretto that they are doing crazy things in Tokyo. Chronologically, ‘Fast and Furious’ must therefore take place before ‘Tokyo Drift’, since Han dies in that film. Although the film is probably fine to enjoy as a standalone film, it is an advantage to have seen the rest – especially part one. On the one hand it becomes a richer experience and on the other hand certain things, which are not explained in this film, are clearer (such as the reason that Toretto is wanted by the police). For example, the nail-biting opening scene of the film, in which, just like in the opening and end of part 1, a large truck (here a tanker) is robbed and someone gets stuck on the car, gets more resonance. The quality is close to the original, but a problem is of course that it is all not new anymore. Furthermore, the street racing culture as such is now less prominent and the races and chases have become more of a, sometimes slightly contrived, means of telling the story. Then if this story is predictable and dramatically doesn’t work as well as the makers intended, it means that the film as a whole falls slightly behind ‘The Fast and the Furious’.

The tone of ‘Fast and Furious’ is immediately quite oppressive after the rousing opening when Toretto chooses to say goodbye to his girlfriend Letty (Rodriguez) because he does not want to endanger her with his criminal lifestyle and past. It’s also an interesting new dimension for Letty’s character and actress Rodriguez’s character, who unfortunately only appears to have a somewhat minor role in the film. Yet director Lin clearly tries to look for the more dramatic side, just like in that other rebirth in film land, ‘Batman Begins’. To some extent this is commendable. In the meantime, the novelty has been removed from the car racing theme and an attempt must still be made to apply some deepening or broadening. And the dramatic straightforwardness of Diesel’s character is certainly welcome in the film. He has one clear goal, and the viewer wants him to achieve it. However, not all drama works equally well and especially the big reveal and explosive confrontation between Toretto and O’Conner (as there was in part 1) is more laughable than overwhelming or tragic. It is Walker’s acting in particular that falls seriously short and makes it painfully clear that he is little more than a beautiful boy. The actor will really have to focus purely on action in his further career. The content of the film is often somewhat simple. For example, the dualism in Walker’s character – his undercover work has also made him a bit of a villain – is very much on top, and this is communicated to the viewer at random through dialogues and his “tough” behavior. For example, he roughly beats a colleague at the police station to a pulp, he regularly talks about the respect he had (and has) for Toretto, and it is even literally said in a scene that he should ask himself whether he is good or not. bad. The friction between Brian O’Conner and Mia (Brewster) comes across as a bit contrived, with fairly wooden scenes, and the infiltration into Campos’ gang and the elaboration of this storyline is a reasonable anticlimax. But, even if a more engaging content would be nice, it’s not Shakespeare at all, and the drama isn’t what it’s all about in the end. In that respect, director Lin knows what his audience wants: tasty action and eye candy. And both are there.

Depicting the races in a new and interesting way is always a challenge for the filmmakers of this series, and in this part the innovation seems like a bad choice at first. The big race at the beginning of the film uses a navigation system and animated starting girls, making the whole thing seem even more like a video game than it already did. You now see the race partly directly displayed via the navigation system, which initially does not seem to benefit the experience. But it does provide humor and overview (in addition to a modern, “realistic” touch since everyone drives with TomTom in the car these days). It’s comical when Walker continuously ignores the set route and races down shortcuts and alleys, and the GPS system “rerouting!” one after the other. calls because it has to figure out a new route. And, although it should ideally be done with skilled filmmaking, it is immediately visible via the GPS system where everyone is in relation to each other, which creates tension for the viewer. The settings of the races are also interesting, with chases on desert plains and a few times, which is nice, in a long tunnel in a mountain whose exit will be closed within a certain time. The latter creates a claustrophobic atmosphere and a few moments where the viewer will hold his breath for a while. A bit more could have been done with these scenes – (partial) collapses that keep hinting at, for example, don’t happen – but they’re definitely worth it. Furthermore, there is of course a lot of rolling with muscles – nice are the confrontations between Toretto and ferocious Fenix ​​(Laz Alonso) – and there is a lot of feminine beauty. Just like in ‘Tokyo Drift’, director Justin Lin shows his love for kissing women again, and clearly believes that bras under tight shirts are completely unnecessary. The latter can be seen when sultry femme fatale Gisele Harabo (Gal Gadot) tries to seduce Toretto, who then shows a remarkable amount of self-discipline by gently, yet clearly rejecting her with an amusing description of his ideal woman (80% devil, 20% angel, and not afraid of oil under her nails).

‘Fast and Furious’ is about what can be expected of it. It’s an exciting throwback to a bygone era that offers rousing races, hot babes, and drama in just the right amount, yet doesn’t quite reach the spirit of the original. But while the film is (and can be) no longer the new introduction to an unknown culture, the family feeling is lacking, and the races fit less organically into the story as a whole, ‘Fast and Furious’ is still a great action film. The beautiful cars rage furiously through the image, tough looks and fistfights usually do the talking again, and the pumping soundtrack makes the party complete. Despite the mandatory open ending, this would be a nice point to let the series finally cross the finish line. ‘Fast and Furious’ does this stylishly and with squeaky tires.