‘Fast & Furious’ Misses Potential and Squanders the Hype
-----‘The Fast and the Furious’ was the sleeper hit of 2001. Starring the promising young talents of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, it instantly became a cult classic. Eight years pass. After a fun but simple sequel with only Walker returning to star, and another sequel with only a Diesel cameo to offer, the cast of the original had finally come back together. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, now household names for the average movie fan were returning. All of the loose ends left in the original could finally be explored. And the trailer looked amazing. What could be better? Unfortunately however, great hype does not a great film make.
-----Brian O’Connor is working with the feds. Dominic Toretto is still jacking semi-trucks. When a violent crime lord brings the two back to L.A., they’ll have to overcome their history and past differences to unite against this common enemy. Naturally, they’re going to have to drive really, really fast to stop him.
-----Paul Walker returns as Brian O’Connor. Playing the man who always seems to find himself conflicted with his love for street racing and his duties as a lawman, Walker has little to work with here. His cool character and mentality return for their third go round but he seems to have less intrigue and wit than ever before. Walker still does an adequate job trying to salvage the character, but he really needed some better material. Vin Diesel is also back as Dominic Toretto, a character also much less interesting than his debut in the original, ‘The Fast and the Furious.’ Vin Diesel’s presence and undeniable chemistry with Walker is still there, but unfortunately they have cleansed the character of all of the depth and intrigue he had in the original. He no longer has a prominent ‘Godfather’ mentality or even as much of a silent brutality stewing below the surface. As is the case with Walker, I don’t blame Diesel, but rather condemn a script that could have explored so much more by reuniting the cast, but instead settled for so little.
-----Jordana Brewster is back as Mia Toretto, following suit as her character is shallower than in the original. Not to mention the very little screen time she’s given, and a complete failure to accurately explore her relationship with Walker’s character as left hanging in the original. Rounding out the highly publicized returning cast is Michele Rodriguez. Her role in the original was small, but this film takes it to new levels. She may have the most bit part ever by a person with their face and name in big letters on the movie poster. Advertised as the grand reunion of the cast, she was obviously just part of the publicity stunt, and almost constitutes false advertising. Fans of her will be disappointed at her minute and simple role in the film. The only major addition to the cast is newcomer Gal Gadot. She is a prop piece, as she plays the cliché’ bad guy’s girl. She has nothing to do but look good and feed lines. I hate to be harsh, but this is not an archetype new to the ‘Fast’ franchise.
-----I obviously had very high hopes for this film. Before I get to what I liked and didn’t about the latest ‘Fast’ franchise entry, I’ll give my quick take on the previous films. I remember seeing ‘The Fast and the Furious’ back in 2001 and instantly shrugging it off. I knew Diesel only from ‘Pitch Black’ and new nothing about the other players. I didn’t even remember what happened when I saw it again this last week. Needless to say, Walker and Diesels’ stock has risen considerably since then, and I thought the original was great upon watching it a second time. There was a certain mysterious quality as we were shown the underworld of street racing and the motivations of the people within it. I thought it was a great action film, and admired what I considered a story like that of ‘The Godfather’ played out in modern day, with a street racing twist. ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ did not impress me nearly as much. With only Walker returning I had my doubts. I did, however, have fun with that film. It was a light action film, and Walker developed a nice chemistry with Tyrese Gibson. Unfortunately, it did sacrifice any sort of real continuation from the original, and even left the ‘Godfather’-esque themes at the door. The ultimate mesh of different moods in the various films will probably lead some to question whether or not they’re actually in the same franchise. On the third film of the franchise, I admit to not yet having seen it. No one returned, except for a quick Diesel cameo. Besides, it takes place after the latest entry, ‘Fast & Furious,’ so I’m all set.
-----The problem with ‘Fast & Furious’ is the inability to return to the glory of the original. With this excellent opportunity to bring all of the stars back, the film squanders all of the relationships except for the one between Walker and Diesel. The reunion is quickly exposed as a marketing scheme, and the reasons for my hype were immediately destroyed. The plot is dutiful and the only salvageable elements are some awesome car stunts in the first two thirds. The climactic action sequence however, is weak, and as was the case with 2008’s ‘Quantum of Solace,’ can’t keep up with the action earlier in the film. While some ground is covered in these characters coming back together, many of the loose strings left untied in the original remain that way.
-----I really like the first ten minutes, and the last ten minutes of this film. In between, however, the quality turns on and off like a light switch. Including all of the franchise’s trademark elements, many of the scenes feel extremely dutiful. Let’s name a few of these requisites for the franchise: there’s always gorgeous girls making out (primarily with each other), there’s always clothing so tight it may as well not be there, there’s always a rich bad guy, and there’s always police involvement. While not all of those are bad elements for an action movie, many of them feel forced, tired, and overworked.
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-----As for the plot, I really could have cared less about it. The bad guy is boring and I didn’t really develop even a slight disliking or otherwise towards him. I was neutral about much of it as the necessary plot unfolded. If it hadn’t been for some of the early slick action, Walker and Diesel, and some character moments between the reunited cast, there wouldn’t be much going for the movie at all. The ending too, was strong and brought back some of the lightheartedness of the franchise. If ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ is on the completely light-themed side of the spectrum, then this entry is completely on the dark-themed side, with the original being a nice mesh of the two.
-----In conclusion, I was very harsh on this film due to the exciting potential of a reunited cast that could have further developed the once-intriguing characters. Take ‘Clerks II’ for example. Actors reunited after over a decade, and the film still manages to show us new things about them, their motivations, and their relationships in a fresh and entertaining way. However, ‘Fast & Furious’ is still a fast paced action film likely to please many looking for shallow entertainment. While the depth I wanted wasn’t there, I still enjoyed the leads, some of the action, and a fair amount of the film overall. It’s not the classic follow up it should have been, and downright screws up in some places, but it still has enough hundred mile-an-hour thrills for your typical action junkie movie-goer. Fans of Diesel and Walker, and those already sold on the series will probably see it as an adequate entry into the ever growing franchise. Newcomers and casual viewers however, will probably just shrug it off. As for me, I admit to still wanting to see more, and expecting more, from these characters and stories; so I say rent it.
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