Movie Review by EDF
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez
Director: Rob Cohen
Well now, it’s official. Summer 2001 has been one of the worst summers for movie releases. Most of the big blockbusters have not delivered the excitement we have come to expect from movies budgeted at around the $100 million mark. We might as well just go off and do something else, go into hibernation or something. But wait a second….what is this I see in the distance. It looks like smoke bellowing from screeching tyres. We are saved. Not only do we have the first REAL action flick this year, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS will have your heart pounding with genuine excitement. I dare you to name me another movie this year that has evoked the same reaction.
The story, and there isn’t much of one but that doesn’t really matter in this case, concerns pretty boy Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and his attempts to be accepted as a member of the drag car racing elite, who tear around the streets of L.A. at night for their pleasure. He homes in on Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his gang and also fancies Dominic’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster). To reveal any more of the storyline will spoil the main plot of the movie.
I know what you might be thinking, that’s not much of a synopsis and to be honest, the main plot of the movie doesn’t kick in until about 40 minutes into the movie. Up until then, it’s just character introductions and hard car action. What makes the racing sequences interesting is a mixture of CGI work, fantastic editing, a LOUD soundtrack and trust me, it all works well together. At times it feels like you are part of the race.
With the ever increasingly impressive Vin Diesel proving that PITCH BLACK was not a one off, Diesel handles the lead role with ease and is just right as the new action hero that cinema has been lacking right up until now. Director Rob Cohen must have filmed this movie like a man with a mission and indeed with the budget a fraction of what the blockbusters cost to make, the big bad Hollywood movie-making machine should be ashamed of itself.
All I can say is go and see this movie. It’s action all the way.
And one more thing, after watching this movie, please drive home safely. Thanks.
