Fast & Furious (2009)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Justin Lin

Writers (WGA):

Chris Morgan (written by)
Gary Scott Thompson (characters)

Release Date:

3 April 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

New Model. Original Parts.

Plot:

Brian O'Conner, now working for the FBI in LA, teams up with Dominic Toretto to bring down a heroin importer by infiltrating his operation.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | FBI | Fugitive | Revenge | Los Angeles

Awards:

4 nominations

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Vin Diesel	...	Dominic Toretto
Paul Walker	...	Brian O'Conner
Jordana Brewster	...	Mia Toretto
Michelle Rodriguez	...	Letty
John Ortiz	...	Campos
Laz Alonso	...	Fenix Rise
Gal Gadot	...	Gisele Harabo
Jack Conley	...	Penning
Shea Whigham	...	Agent Ben Stasiak
Liza Lapira	...	Agent Sophie Trinh
Sung Kang	...	Han Lue
Don Omar	...	Himself
Mirtha Michelle	...	Cara
Greg Cipes	...	Dwight
Tego Calderon	...	Tego

Also Known As:

Fast & Furious 4 (Hong Kong: English title) (Singapore: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual content, language and drug references.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45181) | South Korea:15 | UK:15 (original rating) | Finland:K-13 | Singapore:PG | Ireland:15A | UK:12A (edited for re-rating) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Denmark:11 | Netherlands:12 | Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Belgium:KT | Mexico:B | Peru:14 | Iceland:12 | Japan:G

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Neal H. Moritz Productions

Trivia:

With $72.5 mio., had the highest-grossing opening weekend for a car-themed movie (beating Cars (2006)' $60.1 million).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Toward the end of the chase scene where the Subuaru STI is rolled over, you can clearly see that the STI has no driveshafts or exhaust. In other words, it is an empty shell.

Quotes:

Brian O'Conner: Sorry Car!
[Goes over the fence]

Movie Connections:

References Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Soundtrack:

Virtual Diva

Absolutely thrilling, almost as good as the original

The "Fast & the Furious" franchise has gone through a downward spiral since the original was released in 2001. This original, "The Fast and the Furious," combined both great car scenes and action sequences with a solid and interesting story. From there, "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003) was made solely into a brainless action flick, and "Tokyo Drift" (2006) had very little going for it at all other than some good-looking cars. When news came out that "Fast & Furious" (2009) would be released with the original cast, but with the director of "Tokyo Drift," the worst of the franchise, I was uncertain how it would do. Luckily it succeeded.

While the story is a bit convoluted due to some poor storytelling and explanation, it, like the original, works on the levels of an interesting story and a thrilling action flick. The acting, as expected by the cast, works for the film. They clearly won't be receiving any Oscar noms any time soon, but for "Fast & Furious," they work.

The action sequences, though the CGI looks a bit lame at some points, are extremely exciting. The car chases & races are bigger than those from the original, and the film is chock-full of "hot cars and hotter women." As a man who needs a good script to enjoy a film most of the time, I can't give this one the edge over the first of the series. . . but, it's definitely up there with it.

Final Verdict: 7/10.

-AP3-