Loved it!

Rating: 9/10 (22 February 2004)

This movie is adrenalin charged from the very beginning. The plot centres around an undercover cop,Brian, who has to investigate a number of hijacks. To do this, he must get to know the chief suspect, Dominic Torretto (a stellar performance by the magnificent Vin Diesel) and his group of street racers who buy Japanese cars and spend thousands of dollars converting them into racing machines. As well as being a street racer, Dom also runs a store and a garage. His gang includes his girlfriend Lettie, younger sister Mia and friends Vince, Leon and Jessie. Brian is drawn deeper into the glamourous world, falling for Mia and discovering a respect for Dom, which conflicts with his objectivity.
Rob Cohen does an amazing job of directing this movie, even making a Hitchcock-esque cameo as a pizza delivery guy. The film is very well acted, particularly by Vin Diesel, who manages to portray the two sided character of the carefree street-racer with the responsible older brother who looks out for Mia and the rest of his team. His performance is by far the best of the entire film. Apparently the character of Lettie was not in the original story and unfortunately this shows. Michelle Rodriguez pouts and sneers her way through the film, and her character has no real depth. This is the only low point in a truly brilliant film.