The saving grace of 'The Fast and the Furious' are the highly charged racing sequences, but even those are punctured by Rob Cohen's berserk direction

Rating: 4/10 (7 March 2005)

The Fast and the Furious
Every week, trucks containing valuable electronic equipment are hijacked by the expert drivers of super-fast, unmarked cars. In their investigation, the FBI and the Los Angeles police force begin to suspect participants in the vicious, illegal nighttime street-racing wars of committing the crimes. The almost cult-like following that this activity attracts is led by Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel, 'Pitch Black'), whose more sensible sister Mia (Jordana Brewster, 'The Faculty') is beginning to fall for Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker, 'She's All That'), a new face in the street-racing circuit. But, unbeknownst to Mia or Dominic and his entourage, Brian is an undercover cop who has been assigned to infiltrate their group and try to discover the culprit behind the thefts. But as Brian spends more and more time with the Torettos and their companions, he finds himself torn between his duty as a police officer, and his loyalty as a friend.
Aside from the fact that 'The Fast and the Furious' is based on a Vibe magazine article about street-racing written by Ken Li, the script isn't anything special, and seems more heavily inspired by the mediocre Jerry Bruckheimer-produced 'Gone in Sixty Seconds' remake from last year, as well as a 1999 Hong Kong action film, 'The Legend of Speed'. I can forgive the lack of brains presented here, but some actual characters would have been nice, as would capable actors to fill their shoes. Paul Walker does not convince in the lead role, and fails to truly express the emotional byproducts of his character's internal conflict of interests, while Vin Diesel is all too content to let his muscles do the talking. Michelle Rodriguez, as Diesel's moody love interest, is the bright spark within the tedium, but it seems as if she wandered onto the set while filming 'Girlfight' and was instantly hired on the spot. For a mainstream breakthrough, this gifted actress deserved better.
The saving grace of 'The Fast and the Furious' are the highly charged racing sequences, but even those are punctured by Rob Cohen's berserk direction. The soundtrack is way off, the camera cramps too close to the action, and what's with all the CGI?
~ 4/10 ~