Too Offensive to be Fun...

Rating: 1/10 (3 July 2001)

I'm all for sex, drugs and rock and roll...and fast cars too. Movies like that can be a lot of fun. But this film left me rather disturbed.
Perhaps some vague spoilers ahead, so be warned...
The multi-ethnic casting seems at first like a breath of fresh air, until one realizes that it pretty much boils down to everyone vs. the Asians. And who dies in the film? Criminals? Well...only if they're Asian.
The film uses women as eye-candy. Male racers are rewarded with babes and sex--if they win. If they loose, well, maybe they'll be called "faggot"--and they won't get to sleep with the babe, because no woman in the film is debasing enough to sleep with a loser. Michelle Rodriguez tries to be the exception to this image, but in acting tough she has a permanent scowl on her face and merely comes off as being very, very unhappy. I don't think she smiled once in the film.
The film blurs the line between good and evil (except for the Asians--they're evil) and has no sense of closure or justice. Top it all off with a few plot holes (why didn't they use the cell-phone trick in the beginning?) and you have a movie that tries to be fun but is actually ridiculous and offensive. The only good thing about the film is that it's making a ton of money--not good in itself, but at least it means we'll see Vin Diesel around more often. If you're a fan of his as I am, skip this one and rent Pitch Black again.