Quickly Runs out of Gas

Rating: 5/10 (27 June 2001)

Do you like car chases? I mean, do you REALLY love car chases? You had better if you plan on watching "The Fast and the Furious," because that is all it has to offer. The movie starts off promisingly enough, but quickly degenerates into a poor copy of 1991's "Point Break." All they did was substitute cars for surf boards! Of course, "Point Break" actually went through the bother of explaining Keanu Reeves motivation. Without giving away a small surprise, "The Fast and the Furious" never adequately explains why Paul Walker's character wanted to enter the world of racing. Was he trying to advance his career? Did he simply love the smell of new cars, and who doesn't!?! In any event, his motivation, and several other things are left to the audiences imagination.
So is this a terrible movie? No, not really. Plot deficiencies aside, the racing scenes are really quite well done. On many occasions the camera moves inside the engine, and we are able to see and hear the pistons roar! The movie plays like a two hour music video, with a soundtrack that rarely screeches to a halt. With a deft touch, this movie could have amounted to something. That's why the films lousy script will make you furious! 2 and a half stars out of 5.