The name says all

Rating: 7/10 (26 November 2001)

A few months ago this film burst onto U.S. screens with little or no build up, and became a huge success.
With a virtually unknown cast and competition from movies such as Dr Dolittle 2, it made a large impact on the box office, reaching number one.
As for the product itself, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. The movie opens with a spectacular truck hijacking by a group of black high performance cars. The plot then follows the story of Brian, played by little-known Paul Walker, a young car parts salesman who is trying to ingratiate himself into a group of revheads in L.A. After initial resistance, he becomes the protege of their leader Dom, played by Vin Diesel, a minor celebrity actor whose biggest roles were in Pitch Black and Saving Private Ryan.
The big letdown is the close similarity between the story and the movie Point Break, except the activity of surfing is replaced by street racing. Paul Walker is certainly no Keanu Reeves, but he doesn't have to be - the cars are the real items of interest in this movie.
It happens that Brian is actually an undercover cop, intent on finding the hijackers. He must first prove himself to be a legitimately talented racer as his cover identity. Naturally there's the obligatory love interest for Brian provided by Dom's little sister.
The stunts are extremely well staged, almost to the point of believing that they must be computer generated pictures.
The races and car chases are totally exhilarating, such that you don't have time to pick holes in the plot or worry about the quality (or lack of) the acting or script.
The soundtrack is completely occupied by either cars revving or full force rap/techno music - under no circumstances see this movie with a pre-existing headache - it will be 50 times worse afterwards! That said, I think the sound is wholly appropriate to this film.
Make sure you stay until after the closing credits, because it's one of those movies where there's something more for the viewer.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the spectacle.