An absolute farrago that frankly fails to entertain.

Rating: 2/10 (16 September 2001)

I gave this film every chance, but at every turn I could not quite believe the extent of its failure as both entertainment and film-making. My mind was much as antagonized as were my ears by this film's far from unique blend of noise, nonsense and numbskullery.
Rarely if ever have I been rendered so disinterested in a movie's opening in particular than with this film. No attempt is made to draw the viewer in whatsoever, with shoddy direction of unrelated, uneventful scenes. The "effect" of the car scenes is but one-trick-schtick. The music is unimaginatively chosen, and in its blaring merely adds to the unsubtle, dulling overall effect of such scenes. There really is nothing original or particularly impressive about the director's use of visuals and sound.
The acting is resolutely bad in a semi-laughable vein. If this "Diesel" chap is one of Hollywood's "brightest up-and-coming stars", he does little to show why here. His one-note performance consists merely of risible, cliched "hard man" posturing, inane shouting and a touch of the insufferably phony. This actor exudes none of the magnetism and genuine cool of, say, Robert Mitchum or Paul Newman, who could both act a bit as well... Diesel and Paul Walker, as the two leads, really do fail to induce any interest. The token "emotional" stuff is, as others have commented, utterly laughable. That one pathetic scene of this ilk has caused other reviewers to brand the film "multi-layered" and the like, is even more laughable. Trite lines delivered in a stilted, faux-sincere manner make for unintentional amusement and nothing besides. The main female actors are just as ineffectual; their characters are so thin they may as well have been reduced to the eye candy status of various other female "extras" on show throughout the film. That is not say, mind you, that genuine allure is generated at any stage... it's all rather perfunctory and sanitized.
The plot? Well, indeed I don't *expect* such action movies to be well scripted and interesting, but it would make a change if one actually was. There is no serious attempt to provide a cohesive story line, attempt to twist the formulaic or be at all offbeat. The bones of this script are chronically malnourished and boundlessly bare. The way plot strands are introduced and just as soon discarded without reason, just illustrates this. The writers and director are either being condescending to their target audience, or, remarkably inept - if they consider this script of any merit at all. Also, the lack of humour renders the film toothless, with the drag racing culture dully and unconvincingly put across. It all just comes across as moronic, violent and slightly sordid. The film also fails to show the side of the law with any gravitas, realism or interest, besides the incredulity stirred within me at the sight of a police/FBI headquarters in the form of some mansion equipped with a swimming pool...! The very vagueness of Paul Walker's character and the subplot centering around Diesel's activities, is matched by the equally vague and unconvincing way the police are portrayed.
This is a movie with no focus, fascination or indeed, "fury" if you will, beyond a facile, faltering nihilism. An assault on the senses it may well be, but it is a rather hollow and unprovoked assault.
Rating:- */*****