FINALLY!! A film that lives up to it's title

Rating: Null/10 (6 September 2001)

Film fans may have been disappointed last summer after Snatch, Shaft and X-Men were all released, yet failed to live up to their respective titles (c'mon, think about it). This year however, we finally have a film whose title we can rely on, for director Rob Cohen has served us up something both fast and furious.
Brian Spilner (Walker) is an undercover cop assigned to infiltrate a street racing gang suspected of highway robberies to help pay for their expensive parts. Despite losing an invigorating race against the gang's head leader Dom Toretto (Diesel), Brian earns his respect by saving him from the police.
Under pressure to close the case, Brian gets drawn further into the underground world as he falls for Dom's sister, leaving him facing a choice between his new lifestyle or his job.
Based loosely around a magazine article about late night Japanese racing gangs, F+F explodes onto our screens with a ferocious race scene within the first 15 minutes. The awesome filming style of Cohen leaves us on the edge of our seats as the sheer pace of the cars scream past the camera. Cohen's hook is just the beginning however, as the entire movie is dominated by souped up cars that make Gran Turismo look like go-karts.
Star of the show however is the gravel-voiced Vin Diesel as Dom. Here is one screen tough guy that you know has the brawn to back his words. When he tells Brian that if he breaks his sister's heart, then he'll break his neck, there's little doubt over whether he means it. Diesel's terrific performance comes off the back of last year's success in Pitch Black and it seems Hollywood has finally found a new hard man.
The plot is slightly thin on the ground, but that is more than made up for by Cohen's work behind the camera and Diesel's in front of it. The hundred minutes are choc full of nutty stunts, gorgeous girls, fast cars and cool lines  if ever there was an antichrist of chick-flicks then this is it.
After a summer of big budget flops and box office disasters, F+F took just a weekend to make back it's costs in America. The race scene should be worth your money alone, but if that's not enough, then the chance to see Vin Diesel, a star in the making, should be: and for once you won't be disappointed by the title.
8/10