A lot of fun (SLIGHT SPOILERS)

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2002)

The Fast and the Furious is not a great movie by any means, but it is very entertaining. It's definitely a turn-your-brain-off-for-two-hours flick, a nice popcorn flick. The plot is your basic undercover cop conflicted by his attachment to those he is infiltrating kind of thing. No real surprises here. The acting is quite good. I'm putting my money on Vin Diesel becoming the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. Michelle Rodriguez, who was just amazing in last year's Girlfight (she is why I saw this film), is extremely sexy in it. Oh yeah, she gives a good performance, too. I hope she gets some great roles after the success of this movie. The other performers are all relatively good. There aren't any weak spots. The action, which is why most will see The Fast and the Furious, is very good. Although one might wonder why it takes five minutes, even in slow motion, for cars that go 150+ MPH, to travel a quarter of a mile, it doesn't hurt the flick too much. I generally don't like car chase movies. The Mad Max films and this are probably the only exceptions. I was clenching my teeth during several action sequences. 7/10.