Great Cars, Cool Stunts, Bad Movie

Rating: 6/10 (23 June 2001)

I attended an advance screening of "The Fast and the Furious" with high anticipation. Here, I thought, is my cool sexy action movie for the summer. I was looking for pure entertainment with just a thread of credibilty. What I got was a lopsided movie with great cars, amazing stunts, crappy acting, and bad editing. If one-fourth of the attention given to the cars had been paid to the acting and the human film story, the movie would have been just fine. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
First of all, this movie really reminded me of Point Break with Keanu Reeves, only instead of surfing, street racing is the centerpiece.Both stories are completely improbable. Both stories involve green cops sent to infiltrate gangs of thieves who use the loot to fund their expensive hobbies. In both films, the hero jeopardizes his case by gaining a dangerous level of respect for the charismatic leader of the band of thieves. The big difference between the two films is that while Point Break works, The Fast and the Furious does not. The failing point of this film is the lead actor. Paul Walker is the sucking-chest wound of this movie. Yeah, he's pretty, but he completely unable to emote or communicate anything about his character. Even in the presence of excellent actors like Vin Diesel and Ted Levine, he is like a plank of wood. Jordana Brewster isn't too pro either. All the other actors(including Michelle Rodriguez)do a fine job.

Had the basic criteria been met(competent lead actor, clean editing), The Fast and the Furious could have been great. As is, it is moderately awful.