NoFace for Film

Title: The Fast and the Furious
Year: 2001
Director: Rob Cohen
Starring Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Rick Yune, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster
Rated: PG-13
Review by: repdetect2 of Homebase

NoFace for Film rating: 6 out of 7

As I was testing out some new equipment for my home theater (I will get more into that at a later date), I decided to watch a film that hadn’t seen in quite sometime, and I am glad that I did.

When I first heard that Universal had acquired the rights to an old 60’s film of the same name, I was worried. I never have been a big fan of remakes. While some of them are done extremely well, many of them, in my opinion are not, or they tread on the classic in such a way that future generations won’t even remember there was an original. But I digress…

The story centers around some hijacking that’s been taking place in Los Angeles. Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) has been selected to go undercover to try and determine the nature of the robberies and who might be able to complete the crimes with such precision. This leads him into a world of illegal street racing that centers around one man…Torretto (Vin Diesel).

While this isn’t Shakespeare, the cast does an excellent job in my opinion at their respective roles, and if this is your first exposure to some of these actors, (some of which are household names by now) it’s refreshing to see a different cast of characters.

Vin Diesel does an excellent job at his role in this film, and shows depth that you wouldn’t expect (Unless you had seen his previous work in Strays, Saving Private Ryan or Multi Facial). Paul Walker isn’t excellent, but he is believable as the undercover cop. One of the things I am critical on at times is when an actor or actress goes outside of what they are good at and fails again and again. Walker appears to have learned in his previous films the types of roles he should play, and he sticks with it. This film is no exception.

Michelle Rodriguez (love her or hate her) makes a decent appearance here. Playing the strongest girl lead in the film, she manages to balance out the hoochiesque attire that apparently is required amongst street racing women, with the boldness you would expect from Girlfight and it holds together quite well. Lastly Jordana Brewster won’t win any Oscars, but she was extremely pleasant to watch, and her interaction with Walker played itself out well. Lastly there is Rick Yune. Rick has never really made it to the big time, but in the few roles he has had, he has always done well I thought. He fits perfectly as the leader of a rival gang who has some nasty history with Vin. Don’t ask me why, but I think Yune lends an air of cool to the movies he is in.

The cars and action in this film are superb. Seeing so many well detailed, designed and tricked out cars was a joy to behold. There is one scene when the police arrive onsite to break up a race. In this scene we are treated to some excellent chases, and a true display of driving ability. In the era of CGI, which I love don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see events that have to be well orchestrated and planned out. That to me takes me back to the old days of film, where you had to get it right in the first take, or you didn’t get the shot… Early on, you get an inkling of what the climax could be like and you’re not disappointed when it arrives.

A nice touch in the film is the exploration of the main character Dom. Now the formula of this type of character has been done before, even by Diesel himself in other films. Is that other’s perceptions of you may be there reality, however that doesn’t always mean what they think is true. And how much self control does anyone have? If something was violently taken from you right before your eyes, could you hold yourself back? For me this is the highlight from an acting point in the film, and Diesel pulls it off in vintage style.

A crucial section for me in any review, is how well is the disc mastered, and how does it replicate the movie experience. Having a HT (Home Theater), the colors the sounds, and spatial effects are in some ways, for me, just as important as the content. This is one area where The Fast and Furious truly shines above many other discs. The mixing of the DD (Dolby Digital) 5.1 track was extremely well done. In some masters, there is too much emphasis on one particular channel, or other channels are ignored entirely. Not the case with this disc. The sequences are true to life and pan from back to front and vice versa. There is one race scene in particular where the camera angles really drive the sound experience. You’re taken from inside the car, feeling the hum of the engine with, yet the quietness of not hearing the outside world. Then your taken to a back view of the cars with the sound echoing in the distance, then to the front of hearing the sound flying towards you, then to a spectator shot from the side as the cars fly past you and the bass rattles the room. Quite the experience. While in some sequences things were a little soft (dialog, certain off scene effects like doors closing, etc..) all in all a good master.

Extras on the disc are standard fare. If you’re going to buy or rent this one, I would suggest getting the tricked out version of the disc. Better commentaries, more information surrounding production, cars and a few nice featurettes.

True car movies with a decent story don’t come along all that often, and while this film isn’t Bullit or Gone in 60 seconds (both of which I will review while I am on this car kick), it does earn its rank among the upper echelon of films in the genre. So sit back, be prepared to suspend some belief, and enjoy a fast and furious ride…

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