Movie Review-The Fast & The Furious

By Christian Toto http://whatwouldtotowatch.com/


The opening sequence in “Fast & Furious” justifies not only the franchise but the whole idea of a fourth installment of the guilty pleasure series.
Vin Diesel and co. race to swipe the oil right from under a trucker’s nose. It’s the kind of jaw-dropping, logic-breaking scene that epitomizes the franchise at its best.

If only the rest of the movie was a fraction as good.

The new “Furious” brings back Diesel and Paul Walker from the 2001 original, putting them through some pretty similar paces.
Diesel’s Dominic Toretto is still walking the fine line between rogue and rascal, and Walker’s conflicted cop just can’t find it in his heart to slap the cuffs on him. They’re both wrapped up in a drug smuggling operation using fast cars to bring dope from Mexico to the U.S. Dominic is involved out of revenge - you’ll have to see for yourself. Walker wants to infiltrate the drug cartel to bring it down, but he doesn’t have the full support of his superiors.
He’s also the most obvious undercover cop we’ve seen in a while, looking as clean cut as a GQ model. A four-year-old could look at him and bellow, “he’s a cop, for cryin’ out loud!”

It all leads to some underground car chases and the standard shootout sequences.

Yeah, underground racing is just as yawn inducing as it sounds. The newest “Furious” feature serves up some leering shots of the ladies, and Diesel graciously wears as little as possible to show off his Popeye-sized physique. But where’s the fun, the sense of a franchise running all all cylinders like the surprisingly effective “Tokyo Drift?”

Oh, yeah, it’s all in the opening sequence.

“Fast & Furious” feels slower and less intense than a film in this franchise deserves.