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Fast And Furious (Film)
Rating: M
Running Time: 107
Country: USA
Director: Justin Lin
Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker
Distributor: Universal
Film Worth: $10.50
Release Date: April 16, 2009
“…a titillating hunk of boys-own cinema.”
The facsimile title and tagline "new model, original parts" does little to dispel assumptions that this third sequel to The Fast And The Furious will be the equivalent of a dime-a-dozen chassis straight off the conveyor belt. With producers playing the only card left to them - restoring the original double billing of Paul Walker and Vin Diesel - we're on sturdier ground than with the fizzling sequels 2 Fast 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift.
The plot, while not quite sporting deflated tires, trundles along in a fairly non-descript blur, as undercover cop Brian O'Connor (Walker) re-forms his misalliance with the self-made bad-arse Dominic Toretto (Diesel), both of whom are sniffing at the trail of a heroin kingpin who shifts his shit with fast cars. The real show isn't the plotting though - it's the white-knuckle drag racing, as muscle cars and imports grunt it out for asphalt supremacy. Tokyo Drift director Justin Lin's lofty aspirations of characterisations-via-cars are genuinely realised here - Diesel is riveted into his muscled-up Charger like an extension of the pedal, while Walker suits his steely import rides down to the slick paneling.
When the plot is suspended, and deliciously named wheels like the "F-Bomb Camaro" whirl before us in a fetishistic parade, Fast & Furious temporarily hits a warp speed that is mesmeric. The set pieces, including a breathless opener, are consistently exciting, never more so than when we descend into tangled underground tunnels. Happily, the winning human dynamics of the original have largely been resurrected. Diesel's bassoon-voiced, low-watt charisma seems best placed in this franchise, and there is an undeniable spark with his foil Walker, who's all white teeth and Californian tan. Between them and the sumptuous cars, Fast & Furious emerges as a titillating hunk of boys-own cinema.