Review of Fast & Furious (2009) by Darren C — 25 May 2012

As the third sequel in the series, you'd think that the movie wouldn't be as good as the first movie or the other sequels that followed and yet Fast and Furious must be the best one out of the series so far (depending on how Fast and Furious 5: Rio Heist is). Fast and Furious improves on the flaws of the last three movies as the story is actually a little bit interesting and is entertaining, even if the story is a little weak at times. Brian O'Conner, now working for the FBI in LA, teams up with Dominic Toretto to bring down a heroin importer by infiltrating his operation. Although the story is more entertaining and better written than the previous three movies, Fast and Furious tends to have moments when the movie drags and times when the story is simply ridiculous, which is an occurring trait the other movies had so if you didn't have a problem with those, you won't have a problem with this addition. Fast and Furious had some good performances, especially from Vin Diesel, who plays Dominic Toretto from The Fast and the Furious. Paul Walker also returns as Brian O'Connor, who was the focus in the first two movies, and does a great job. It was great to see the return of the old cast from the first movie and it was good to see the story properly pick up from where the first movie finished but apart from the two main characters, Brian and Dominic, nobody else seemed to have any likeability or personality to them.

As usual, the script for Fast and Furious is a too simplistic and uninspiring at times and left you wanting to hear the characters talk about something worthwhile or memorable but let's face it, those who want to see this movie want to see it for the action. The writing is pretty much the same as the other two sequels only this time, the story is actually a little more interesting and leaves us with some character development as well as knowing more about them and actually caring a little bit about them. Of course, Fast and Furious isn't really well-known for it's story or script but for the action sequences and they are pretty much what the movie title suggests; it's fast, it's furious and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Some of the stunts and the action choreography in the movie were very well done, especially the first five to ten minutes of the movie which was, in my opinion, the best scene out of the whole series so far. Overall, Fast and Furious manages to beat 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and also manages to bring the series back to the enjoyable, adrenaline-filled high that The Fast and the Furious ended on.

Fast and Furious is a very good action movie with some cool stunts and some great car racing scenes that would impress and the story is actually rather entertaining. It's also good that the characters from The Fast and the Furious return for this as this actually feels like a proper sequel, rather than a spin-off (like 2 Fast 2 Furious) or a different story that didn't have a lot to do with the series (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift anyone?). Overall, this will definitely please fans of the series but for those looking for more than fast-paced action scenes and great stunts and actually want a great storyline and characters with personalities as well, look elsewhere. This is the best out of the series so far and quite a pleasant surprise but it's still advised you leave your brain at the door to watch it, it's just great fun.