Review of The Fast and the Furious (2001) by Caesar M — 13 May 2013

No one could have expected back in 2001 that "The Fast and the Furious" would be the start of a series that would last over a decade. The film itself while the first in a long running series will have you wonder how it ever became a franchise.

The Fast and the Furious is about an undercover cop infiltrating an underworld subculture of Los Angeles street racers looking to bust a hijacking ring, and soon begins to question his loyalties when his new street racing friends become the prime suspects. The premise is standard and so is the way it told. If you have ever seen a film about an undercover cop then you'll know what to expect. The dialogue is generally mixed in quality. Car enthusiast might understand what the characters are talking about when it comes to cars, but the average viewer might not share the same interest. The dialogue that moves the story is more interesting. The theme of family is unexpectedly well handle here and instead is the focus over showing off cool cars. At best the story is average since it does nothing new with it premise, but the characters relationship is enough to stick around with it.

The production values are a bit higher in quality compared to the script. The acting is okay at best. Vin Diesel doesn't leave much of an impression. His performance is one note which is unfortunate since he's a lead. Paul Walker fares a bit better putting in some more effort in his performance. It's nothing special, but has the right amount of charisma to keep things interesting. The supporting actors do their best to elevate the average material with more or less successful results. The cinematography is very good in particular when filming the car scenes. The editing is clean and smooth making each race, chase, or heist entertaining to watch. The stunts do exactly what they needed to do in adding a rush of adrenaline into the audience senses.

The Fast and the Furious is an alright film that doesn't stand out in many ways. It's a well made racing film that will make you wish more would have come from it.