Fast & Furious: It's Faster! More Furious! And More Fun!

Paul Walker and Vin Diesel return for a reenergized sequel that's more like a classic western with cars

By Luke Y. Thompson Apr 02, 2009 9:30 PMTags
Vin Diesel, Fast and FuriousUniversal Studios

Review in a Hurry: Remember how, with previous sequels to The Fast and the Furious, they tried to act like the cars were what mattered and nobody cared about the characters? Turns out that wasn't true: The reunion of all four original leads—especially Paul Walker and Vin Diesel—helps make this fourth installment the first worthy follow-up.

The Bigger Picture: Dear Paul Walker and Vin Diesel: If you guys hadn't made such terrible movie choices after the first film, you wouldn't be in need of a comeback right now. But here it is anyway, so make the most of it this time, OK?

Though people are calling this installment Fast & Furious 4 for short, it's really more like version 2.5, taking place after 2 Fast 2 Furious but prior to The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (who names these things?).

With its urban-L.A. milieu and candy-colored cars, the facile comparison would be to Grand Theft Auto colliding with Speed Racer, but when it comes down to it, this is really a classic western with cars instead of horses. You've got your bad boy outlaw with a decent streak in Dominic Toretto (Diesel) forced into an uneasy alliance with lawman Brian O'Conner (Walker) to bring down an even worse guy, the mysterious gangster Braga, who initially appears to resemble "the most interesting man in the world" from those Dos Equis beer commercials.

Unfortunately, we don't get all four of our old favorites together for very long—one is quickly written out of the script (and it isn't much of a spoiler to say it ain't Diesel or Walker).

But what we do get, surprisingly, is some kickass action from director Justin Lin, who previously made Tokyo Drift a dud but has apparently learned from all his mistakes. The opening heist sequence, shown in CliffsNotes form in the trailers, is as badass as any Bond movie intro you've ever seen, and both Diesel and Walker have become scarier with age.

The former, looking not unlike an overly tanned version of Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan, walks around busting skulls at the slightest provocation, while the latter appears to have something of the bitterness of a forgotten teen idol.

The script, by Tokyo Drift's Chris Morgan, could use slightly better pacing—every time we think we're about to enter the big climax, it's delayed in favor of another dopey plot twist—but really, the story isn't what you're here for, now is it?

The 180—a Second Opinion: If you're paying to see Jordana Brewster or Michelle Rodriguez, be forewarned that neither gets much to do. The main female attraction here is Israeli actress Gal Gadot, sauntering around in a white tank top.

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