I saw the latest chapter in the Fast & Furious franchise this past Friday. I would have seen it earlier, but my local theatre was not doing midnight showings on Thursday night (Grrr). In my humble opinion this flick was probably more anticipated, albeit silently more so, than Watchmen. Banners for the movie were all over YouTube.com and Streetfire.net. Even though I would have liked to see this movie everywhere being advertised, I did not.
Let's get down to business. Did I like it, or not? In a word yes. Maybe that's the wrong word. How about, HELL YES! The movie was spectacular. It wasn't cartooney like 2 Fast 2 Furious; it was more on par with the first and third movies. Now, some have only included the first and second movies in the 4-part series as the "good ones." I must disagree.
Before I get too far into where the movies rank I have to tell you a little about this one and this may include SPOILERS. The film begins with the scene that anyone who has looked at the preview for the film has seen, with Dominic (Vin Diesel), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and their team hijacking a gas tanker truck, the land train. Craziness ensues and spectacular car stuff happens. The movie puts you on the edge of your seat from the start.
If you've been a fan from the start then there's an added tear jerk factor to the film, because it is like a reunion of old friends that you haven't seen since 2001. There are nods throughout the film to the original. One of these moments was when Brian (Paul Walker) and Dominic were exiting the police impound. Brian remarks to Dominic that he owes him a 10-second car, because Dominic blew up multiple cars earlier and Brian's happened to be one of them. This is a nod to the first film because in the first one it was Brian that owed Dominic a 10 second car. This is just one of many inside jokes, a.k.a. smile moments, to those fans who have been with the franchise since its inception in 2001.
There is no need to see the first three films in order to understand this one. If you see this one without the others, you might not get the inside jokes, but you will want to. This movie makes you a lifetime fan from the start of the movie and deepens your love for the characters if you already are a fan.
The rank of the films in the series go like this:
(There is no room for debate of these rankings)
No. 4, 1, 3, 2
The latest was just the most rounded and well thought out movie. All the movies were enjoyable and great rides. The only slide room that I will give is that the first and second movies are interchangeable in their rank. The two are too close. Number one is saved by the coolness of the film and number three is saved by the originality.
I don't review movies from a point of view of a cinematic standard. If you go to a movie and get what you want, or even more, then that's a perfect movie. I got what I wanted from Fast & Furious. I got more than I wanted, because I did not expect the ending to be as good as it was. If you enjoy cars,if you enjoy explosions, if you enjoy rediculousness, then go see Fast & Furious. The movie has enough coolness for anyone and even a little heart, if you look close.
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