The Fast and the Furious (2001) is exactly the kind of film you think. It's full of fast cars, action, scandalously clad women, shooting and more. This kick-started a franchise for Universal that I'm not sure they knew how successful it would become. Literally billions of dollars later are where this franchise after releasing its 9th film. It was my first time seeing this, and it did not disappoint. Read here!
Paul Walker is our protagonist as Brian O'Conner. This undercover cop is trying to find out which street racers are stealing from truckers. First off, this movie is very 2000's in a good way. One of the types of items being stolen was a TV/VHS combo. This is something I had growing up, so it brings back some good memories. Walker does exactly what you need him to here. He plays a "straight-man" type and does it well. This performance didn't need a lot of wild emotions. He was an excellent choice.
The group he is infiltrating is Toretto's team or more commonly referred to as Dom. Dom is played by Vin Diesel, and isn't Diesel a perfect last name for a movie about cars? Think about that. Anyways, he is perfect for his role considering he reprises it a number of times. He is intimidating when he needs to be and funny when he needs to be. Dom is a complex character. It's hard to say if he can be considered a real antagonist or not. He poses a threat to Paul Walker's character yet he never really opposes him minus one particular scene. The director, Rob Cohen, had the character done this way on purpose I believe.
The rest of the team is good too particularly Michelle Rodriguez as Letty, Jordana Brewster as Mia, and Matt Schulze as Vince. All three of them give quality contrast to the others that keep it interesting.
There are great driving scenes throughout the whole movie. It still adds up to many modern films today with some decent cinematography work (by Ericson Core). Editing, sound mixing and really anything technical is great. The music is important in this kind of movie obviously, and it does the trick.
Would I change anything? Yes. Some of the story doesn't make me believe the lines being said. I understand that Walker likes Brewster's character, but I don't see him compromising himself because of her. Granted, men do strange things for women sometimes even if they barely know them. Also, Vin Diesel telling Paul Walker about the car he made with his dad didn't flow well. I'm not sure why he would tell him at this point.
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