Capsule Film Review: The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Inspired by newspaper article about drag racing subculture in Los Angeles, first installment of popular action film series introduces main characters – Dominic "Dom" Torreto (played by Vin Diesel), charismatic leader of drag racers and young mechanic Brian O'Connor (played by Paul Walker). The plot shows how two of them meet and how Brian earns Dom's trust by rescuing him from police; ironically, Brian is actually undercover policeman infiltrated into drag racing circles in order to investigate series of spectacular truck heists. Although the main plot looks very much like the Point Break, action classic made a decade earlier, direction by Rob Cohen makes the film look very different. The attractive cast, memorable characters and couple of spectacular action scenes inspired by Spileberg's Duel and Miller's The Road Warrior manage to overcome plot holes in the script. The ending, which was somewhat unconventional for its time, allowed making of sequels and thus created one of the most lucrative film franchises of our time.

RATING: 6/10