F&F: Fast & Furiestist

Fast & Furious is a solid entry in this franchise which reunites the cool Vin Diesel with pretty-boy-plank Paul Walker.

It's an improvement, in some ways, by bringing the crime investigation to the fore, leaving the teen street racing aspect to one race. It feels like the cop action-thrillers they used to make, but don't anymore 'cause superheroes are more interesting. Director Justin Lin does a competant job with the car chases, with the opening Gas Truck heist working particularly well. He's undermined by some dodgy CGI though, which detracts, rather than enhances the cool stunt-work. After the fall of CGI Bond in Die Another Day, and the ressurrection of real stunt work in the Bourne franchise, I thought this day of poor CG stuntwork was behind us.

The plot is entirely predictable, and the dialogue downright crap at times ("This is where my juristiction ends." "Yeah? Well, this is where mine begins". Which, is fine, if delivered right. But the mighty Vin Diesel is once again saddled by the charisma vacumn that is Paul Walker. It must be said Walker is improving as an actor; the less he emotes the better. Silent, determined Paul Walker is better than affable, surfer-dude Paul Walker.

All in all a fun action thriller, that you instantly forget once exiting the cinema. You get the feeling the best car chase in the movie starts just as the movie's credit begin. With a fifth movie inevitable, I'd like to see the producers hire writers and a director who can inject some nitrus-oxide in to the franchise.