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Reviews
STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED
Unmissable 5 Stars
Excellent 4 Stars
Good 3 Stars
Poor 2 Stars
Tragic 1 Star

FILM DETAILS
Certificate
15
Cast
Paul Walker
Vin Diesel
Michelle Rodriguez
Jordana Brewster
Rick Yune.
Directors
Rob Cohen.
Screenwriters
Gary Scott Thompson
Erik Bergquist
David Ayer.
Running Time
107 minutes

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The Fast And The Furious
Both fast and furious, this is a film which delivers on its promise and introduces the century's new action hero - Vin Diesel.


Plot
On the darkened streets of LA, kids illegally race souped-up cars at speeds of over 150 mph. That's problem enough for the cops, but when a series of daring raids on moving trucks seems to be connected with the tribe of boy racers, they decide it's time to infiltrate the gangs...

Review
Now here's a delightful oddity - a movie that does exactly what it says on the tin. The Fast And The Furious is a mindless, hellaciously hectic, borderline irresponsible drag race of a movie that flattens the accelerator in the first few seconds and doesn't let it off until the final frame. And in Vin Diesel it invents the first genuine action hero since Bruce Willis paid a visit to Nakatomi Towers. In other words, itÆs a gas. Lifting its title from an appropriately cheesy 1950s AIP racing flick (erstwhile creators of the classy likes of I Was A Teenage Werewolf) and its plot from Point Break, Rob Cohen's movie is the kind of determinedly dimwitted popcorn entertainment that the big studios have been throwing hundreds of millions at ummer with, for the most part, limited success. Until now. And this, implausibly, from the man who made the execrable frat flick, The Skulls.

For a start, TFATF has a plot - not a complex one, granted, but at least there's something close to a story. It has eye candy in the shape of dimwit bobby-dazzler Paul Walker (appropriately enough, a refugee from American soap The Young And The Restless) and Jordana Brewster. And it has Diesel, a unique brooding hulk of a man who looks as if he's either going to rip your head off or read you poetry. But most of all it has car chases. Really fast ones. Cars roar past - and even through - the camera at speeds of up to 170 mph, while in the hi-jack sequences they hurtle around and under speeding trucks - and, of course, smash into each other with satisfying regularity. In seamlessly interweaving top-notch CGI and incredible stuntwork, Cohen has delivered some of the finest auto-action ever put on screen.


Verdict
In a cheerfully cheesy was, this is probably the most fun to be had at the multiplex so far this year. Even a slightly dull bit in the middle involving some Oriental gangsters can't slam the brakes on the fun.


Reviewed by Adam Smith


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Your Reviews

Average user rating for The Fast And The Furious
Empire Star Rating

I would probably watch this again but this is simply a Point Break rip-off. ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by the film man at 22:34, 25 October 2011 | Report This Post


Nice ride!

I haven't seen the fourth one, but in my opinion this is the best one! ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by The Great Danton at 11:20, 31 October 2010 | Report This Post


Great movie, in my opinion the only really good film about car racing. The races and chases are brilliant, fast and furious, so to speak. Very fun and enjoyable. ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by stevolegendbauer at 16:33, 04 August 2010 | Report This Post


The positively worst film of the decade. Please! Do not waste time (nor money). ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by nc_jj at 19:47, 17 January 2010 | Report This Post


Fast and Furious

This is a great movie. Watch and you'll see what we're on about. ... More

Empire User Rating

Posted by premierbaron at 08:50, 15 April 2006 | Report This Post



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