REVIEW: Fast and Furious 4
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez
Direction: Justin Lin
Fourth in the series of these car porn films, Fast and Furious 4 reteams the cast of the first film for an adventure that is sadly not half as exciting as the original movie was.
Vin Diesel returns as Dom Toretto, our grease-spattered hero who's been in the Dominican Republic for the last six years but shows up in Los Angeles seeking revenge for the murder of his girlfriend Letty (played by Michelle Rodriguez).
He's a wanted man here, with charges against him ranging from car theft to murder. Dom reluctantly teams up with undercover cop Brian O'Conner (played by Paul Walker) who infiltrated Dom's gang and dated his sister Mia (played by Jordana Brewster) in the first film. Dom and Brian must take down a drug baron, and this common agenda leads them to yet another series of ridiculously illegal races on the streets of LA.
As anyone who's followed the franchise will tell you, these films are designed as high-adrenalin adventures for boys who are turned on by the sound of a car engine revving. The formula's always been simple – high-speed car chases, hot chicks in tight clothes, and just the hint of a coherent plot. Progressively though, the films have been getting sillier, and most fans will agree the first one – 2001's The Fast and The Furious – remains the most engaging installment.
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The problem with this latest film is there's not a shred of originality or inventiveness in its storytelling; the film's director clearly doesn't think his audience deserves anything better than the same old tricks delivered in the same old style. Fast and Furious has none of the humour of the first film, even the repartee between Dom and Brian has become dull. The car races seem monotonous, and even the film's hotness quotient is at an all-time low, with not one tough broad who kicks some serious a**.
What this film does have, however, is one jaw-dropping pre-credit action sequence in which Dom and his gang attempt to steal gas from an enormous speeding tanker truck on a narrow mountain road. This stunning set piece sets the tone for an exciting action extravaganza; what follows though, is anything but.
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Vin Diesel is in decent form as the beefy action hero with a limited vocabulary, but Paul Walker seems to have lost some of his shine as the quick-thinking golden-boy.
This film offers little to those seeking a smart action experience, it is at best a cheesy B-movie with a few genuinely enjoyable moments. Hence two of out five for Fast and Furious.
Here's a piece of advice – go watch the first one on DVD all over again, it's so much more fun.
Rating: 2/5 (Average)
