Director: John Ireland and Rob Cohen
Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster
Story rating: 3 discs (out of 4)
Story review: This turbo-charged film centers on street racing and the people who live for it. Dominic Toretto (the aptly named Vin Diesel) is one of them, rebuilding high performance racecars by day and racing by night. Since the money he makes for winning a race (up to $10,000) barely covers his overhead costs, Toretto and his band of staunch followers supplement their incomes by hijacking electronics-filled 18-wheelers. The FBI, which has narrowed down the suspects to either Toretto or his arch rival Johnny Tran (Rick Yune), sends in undercover officer Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) to get the evidence they need and arrest the right guy. O’Connor gets a job at a local high-end auto supply store and soon infiltrates Toretto’s gang, despite repeated warnings from its leader’s steadfast cronies. He wins Toretto’s respect, and after predictably falling for his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), begins to question his loyalties. It’s a stale story line with all the typical elements, but who cares? In The Fast and the Furious, the story is a mere formality. Furious gets high marks for being so absolutely relentless in the action department you may forget it even has a story. But remember, it’s marketed as a drag racing flick, and drag racing is exactly what you get. —Guylaine Cadorette, Hollywood.com
Features rating: 2 1/2 discs (out of 4)
Features review: Director Rob Cohen‘s commentary is energetic and informative, with a nice blend of the technical and anecdotal, but is just the tip of some really interesting extras.
The final stunt scene was shot in eight different camera angles: the choice of which one is your favorite as compared to the final, edited selection for the movie is a fun one to make. Also of real interest is the inside look at editing for the MPAA, whose silly rules are a trial and tribulation for all directors.
Finally, even the now de rigeur Making Of… and deleted scenes features are above average. There are some cool behind-the-scenes footage and neat insights to the stunts in the Making Of…, making it a worthwhile view.
Bottom line: A real zoom-zoom summer popcorn movie that was even more fun the second time around. The features on Universal’s Collector’s Edition DVD are a nice bonus on top of that. This is a must-buy DVD for the thrill-seeking cinephile.
Special features list:
• Racer X: The article that inspired the movie
• Deleted Scenes
• Visual Effects Montage
• Audio Commentary: Director Rob Cohen
• The Making of “The Fast and the Furious”
• Editing for the MPAA Featurette
• Music Videos: Ja Rule, Caddillac Tah and Faith Evans
• Trailers
• Film-to-Storyboard Comparison
• Multiple Angles
• Interactive Game: Movie Magic Interactive Special Effects
• DVD-ROM: Web Links
• DVD-ROM: Supercar Street Challenge demo
