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As a bonafide B-movie fanatic, the first of this series — “The Fast and the Furious” — is not only an all-time favorite, but after living in Los Angeles for eight years, I can say that it captures the look and feel of the city better than all of those highfalutin films that self-consciously work so hard to capture the look and feel of the city. Most of us don’t live in Hollywood or Santa Monica or in Beverly Hills. We live in the sprawl of it all and so does the first entry into this surprisingly durable franchise.
There’s just nothing about that film not to love. Great racing sequences, fast-moving story, and a detailed tour through a fascinating world you otherwise would never know existed, much less get a good look at. And who doesn’t have, “I live life a quarter-mile at a time” tattooed across their back?
The two sequels that followed, especially the second one, were disappointments. If you’re not going to cast the under-appreciated Vin Diesel (yes, you read that right), why bother? So it was nice to see the original cast reunite for #4 and while that entry’s opening sequence was a jaw-dropper, unfortunately, the rest of the film just couldn’t live up to the first few minutes. The biggest problem was an over-reliance of CGI during the racing sequences that only served to remove the suspense. Man, I hate CGI.
Number five, “Fast Five,” with the Mighty Vin, opens tomorrow Friday and at the very least the trailer promises real action as opposed to the soulless kind generated in a cubicle.
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