The long-running “Fast and the Furious” film series recently returned to theaters with “Fast Five.” Since its release, this fifth installment has broken numerous box office records showing the continued strength of this series. With that in mind, I recently watched the first four “Fast” films to see why this franchise has kept its engine humming for so long.
—–
The Fast and the Furious (2001): Paul Walker stars in the original as Brian O’ Conner, an undercover police officer investigating a string of truck robberies. The investigation leads him to Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), a car-racing criminal. O’Conner befriends Dom and starts dating his sister, while hoping that his new friend isn’t the culprit behind the robberies.
Out of all five films, “The Fast and the Furious” continues to be my favorite. It’s a fun and exciting adventure with “cool” characters and a few great action scenes, including a climactic scene during a truck robbery. The story isn’t great but it’s a fun way to spend an afternoon.
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003): After letting Dom loose at the end of the first film, O’Conner is now an ex-cop racing cars in Miami. The police enlist him to go undercover to take down a local druglord. With the assistance of his former friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), the duo work to bring the ruthless criminal to justice.
The sequel isn’t as exciting as the original but it does feature a few thrilling sequences including a car chase at the end and a dramatic climax on a boat. There are a few nice surprises during the major action sequences and this sequel, despite its obvious flaws, is still a ride worth taking.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006): Without Walker and with only a cameo by Vin Diesel, this story focuses on a new character involved in car racing. Lucas Black stars as Sean Boswell, a troublesome teen who is forced to move to Japan. While there, he starts racing cars against his classmates and eventually faces off against one of them in a race down a mountain.
Without the original cast and with an incredibly silly plot, this movie falls apart. The franchise definitely stalled with this third installment. Even fans of the series can skip this insipid sequel.
Fast & Furious (2009): Walker and Vin Diesel returned to their original roles in “Fast & Furious.” In this story, O’Conner is working as an undercover agent once again attempting to take down a major criminal. Dom becomes personally involved in the case when his girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriquez) is murdered. The undercover investigation and Dom’s plot for revenge eventually lead to a climactic race in darkly-lit tunnels.
The series ramps up again in this sequel but despite the presence of the two main characters, the story falls flat. It becomes a simple revenge tale with little else going for it. The climactic chase scene is utterly ridiculous and lacks the fun and the excitement of the first two films.
My full review of “Fast Five” should be posted in a couple of days but for fans looking to find out why this franchise works, I recommend watching the first two “Fast and the Furious” films. Compared to those well-done films, numbers three and four are roadkill.