Fast and Furious (Blu-ray) (2009)

"The reunion is fun and frantic, like the original on double nitro.  Desson Thomson, Washington Post
"...offers an attractive getaway route from self-importance, snark, and chatty comedies about male bonding. Here, stick shifts do the talking.  Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Editor's Note This fourth entry in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise reunites the original stars: Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and of course the bad dude himself, Vin Diesel. Needless to say, there's going to be a lot of speed and demolition, especially in the fantastic opening truck hijack executed at amazing speeds by Dominic (Diesel) and his sexy partner in crime, Letty (Rodriguez). When Letty gets killed, it's revenge time, with the path of the bad guy leading Dominic back across the border to Los Angeles (where he's still wanted by the law) and into a high-stakes street race in which he's teamed up with his old nemesis, undercover fed Brian O'Conner (Walker). As in the original, Brewster makes a foxy love interest for Walker (she's Dom's kid sister), but there's not much time for kissing: there's races to be won, huge accidents to cause, and shady smuggling plots to foil. Fans of the series should be too busy digging the NO2-powered action to notice if there's anything missing in the storyline, which caterwauls along with gleeful abandon and disregard for logic, sanity, and speed limits. Directed with a sure hand by Justin Lin (TOKYO DRIFT), FAST & FURIOUS features loads of hot babes, and Diesel is as ripped, raging, and gravel-voiced deadpan as ever.

	Michelle Rodriguez
	Tego Calderon
	Shea Whigham
	Jordana Brewster
	Paul Walker
	Gal Gadot
	Laz Alonso
	Vin Diesel
	John Ortiz
	Bryan Tyler - Composer
	Amir Mokri - Director of Photography
	Vin Diesel - Producer
	Chris Morgan - Screenwriter
	Amanda Lewis - Executive Producer
	Michael Fottrell - Producer
	Neal H. Moritz - Producer
	Justin Lin - Director

Los Angeles Times
"Lin infuses the necessary full-throttle bits with a dynamic lyricism, choreographing the chaos like a whipped-up jazz-fusion set -- trusting absolutely in the hypnotic power and beauty of strength and movement." 04/03/2009

Entertainment Weekly
"[T]he original gang is reunited in L.A. for a victory lap....Sturdily directed by TOKYO DRIFT's Justin Lin....Here, stick shifts do the talking..." -- Grade: B 04/10/2009

Box Office
"[T]his new film should re-ignite the franchise....FAST & FURIOUS starts off with an action sequence worthy of James Bond's signature openings." 04/02/2009

Premiere
"It does an excellent job of filling us in on what has been happening since the original. Plus it sticks to what the series does best, mixing souped-up cars with corny jokes." 04/02/2009

Chicago Sun-Times 6 of 10
Fast & Furious is exactly and precisely what you'd expect. Nothing more, unfortunately. You get your cars that are fast and your characters that are furious. You should. They know how to make these movies by now. Producer Neil Moritz is on his fourth, and director Justin Lin on his second. Vin Diesel and other major actors are back from The Fast and the Furious (2001). All they left behind were two definite articles...The pre-title chase scene is pretty amazing. Toretto and his group team up in four racing vehicles to pursue a truck hauling not one, not two, not three, but four enormous tanks of gasoline. Their method: Toretto drives close behind the fourth tank, girl climbs out of sun roof, stands on hood, leaps to ladder on back of tank, climbs on top, runs to front of tank, leaps down, uncouples tank from third one. The reason the girl does this while Toretto drives is, I guess, well, you know what they say about women drivers...Ever see a truck hauling four enormous gas containers? I haven't. On a narrow mountain road? With a sudden steep incline around a curve, when it narrows to one lane? Not me. Why are they going to this trouble? So their buddies can have free gas for a street race that night in L.A.? I say let them buy their own damn gas. The race is down city streets with ordinary traffic on them. Then the wrong way on an expressway. Not a cop in sight. Where are the TV news choppers when you want them? This would get huge ratings...I dunno. I admire the craft involved, but the movie leaves me profoundly indifferent. After three earlier movies in the series, which have been transmuted into video games, why do we need a fourth one? Oh. I just answered my own question. - Roger Ebert