Dave Gray
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It's doo-doo, baby!
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« on: February 24, 2021, 09:56:13 am » |
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Fast & Furious (2009)
Premise: The death of someone close causes a con-on-the-run to seek revenge on a drug runner, while the FBI sends an undercover agent with a lot of personal baggage to close in on the bust.
Rating: Finally crossing the line where just dumb is dumb fun and characters are allowed to shine.
This seems to be the turning point where a series about street racing culture turns into a larger action-crime drama about a team of criminals making a family. Not only is Paul Walker back, but he's the charismatic and sometimes clever version of the character from the first film and not the monster-energy dingus from the 2nd. Dom is also back, and like before, their frenemyship is fun to be around.
The stunts are dumber in terms of logic, but I can't really explain -- it's like they're so dumb that they're not asking you to evaluate them realistically. It's like watching wrestling and criticizing it for unrealistic action. It's just a different genre at this point, which lets you have fun with it. As things got dumber, I pretty much laughed at the absurdity. There's a scene where a driver kicks off another drivers door and then jumps from car to car to deliver a flying elbow...all while racing in a super-thin corridor. It feels like the movie knows what it is and is just going with it.
I found the villains in this film to be some of the better in the series. They aren't super interesting, but they aren't ridiculous and mustache-twirling and there are some twists and mystery that the series is known for. Also, the character motivations are back to simple, understandable stakes. A cop has to get his man. A damaged man wants revenge. It's easy to follow and makes you understand why everyone is where they are, rather than a convoluted mess.
These movies are getting better directed. The CG is improving and Justin Lin is really competent in the racing and action sequences. He's definitely bringing his personal style and the movie is better for it.
This series is becoming closer and closer to James Bond, with a formula that includes a hot woman that is so horny that it's like she's showering in Spanish Fly (honestly, every woman in these films is thirsty AF), gratuitous lesbian kissing, new tech in cars, chases, gunplay -- Sometimes featuring idiot cops who pull the trigger too early, Corona Extra and unfortunately not in this film: a new rapper character, ass-cheeks hanging out at the starting line of a race, and quirky tune-up guys. There seems to be building themes of disdain for police, a glorification of theft in a Robin Hood-kinda-way, and an lack of faith in the justice system...but time will tell.
I can't think of a character introduced in this film that I love like I did Han from 3, although I did think that there were improvements to the FBI side of things. There is an Asian woman that's a analyst that I felt added to things and I even liked this version of the adversarial agents that serve for Paul Walker to get in fights with. All of that was better than in the previous films. This movie introduces two new characters to the gang, but they are so unmemorable that I'm having trouble even describing them -- I think they're Hispanic, but they don't add anything new and are just warm bodies to carry out the heists.
I think the real star of the show here is the evolution of the relationship between the characters. Despite being a stupid over-the-top blockbuster, there really is an attempt to have a heart. Dom, his sister, and Paul Walker -- there is real stuff going on there -- family, trust, honor, what it means to be the good guy -- I don't want to put too much weight on it, but these movies now seem to be about those things, rather than the car racing.
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