Fast & Furious (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Justin Lin (Fast & Furious 3-4-5-6-9-10, Star Trek Beyond)
	Actors: Vin Diesel (Pitch Black, Riddick, xXx), Paul Walker (Pleasantville, Timeline, Into the Blue), Michelle Rodriguez (Avatar), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman)
	Country: USA, J
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 25.12.2019, Blu-ray, 40" TV screen.
Synopsis: FBI officer Brian O'Connor (Walker) and recently retired car racer and criminal Dominic Toretto (Diesel) will cross paths again while they both track down a drug lord that passes his merchandise through the Mexican border using fast cars (of course).
Review: As I had expected and heard about (in this YouTube review of the saga), this fourth installment in the Fast and Furious saga marks a kind of turning point, which will be accentuated (and amplified) still with the next movie. First, the title kind of tells you they want to reboot the franchise. Then they compiled the best of the previous movies: an small undercover cop story but overshadowed by the long-awaited reunion between the morally ambiguous Brian and the Toretto gang, after Brian's solo adventure in 2 Fast 2 Furious. The director Justin Lin of the best movie until that point (Tokyo Drift) is also back, bringing with him one actor from that movie: Sung Kang.  They got rid of the crap from the previous movies like light-speed special effects, over-use of Nitrogen Oxyde, cheap direction, unexciting races. Those defect are all gathered in this movie in the tunnel scenes (ugly CGI and unreadable action) but absent otherwise. And the movie starts with a bang with an incredible Car Chase / Action Scene that I had to watch twice. The motivation of the characters are clear and their actions make sense. In particular Brian's journey is interesting to follow. In this movie he does have to fight his way back in the gang. Of course in the end of the day it is only a relatively dumb Action / Muscle cars movie, but it does a good fan service and lays down the foundations for the following blockbusters. In particular two moments make you tick that something is happening, spoiler, highlight to read: when Dom is hit by a bullet to the shoulder but ignores it and when he stops with one hand the chain holding a 100-kg car motor from falling. That movie was really easy and funny to watch.
Rating: 6 /10