Movie-Holic

I finally got a chance to get a look at Fast and Furious 4 the other night and am quite happy with the whole movie experience.

While it’s not the best of the series, it does bring the series back to the originality of what the first one introduced audiences to. With the first in the series we were introduced to Dom Toretto, Mia Toretto, Letty, and Agent Brian O’Connor. It was a feast for the eyes and for the action oriented movie lover. There were cars, suspense, racing, edge, explosions, and a thrilling ending.

The second and third had some of that, but not a lot of it. They definitely didn’t have the edge of the first one. With Fast and Furious 4 that was brought back. Sort of. While this is the first movie to reunite the original cast of Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and Michele Rodriguez, it fell a little short of the excitement of the first. There were some dull spots where you just wanted the movie to get to the cars.

This movie picks up with Dom and Letty in the Domincan Republic continuing their smuggling and hijacking ways. However, Dom leaves because the heat is getting a little close. This is where the first twist is introduced in the movie. (Yes, this is something new to the series. The others didn’t have any type of plot twists. What you saw is what you got.) Through the course of circumstances Dom and Brian are brought back together in order to drive for a drug smuggler that the FBI has been trying to capture.

Wherein there is another little “what the….!” moment thrown in there too that could possibly ruin the entire thing.

The plot was pretty good for a Fast/Furious movie. Of course, not much of one is really needed if the action and the cars are appealing. And they were. Dom’s original Dodge Charger is back (which I would pick over any import any day!) and so is the fast and furious action associated with street racing.

I did like how the majority of the story focused on the original cast. There isn’t that many new people in the story, and those just compliment the story line. The relationship, or lack thereof, between Dom and Brian is really stretched through this movie and I think played itself out pretty good.

The acting was appropriate for this type of movie. I feel Vin Diesel does a great job bringing back Dom and he looked very, very intimidating. Paul Walker tried to be the cool guy while missing the mark just a little. He came off as a little fake, and starchy at times. But, if you weren’t trying to analyze the movie, and just experienced it for what it is, it’s a pretty good movie.

While estimates are good for the initial weekend (over $70 million in box office receipts), I’m hoping that the movie doesn’t lose steam like Watchmen did.

Fast and Furious 4 was a fun, entertaining movie that I think captured the essence and originality of the first. Definitely a movie worth watching.