2009 | Dir. Justin Lin | 107 Minutes
"You asked me why I let Dom go. I did it because, at that moment, I respected him more than I did myself. One thing I've learned from Dom is that nothing really matters unless you have a code."
Brian O'Conner, now an FBI Agent chasing cartel boss Arturo Braga, comes face to face with his past when Dominic Toretto returns to Los Angeles on a warpath following the death of Letty Ortiz who had been working for Braga. Going undercover to infiltrate Braga's drug-smuggling operation, Brian is at odds with Dom who is determined to avenge Letty by any means necessary.
Director Justin Lin kicks things off with a thrilling pre-title action sequence on a stretch of highway in the Dominican Republic in which Dom and his crew attempt to hijack an oil tanker. The high-octane death-defying vehicular stunts surpass everything that had come before in the series in terms of style, intensity, and downright incredulousness. With Michele Rodriguez reprising the role of Letty from the first film (who has never looked happier or as vibrant in the span of her career), Sung Kang returning as Han from Tokyo Drift, joined by Puerto Rican stars Tego Calderón and Don Omar as bickering wise guys Leo Tego and Rico Santos, the sequenced is topped off with Dom playing chicken with an oncoming exploding tanker, perfectly setting the tone for the following hour and a half.
Other standout sequences include Brian's reintroduction to the series smashing through an apartment window and landing on a rooftop while chasing a criminal, an amped up take on the series' signature street races with the added twist of the contest taking place in open traffic, and multiple high-speed sequences that take placed in tight tunnels between Los Angeles and Mexico. One of the most entertainingly ridiculous scenes has Dom working a bit of CSI magic at the scene of Letty's murder, examining chemical burns on the asphalt and instantaneously deducting the sequence of events that led to Letty's death.
Vin Diesel is at the top of his game as Dom, charisma turned all the way up, while Paul Walker brings more grit to the role of Brian than he did in the first two films. Jordana Brewster once again supplies an adequate amount of emotional content as Mia, though she's allotted less screen time than she was given in the first film. Making her film debut, 2004 Miss Israel Gal Gadot is gorgeous as Gisele, Braga's femme fatale assistant who falls for the heartbroken Dom. Laz Alonso plays Fenix with gusto, Braga's snarling primary lieutenant and Letty's murderer, Dom's nemesis and what gamers might call the "miniboss" of this film. John Ortiz plays Braga, the actual boss, in a refreshingly laid-back manner for an action movie villain. The featured cast is rounded out with Jack Conley as a hard-edged FBI boss, Shea Whigham as Agent Stasiak (notably slammed into a wall by Brian early in the film), and Liza Lapira as the ever-diligent Agent Trinh.
A couple superfluous plot twists notwithstanding, with this fourth film, and perhaps the first sequel of any real worth, the series course-corrects its trajectory courtesy of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker returning as Dom and Brian and Justin Lin's sharp direction. The plot is relatively straightforward, only serving to deliver some truly entertaining action sequences featuring a highly likable cast.
FRAGMENTS
- The series' tradition of assigning unconventional titles to its sequels is perhaps at its most frustrating here, with little differentiating the title of this film from the title of the first film in the series (in what is very likely an intentional move, as this film in many ways is a soft reboot)
- In Japan, the title for this film is Wild Speed: Max
- Gal Gadot will play Wonder Woman in Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice in 2016 and star in the Wonder Woman solo film in 2017
- In a completely different but just as excellent turn, John Ortiz plays Ronnie, Pat's hen-pecked friend, in Silver Linings Playbook
- Han's participation in the opening scene and him mentioning Tokyo is a sly nod the previous film in the series which chronologically takes place after this one; Letty similarly mentions Rio, the setting for the very next film in the series
- Liza Lapira has unfortunately landed regular roles on several cancelled television programs: Dollhouse, Traffic Light, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, and Super Fun Night
- Brandon T. Jackson, hilarious as rapper-turned-actor Alpa Chino in Tropic Thunder, plays one of the competitors in the open traffic street race sequence
- Monique Gabriela Curnen, who notably played the corrupt Detective Reamirez in The Dark Knight, briefly appears in this film as an unnamed FBI Agent
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Vin Diesel (Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
