Fast & Furious 6

FAST & FURIOUS 6
2013 | Dir. Justin Lin | 130 Minutes

"Your brother never told you never threaten a man's family? That's a pretty stupid thing to do."

DSS Agent Luke Hobbs recruits Dominic Toretto and his crew to take down a group of elite mercenaries who have Letty in their ranks, who has lost her memory. Hobbs agrees to clear the group's criminal records and allow them to return to America upon completing the mission.

Series stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Sung Kang, and Gal Gadot return, with Jordana Brewster and Elsa Pataky mostly on the sidelines. The film also features Shea Whigham as Agent Stasiak (Brian breaks his nose again), and John Ortiz as Braga from Fast & Furious in a brief subplot that explains Letty's fate. Former mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano appears as Riley Hicks, Hobbs' highly-skilled second-in-command.

Criminal mastermind Owen Shaw and his team of mercenaries are introduced when Dom's crew chases them through the streets of London in an intense action sequence involving electronic disruption devices and modified race cars built to flip other vehicles on the road at lethal speeds. As resourceful and full of character as the Toretto gang but much more ruthless, Shaw's group consists of deadly flip-car driver Vegh played by the magnetic Clara Paget, sniper Adolfson played by Scottish actor Benjamin Davies, expert hand-to-hand fighter Jah played by Indonesian action star Joe Taslim, precision driver Denlinger played by Samuel M. Stewart, team muscle and hacker Klaus played by Danish bodybuilder Kim Kold, and gunman Ivory played by British actor David Ajala. Shaw himself is played by Luke Evans with panache, perhaps the first formidable foe encountered by Dom's crew.

The three major action sequences in this film, including the London sequence, are instant series highlights. About halfway through the film, a thrilling chase sequence takes place on a Spanish highway in which the Dom's gang takes on a tank, and Dom leaps to Letty's rescue in what may remain the most ridiculous stunt in the series. In the explosive climax, the team takes down a massive carrier jet plane using their cars equipped with reinforced steel cables on what appears to be an endless airstrip at a NATO base.

The hand-to-hand fight scenes are vastly improved as well, some of the best in any action film. Gina Carano takes on Michelle Rodriguez in two spectacular fight scenes showcasing Carano's MMA skills, Joe Taslim gets his moment to shine as he takes apart Tyrese Gibson and Sung Kang at the same time, and topping things off is a grudge match in which Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson team up to throw down with Luke Evans and Kim Kold. The filmmakers even worked in the obligatory street race scene, with Dom reconnecting with Letty doing what they do best.

With Fast & Furious 6, the series continues its upward trajectory, with bigger and more dynamic action set pieces, seamless callbacks to previous films for loyal fans, and the new threat of truly interesting and diabolical villains. It is the perfect sequel to Fast Five, both movies belonging in the canon of modern action cinema.


MID-CREDITS STINGER
Setting up the next film in the series, and firmly moving the series continuity forward, we revisit the chase through Shibuya Crossing from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. The driver that crashed into Han is revealed to be a vengeful Englishman played by action star Jason Statham. As Han's car explodes, he calls Dom on his cell phone with a threat.


FRAGMENTS
- The series' tradition of assigning unconventional titles to its sequels continues, and while the title for this one is officially Fast & Furious 6, which is straightforward enough, the title inexplicably appears as simply Furious 6 in the film itself

- In Japan, the title for this film is Wild Speed: Euro Mission

- Clearly with longtime fans of the series in mind, after a brief cold open centered around what may be one of the happiest (and smallest) moments of the series, the film flashes to what is essentially a television-show-style opening featuring clips from the first five films, recapping what the heroes have been through so far

- A track by MC Jin (who had who had played Tej's mechanic Jimmy in the second film) is briefly featured when we catch up with Han and Gisele in Hong Kong

- During the London chase sequence, there is a brief shot of a small child on a bus witnessing the mayhem occurring on the streets; a recurring visual from the previous film 

- Closing the loop on Han's backstory, director Justin Lin takes the narrative back to his first film in the series, coming full circle as he steps away from the franchise

- The shots setting up the big four-character fight scene, Tekken Tag Tournament immediately comes to mind

- The way Gisele is enveloped in darkness as she meets her tragic fate also felt like something straight out of a video game

- No stranger to genre cinema, Luke Evans has appeared in 2010's Clash of the Titans as Apollo, Tarsem Singh's Immortals as Zeus, Peter Jackson's Hobbit film trilogy as Bard the Bowman, and the titular horror icon in Dracula Untold

- For more Gina Carano cinematic ass-kicking, check out Steven Soderbergh's Haywire

- For more Joe Taslim gritty martial arts action, and an overall kick-ass action film, check out Gareth Evans' The Raid


SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
- Podcast: How Did This Get Made? Episode #63: Fast & Furious 6


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)

Fast Five

FAST FIVE
2011 | Dir. Justin Lin | 130 Minutes

"Money will come and go. We know that. The most important thing in life will always be the people in this room. Right here, right now."

On the run from American authorities in the aftermath of the previous film, Dom, Brian, and Mia flee to Rio de Jeniero where they run afoul of the local criminal kingpin. Pursued by both sides of the law, with nothing to lose, Dom and Brian hatch a plan to pull off one last job with the aid of a team comprised of their most trusted friends before driving off into the sunset.

The series comes to life in this film, tying together elements and characters from the four previous movies, and introducing a few new ones, to form a miraculously complete and highly entertaining experience. While adequately honoring the series' street racing roots, director Justin Lin's Fast Five is a heist movie through and through. Between stealing cars off a moving train, an intense chase on foot through the favelas, a street race involving four stolen police cruisers, every expertly crafted action scene is a steady consistent build to the elaborate climatic sequence that involves jacking an enormous safe from a police station and hauling through the streets of Rio in a high speed chase, the laws physics be damned.

The massive cast is lead by Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Jordana Brewster who return as Dom, Brian, and Mia, each showcasing their best work in the series so far in action scenes and nailing dramatic beats with aplomb. Returning from the second film are Tyrese Gibson, once again playing Roman Pearce whose function as comedy relief doesn't seem as out of place this time around, and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as technological genius Tej Parker, who manages to convert the jargon into accessible banter. From the third and fourth films, Sung Kang brings Han's nerves of steel to the table and finds himself involved in a cute romantic subplot with the lovely mercenary Gisele played by Gal Gadot reprising her role from the fourth film. Also returning from the fourth film are Tego Calderón and Don Omar as con artists Leo Tego and Rico Santos. Matt Schulze makes his first appearance since the first film as tough guy Vince, who has matured considerably but still has trust issues regarding Brian.

New to the cast is Dwayne Johnson who brings an abundance of personality to the role of Luke Hobbs, the gigantic DSS Agent tasked to bring in Dom and his gang. Another new addition to the cast, Spanish star Elsa Pataky portrays Elena Neves the incorruptible Rio police officer recruited by Hobbs who eventually becomes Dom's new love interest, playing fine against Vin Diesel. Portuguese actor Joaquim de Almeida does a fine job playing drug lord Hernan Reyes, though he is without a doubt overshadowed by everything else this movie has going for it.

The Fast and the Furious films have their ups and downs but the filmmakers behind the series gifted its most loyal fans with this gem that goes to great lengths to validate every moment before it, while also bringing in new and exciting energy, in one slick action-packed ride. For newcomers, while the first four films aren't strictly necessary viewing for one to enjoy this fifth entry (especially the second and third films), Fast Five certainly enriches the previous movies in unexpected ways. The returning cast members feel natural in their roles, consistently carrying forward and further developing character traits and quirks from their previous appearances, solidly reinforcing the running theme of family and loyalty among a group of honorable brigands that was at the heart of the first film. Not bad at all for a fifth film in a series of movies about street racers.


MID-CREDITS STINGER
Setting up the next film in the series, Agent Fuentes (Eva Mendes reprising her role from the second film) drops by Hobbs' office with a file relating to a military convoy hijacking that had just occurred in Berlin. One of the perpetrators is Letty Ortiz, who apparently survived the events if the previous film.


FRAGMENTS
- The series' tradition of assigning unconventional titles to its sequels continues, though it's rather charming and apt for this one to have the most succinct title yet (and it even includes a number!)

- In Japan, the title for this film is Wild Speed: Mega Max

- According to Vin Diesel, who has served as a producer on the series since the fourth film, the role of Hobbs was initially written for Tommy Lee Jones but he was inspired by his fans on Facebook to cast Dwayne Johnson in the part (Vin Diesel Source)

- Dwayne Johnson is lined up to play supervillain Black Adam in Shazam! in 2019

- During the climatic action sequence, there is a brief shot of a small child on a bus witnessing the mayhem occurring on the streets; a visual that recurs in the next film 


SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
- Podcast: How Did This Get Made? Episode #9: Fast Five

- Video: Onion News Network Interview with Fast Five Screenwriter Chris Morgan

 
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)

Fast & Furious

FAST & FURIOUS
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)

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT
2006 | Dir. Justin Lin | 104 Minutes

"Life's simple, you make choices and you don't look back."

17-year-old Sean Boswell is forced in with his father, a US Naval officer stationed in Tokyo, after getting in trouble with the law for drag racing. Sean quickly befriends Twinkie, another American transplant who introduces him to the Tokyo drift racing scene. After Sean is soundly beaten by the thuggish "Drift King," a cocky street racer with Yakuza ties, DK's mysterious business partner Han Seoul-Oh takes him under his wing. After his girlfriend begins to fall for Sean and having discovered that Han had been stealing from him, DK goes after Sean and Han with explosive consequences.

Though the premise reads like a desperate attempt to reboot a franchise in tailspin, director Justin Lin breathes new life into the fledgling series taking the action to the neon-lit streets of Tokyo with thrilling races that emphasize skill over pure speed. The racing scenes in this film are stylish and exciting featuring creative stunts and mind-bending turns that utilize the art of drifting. The centerpiece of the film is a thrilling chase through the streets of Tokyo in which Sean, Han, and DK smoothly drift through a late night crowd in Shibuya Crossing shortly before Han meets a fiery end.

Lucas Black does a good enough a job as Sean, a flawed and slightly reckless heroic everyman, though he's never really allowed to elevate the role beyond what's on the page. The strongest player in the film is Sung Kang as the cool and collected Han, convincing as a slightly shifty racer with a criminal past. Brian Tee smirks/snarls through all of his scenes as the one-dimensional antagonist DK. Bow Wow is competent as the wheeling and dealing Twinkie who unfortunately has no identifiable character arc, while Australian actress Nathalie Kelley as Sean's love interest, Neela, is painfully standard through and through as is Brian Goodman as Sean's father.

Drifting further away from what made the first film so special, featuring none of the stars of the first two films (save for a brief cameo at the very end of the film), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a loose sequel with a flimsy premise that's barely saved by excellent action direction and a solid performance from Sung Kang. For sheer vehicular action, it's a notable improvement over 2 Fast 2 Furious, and a step in the right direction for the series.


FRAGMENTS
- The series' habit of assigning unconventional titles to its sequels continues here, the filmmakers opting to give this one a subtitle instead of a number (which may serve the series after all considering the fascinating trajectory it takes following the next film)

- In Japan, the title for this film is Wild Speed X3: Tokyo Drift

- Lucas Black will forever be known to me as the kid from Sling Blade and the boy that's infected by the black oil in the first minutes of The X-Files movie

- The final scene of the film features Vin Diesel reprising his role as Toretto, challenging Sean to a friendly race; Diesel agreed to make this cameo appearance for Universal in exchange for full ownership over the Riddick franchise he created with David Twohy (The Hollywood Reporter)

- Dom indicating that he considered Han part of his family, a marginal connection to the previous films at best, is a relationship that will be properly represented in the films that follow

- Zachery Ty Bryan, who played Brad Taylor on 1990's sitcom Home Improvement, has a small part as Clay, a high school bully who races against Sean at the start of the film

- Japanese screen legend Sonny Chiba plays Yakuza boss Kamata, star of the 1970's Street Fighter film series, ninja master Hattori Hanzo on Japanese television show Shadow Warriors (Kage no Gundan) a role that he spiritually reprises as Okinawan swordsmith Hattori Hanzo in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill

- Keiichi Tsuchiya, the real life "Drift King," makes a cameo appearance as a fisherman who provides snarky color commentary as Sean practices drifting on the pier


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)

2 Fast 2 Furious

2 FAST 2 FURIOUS
2003 | Dir. John Singleton | 107 Minutes

"Guns, murderers, and crooked cops? I was made for this, bro!"

Shortly after allowing Dominic Toretto escape from law enforcement in Los Angeles, Brian O'Conner is apprehended on the streets of Miami by U.S. Customs and the FBI. The federal agents offer to clear Brian's criminal record in exchange for his participation in an operation to bust a ruthless crime lord. With the help of reckless childhood friend Roman Pearce, genius gear-head Tej Parker, and undercover agent Monica Fuentes, Brian begins a new chapter in his life of fast cars and ridiculous stunts.

Though the film features more cars, more women in skimpy outfits, higher stakes, and attempts at comedy that mostly fall flat, it is an inferior sequel that fails to capture the excitement and the heart of the original film. Centered on the flimsily defined friendship between Brian and Roman, the undercover agent plot is dull and lifeless, and the world of 24/7 debauchery in the Miami street racing scene depicted in the film is unconvincing. Despite its shortcomings, the film still satisfies with incredible sequences of vehicular action, most notably the opening race featuring a spectacular jump from a raised drawbridge, and another incredible jump onto a boat in the finale. Sillier bits include a sequence with countless cars shuffling about in a move to confuse pursuing law enforcement, and a gag with an ejector seat pulled straight out of the James Bond playbook.

Without Vin Diesel to act against this time, Paul Walker does his best to carry this sequel and though he does his best, no actor could have brought life to this paper thin narrative. Tyrese Gibson inserts a bit of levity as Roman but most of his "snappy" dialogue falls flat. He plays well enough off of Walker but his one-liners are mostly cringe-worthy. Eva Mendes plays Agent Fuentes, love interest to Brian, and though pleasing to the eye, she offers little in the way of chemistry with Walker. Cole Hauser turns in a dead-on-arrival performance as crime boss Carter Verone, aiming for understated but coming off as mostly disinterested. James Remar does what he does best in a thankless role as confrontational U.S. Customs Agent Markham, and Thom Barry returns as FBI Agent Bilkins. Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges is appropriately charismatic in a big supporting role as Tej, while Devon Aoki doesn't have much to do except look cute and not fudge her lines as his street racing girlfriend Suki.

Lacking the edge of the original film, but featuring more of everything else, 2 Fast 2 Furious is perhaps one of the most unnecessary sequels of all-time. When all is said, this unfortunately-titled (magnificently-titled?) sequel is a colorful ride that's dumb as bricks but still an entertaining, if totally unoriginal, action film.


FRAGMENTS
- The series' habit of assigning unconventional titles to its sequels begins here, with possibly the worst and most-often parodied sequel title this side of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

- In Japan, the title for this film is Wild Speed X2

- The filmmakers offered Ja Rule a deal to reprise his character from the first film in an expanded role but he turned down the offer, and the role of Tej was created for Ludacris (Grantland)

- Hong Kong rapper MC Jin (credited as Jin Auyeung) makes his feature film debut as Tej's mechanic Jimmy; he later appears in the excellent kung-fu comedy Gallants (打擂台) and the RZA's The Man with the Iron Fists

- The corrupt Detective Whitworth, memorably featured in a scene in which he is tortured by Verone with a rat in a heated metal bucket, is played by character actor Mark Boone Jr., who has appeared in Batman Begins and 30 Days of Night, and is perhaps best known as Bobby Munson on Sons of Anarchy

- Nice to see James Remar, forever known to me as Ajax from The Warriors first and foremost, most recently seen playing Harry Morgan on Dexter, and Chief Tonraq on The Legend of Korra

- Producer Neal H. Moritz makes a cameo appearance as a police officer during the freeway chase sequence

The Fast and the Furious

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
2001 | Dir. Rob Cohen | 106 Minutes

"I live my life a quarter mile at a time. Nothing else matters, not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullshit. For those ten seconds or less, I'm free."

Brian O'Conner, an undercover cop, enters the world of illegal LA street racing to investigate a rash of semi-trailer truck hijackings perpetrated by amateur racers. Brian quickly befriends Dominic Toretto, the charismatic leader of a ragtag crew of street racers and mastermind behind the heist operation. With pressure from the LAPD and the FBI bearing down on Brian to make an arrest, Brian must choose between his as a duty lawman and his friendship with Dom and his team.

Inspired by an article about street racing by Ken Li entitled Racer X featured in the May 1998 issue of Vibe magazine, director Rob Cohen set out to make a thrilling action film with fast cars and high-speed stunts. The film is essentially a variation on the seminal 1980's action film Point Break, but it firmly establishes its own trademark style under Cohen's direction with intense racing, chase, and heist sequences, occasionally peppered with gratuitous shots of scantily-clad young women. The film's heart is in its lead characters, a group of honorable thieves that make up an unconventional family unit.

The film features the breakout performances of Paul Walker and Vin Diesel. As Brian, Walker is a competent but somewhat bland leading man, serving as a point-of-view character for the benefit of the audience. In the role that earned him true mainstream Hollywood movie star status, Diesel is surprisingly nuanced as Dom, undeniably cool with an intensity barely contained just under the surface. Halfway through the film, Dom recounts the defining moment of his life to Brian, in which he lost control and nearly beat to death the man that was responsible for the death of Dom's father. For a young actor that most would peg for tough guy or, at best, action star parts, Diesel demonstrates real acting chops during this monologue, showing genuine emotional depth.

The rest of the cast is filled out with the stock characters one would expect from action films of this sort. Michelle Rodriguez plays Dom's tough as nails girlfriend and like Walker and Diesel, her snarling performance in this film defines virtually every acing role she's taken on since for better or worse. Jordana Brewster provides an ample amount of emotional content as Mia, Dom's sister and Brian's love interest. Matt Schulze plays big-dumb-guy-who-hates-Brian Vince, comically predictable but still amusing. Chad Lindberg plays mentally sensitive mechanical genius Jesse, whose role exists to show that Dom is the kind of guy who will take in and protect outcasts, finding a place for them within his family. Johnny Strong barely registers as Leon, another guy in Dom's group who's just kind of there. Then there's Rick Yune hamming it up as Johnny Tran, stereotypical leader of the Asian gang and Dom's rival, with Reggie Lee as his cousin/henchman in leather pants. Ted Levine plays Tanner, Brian's fatherly balding LAPD sergeant, and Thom Barry plays FBI Agent Bilkins who doesn't have much to do except arbitrarily berate Brian because that's what federal agents do to street level cops in these movies. Ja Rule, who provides several songs for the soundtrack, has a small but notable part during the first street race sequence, a competitor whose prime motivation for winning is the promise of a ménage à trois with two comely ladies.

Featuring exciting high speed hijacking sequences, decent racing and chase scenes with slightly silly CGI, and a stellar performance from Vin Diesel, The Fast and the Furious is a classic action film that any fan of the genre ought to appreciate.


POST-CREDITS STINGER
Dom drives through Baja, Mexico - setting up Fast & Furious, the fourth film in the series


FRAGMENTS
- In Japan, the title for this film is Wild Speed

- Director Rob Cohen makes a cameo appearance before the first street race sequence as a Pizza Hut delivery guy while Producer Neal H. Moritz plays an arrogant man in a Ferrari that Dom and Brian leave in the dust after having some words at a stop light

- Reggie Lee who plays Johnnie Tran's cousin/henchman Lance, has appeared in various genre films since including the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films in different roles under heavy make-up, Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, JJ Abrams' Star Trek, and The Dark Knight Rises

- Though the truck hijacking sequences are appropriately intense, they seem quaint (but grounded) in retrospect knowing the straight-up insanity the series will embrace a few films down the line

- Race Wars in the desert looks like the best late 90's/early 00's party ever, with drag racing, wet t-shirt contests, and raves at night

- Have to wonder if LA cops/federal agents in LA really operate out of former celebrity homes

- The extensive use of NOS brand nitrous oxide with accompanying CGI inside-the-engine shots is also somewhat amusing


007 CONNECTIONS
- Rick Yune (Zao in Die Another Day)


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)

One Quarter Mile at a Time: The Fast and the Furious

"The motor vehicle action sequences depicted in this film are dangerous.
All stunts were performed in controlled environments with professionally
trained stunt crews on closed roads. No attempts should be made to
duplicate any action, driving or car play scenes herein portrayed."

What started off as a variation on the formula of the 1980's undercover cop action film Point Break, in which a lawman "goes native" after befriending the charismatic leader of a gang of criminals (who have a penchant for excelling at real fringes-of-society sorts of activities like surfing or street racing), has evolved into one of the most successful and entertaining film series in action cinema history. The heroes of the films are larger-than-life characters, nigh-invulnerable brigands who harbor a strong appreciation for fast cars but value family and friendship above all else, slightly schmaltzy until they take down their enemies with extreme prejudice leaving behind a trail of fiery destruction.

Turning Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Michelle Rodriguez into bona fide movie stars, and offering the spectacle of high-speed vehicular mayhem on sensational action set pieces (with occasional visions of scantily-clad women for good measure), The Fast and the Furious series continues to expand in terms of scope and talent, bringing in iconic action stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, and Kurt Russell, as well as international stars Joe Taslim and Tony Jaa.

Though the films vary in quality, especially the lackluster second film and the questionably tangential third installment, the filmmakers continue to build upon the strengths of the series, honoring every bit of established continuity, while practically tossing the laws of physics out the window to achieve maximum entertainment velocity.