FAST & FURIOUS

"New Model... Original Parts"

Even with the threat of a certain jail sentence hanging over him, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) returns to Los Angeles to avenge the death of someone close to him. Discovering that the person responsible is a mysterious drug runner who hires the best drivers to carry shipments across the US/Mexican boarder, Dom tries to get onto his latest crew. Newly reinstated FBI agent Brian O'Conner (Walker) is also investigating the same drug runner but realises that the only way he can blow open the case is to partner up with Dom and bring the organisation down from within.

Even with two sequels, fans have never really had a true follow up to the Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner story, until now.

Back in 2001, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker first appeared as street racer/criminal Dominic Toretto and undercover FBI Agent Brian O'Conner in 'The Fast and the Furious' and a franchise was born. Capitalising on the car moding and street racing scenes, the Rob Cohen directed first film gained a cult following and did well enough to warrant a sequel but with Vin Diesel and the director leaving the then fledgling franchise for 'xXx', it was up to Paul Walker to continue the story in '2 Fast 2 Furious' in 2003. The third movie in 2006 took the franchise to Japan for 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift' but even with a very brief cameo by Vin Diesel, it really only had the street racing and crime as a connection to the original film. For the fourth film however, we get a new model with the original parts.

Finally, after two sequels the story returns to focus on Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner. Toretto is still on the run, fleeting around the Caribbean and Central America but still managing to get himself noticed by the authorities. O'Conner has been reinstated within the FBI and is now working to bring down a illusive drug runner called Braga who has been flooding the streets of Los Angeles with his product. When Letty, Toretto's girlfriend, gets caught up in Braga's organisation, Dom has no choice but to return to the US and risking life in prison if he is caught. Of course the FBI pick up on this and Brian has to see Mia Toretto, Dom's sister again but with both of them after the same man, Brian and Dom decide to work together to bring him and his organisation down.

As with all 'Fast & Furious' movies however, the story is inconsequential to the racing and for the fourth film in the series they have gone for a mix of realistic car chases and over-the-top computer enhanced ones. The races on the streets are very good, as the mix of supped up Japanese imports and American muscle cars nitro boost through the roads and freeways of Los Angeles. There are also some dramatic chases through the Mexican desert and a tunnel chase that is helped by the wonders of modern technology. These scenes do not look as good as the street races but while it is a trademark of the series, you can't help but think that the real stunts still look better.

The best decision that was made for the fourth movie was to bring back the key players from the original movie. Jordana Brewster returns as Brian's ex lover and Dom's sister Mia and Michelle Rodriguez has a small but pivotal role to play as Dom's girlfriend Letty. It is the return of Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner and Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto that make this movie all the more watchable. While neither of them has been setting the box office alight of late, with Diesel last appearing in the appalling 'Babylon A.D.' and Paul Walker last enjoying a hit with huskies in 'Eight Below', both of them really needed to return to the franchise that kicked started their leading men careers. Vin Diesel fans may have preferred him returning to his best creation 'Riddick' but Dominic Toretto is a character that suites the gruff-voiced, bald headed, muscle bound actor. Walker also makes a welcome return to his most famous character creation and slips back into the role with ease. There is also decent support from Laz Alonso as the villainous Fenix Rise, John Ortiz as mobster Campos and the beautiful Gal Gadot as Gisele.

'Fast & Furious' is the best in the series since the original and is a welcome return for Vin Diesel/Dominic Toretto and Paul Walker/Brian O'Conner. Fans may have had to watch two unnecessary sequel to get to this point but there is enough here to make the wait worth it. While it might still not be running on nitro but the franchise is back in top gear.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 2:40 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound.

BONUS FEATURES

Gag Reel (5.00 mins/HD)
Watch a montage of clips showing the cast having fun on set and making a hash of their lines and scenes.

Los Bandoleroes (20.23 mins/HD)
This is a short prequel film to the main feature that sets up the petrol heist at the beginning of the movie. Here we are introduced again to the characters, now in the Dominican Republic, catching up on what Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto has been up to and his relationship with Letty. This is a must watch for all ‘Fast & Furious’ fans.

Under the Hood – Muscle Cars (6.55 mins/HD)
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker take a look at the American muscle cars, like the Dodge Charger that play a prominent role in the movie.

Under the Hood – Imports (4.59 mins/HD)
Director Justin Lin, producer Neal H. Mortiz and star Michelle Rodriguez talk about the modified European and Japanese cars that provide the speed in the movie.

Getting the Gang back together (9.50 mins/HD)
Director Justin Lin, producer Neal H. Mortiz, writer Chris Morgan and stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordanna Brewster and Michelle Rodriquez reveal why they all came back to the franchise.

Driving School with Vin Diesel (3.50 mins/HD)
The star of the film gets a refresher course in how to drive American muscle cars at speed and how to get them to turn around corners.

Shooting the Big-Rig Heist (9.47 mins/HD)
Director Justin Lin, producer Neal H. Mortiz, writer Chris Morgan, stunt coordinator Mike Günter and stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriquez and Sung Kang talk about the dangers involved in the heist scene.

Races and Chases (11.01 mins/HD)
Director Justin Lin, producer Neal H. Mortiz and writer Chris Morgan talk about the big race between Dom and Brian.

High Octane Action: The Stunts (11.22 mins/HD)
Director Justin Lin, producer Neal H. Mortiz and stunt coordinator Mike Günter talk about the big stunts in the movie.

South of the Border: Filming in Mexico (2.55 mins/HD)
Producer Michael Fottrell and star John Ortiz talk about creating a Mexican Border town for the movie.

Virtual Car Garage
From the Gran Torino to the Subaru WXR STI, view the stats for all the cars in the fourth movie.

‘Blanco’ Music Video by Pitbull featuring Pharrell (4.41 mins/SD)
Watch the music video for the main song from the soundtrack to ‘Fast and Furious’

Trailers
Watch the trailers for ‘The Fast & the Furious’, ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’, ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’ and ‘Fast & Furious’.

Feature Commentary with Director Justin Lin
The man who helmed the third movie and ‘Fast & Furious’ provides an interesting and informative commentary for ‘Fast & Furious’. The director talks about bringing the original cast back, upping the race ante and continuing the story started in the first film. This is a track that is well worth a listen.

U-Control
Universal continues to use their interactive viewing service. For ‘Fast & Furious’, U-Control provides pop-in commentary by Paul Walker and director Justin Lin, as they step into a scene and take you behind the scenes of the making of it. This is an excellent feature that makes the movie worth watching again.

BD Live
Place the Blu-Ray in an Internet enabled player or PS3 and connect to receive extra content for the film

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment for ‘Fast & Furious’ is excellent. Filled with featurettes, a good commentary, U-Control and the big bonus of the short film ‘Los Bandoleroes’, this is a must buy for all fans of the franchise and shows other studios how to produce a single disc release.

BLU-RAY

The Fast and the Furious

2 Fast 2 Furious

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

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2009