The Fast and the Furious

We all know the Fast and Furious series is a strange bird.  It started out as a laughing stock to a lot of people where they couldn’t understand why another would come out every couple of years.  “Who’s still seeing this shit?”  Then it turned a corner where folks started to get on board and rethink their stance.  Finally such a big fan base was amassed that it’s not only expected that more movies will be made, it’s desired.  Has any other singular film series gone through such an emotional transformation with the audience?  Probably not.  So let’s take a look at what started this whole phenomenon.

First, I saw this when it came out in 2001 but it had been so long and the series has grown so much that I didn’t remember much of anything upon the re-up last week.  It was like I was seeing it for the first time.  What made the watch so fascinating is the context it’s in now.  I think it’s safe to say that for at least half the fans the series started at number four (Fast & Furious) or even five (Fast Five) and the first three installments are blissfully forgotten about.  “Those damn Fast pictures took a while to get their shit together, right?”  I would disagree.  The original is actually really good and should not be casually swept under the carpet like an embarrassing set of old clothes you used to wear or haircut you used to have (which really are acceptable to wipe from memory).

We got undercover cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker (Pleasantville)) trying to find out who’s been robbing trucks full of goods, while at top speed on the highway.  He infiltrates a street racing team led by Dom (Vin Diesel (xXx)) to gather evidence, but he doesn’t suspect that particular outfit.  Brian falls in love with Dom’s sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster (The Faculty)), he learns he really loves racing cars and has a hard time taking down Dom because they get to be close buds.  Yea, it’s a Point Break knock off.  We know.  In fact there are so many similarities that I don’t have the energy to go through them all.  It’s kinda bizarre that this isn’t considered a remake in my opinion.

Point Break

The Fast and the Furious
I mean both movies have a scene in Neptune's Net for Christ's sake

However even though it’s not the masterpiece that Point Break gloriously is it still has a bunch of cool shit going on.  There’s a lot of tension throughout with not just the undercover cop angle but Brian has to deal with a rival street racing gang, there’s pressure from his superiors to get results and Brian doesn’t want to screw up his relationship with Mia and Dom who he’s gotten so close to.

There’s a lot of action with fast moving cars and even a few hand to hand fights mixed in for variety.  There’s also a bunch of racing so it lives up to that too.  And what I absolutely love is that almost all of it is not done with CGI.  The first street race unfortunately uses quite a bit in terrible ways like going inside the souped up engine to get a slow motion view of what’s going on mechanically, and cartoonish-ly  blurring some shots to make it seem like the cars are going…really…really…fast?  But other than that one scene and the very last street race with the horrible looking slow motion effect those stunt drivers are out there doing some awesome shit.  And it’s all captured in a clear and exciting style.  The big crash at the end is particularly insane with Dom’s car corkscrewing through the air over Brian’s car.  And I love how Dom calmly says afterwards “that’s not what I had in mind”.

The acting is no better or worse than what we would get in the sequels but the characters are in different places here which should be kept in mind.  Like Paul Walker plays Brian with a surprising and welcoming childlike wonder when exposed to the world of underground street racing.  Like he loses his first race but he’s got a big smile on his face because it was the thrill of just being in the event, not what the outcome is.  Mia is much more innocent and not involved at all in the hijackings.  Dom is probably the one that’s most consistent.  He’s stoic yet can let that anger lose when it’s required, knows what he’s doing at all times and has the “we are a tight goddamn family” vibe with his crew.

One thing that’s interesting is how less capable all of the characters are at driving.  In the sequels every member of Dom’s outfit can drive with un-fucking-believable precision to the point where they can pick off tiny transmitters the size of a tennis ball from their cars by swooping past a concrete column.  Everyone drives more realistically crazy in the original but it’s still very cool and impressive work.

Rob Cohen did this one.  If you’re not familiar with the man he has a long and remarkable history in the film business.  From producing shit like The Wiz and The Running Man, to directing second unit on Wes Craven’s The Serpent and the Rainbow, to directing multifarious stuff like the Bruce Lee biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story to the family adventure movie Dragon Heart to the sexy thriller The Boy Next Door.  And he’s the sonuvabitch that laid the groundwork for the action adventure minimum seven sequel producing (!) saga The Fast and the Furiouses.  This guy’s no tenderfoot and been a part of so many intriguing projects for over forty goddamn years.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you’re shit may be a mixed bag but you’ve definitely got my respect Rob.

Now I know what you’re dilemma is.  You’re kinda into the later Fast pictures but haven’t heard much about the first three so you’re inclined to skip ‘em.  Well I’m here to tell you to check out at least the first one (the verdict is out on two and three, I need to re-watch those as well).  Sure it’s a bit dated with the early 2000’s clothing, bad CGI (though used minimally) and tame storyline when compared to the more recent installments.  And I can’t recommend this purely if you’re a big Point Break fan because this might remind you of it too much in a bad way.  But guys, The Fast and the Furious is a helluva good time (excellent title too that was appropriated from an unrelated 1955 Roger Corman joint). 

I can’t believe how much I liked it this round.  It’s so weird that I can call it a forgotten gem even though it’s the first in an extremely popular current film series.  But that’s exactly what it is.  Almost everything the series is known for was started right here with numero uno: outrageous car stunts, a high tension plot, strong identifiable characters, street racing, ogling shots of women in skimpy getups and a techno/dance soundtrack.  And it’s great because it’s all done well for the most part.

Be fast and be furious my friends.

Temple of Doom Gun Drop

I just wanna take a moment to point out how genius it was to take away Indy’s gun at the start of Temple.  I don’t know whose idea it was but that was one of the best things that person ever thought up.

Let’s backup a little though.  The revolver is a staple of Indy’s repertoire.  He goes into a lot of dangerous fucking situations and he sure ain’t afraid to whip that motherfucker out and start blasting away.  The man has no qualms about shooting folks dead and Raiders sets this up thoroughly.  Jones reaches for the pistol first almost every time so it’s his primary way of getting out of serious trouble.  But in my opinion he uses it too much in the first installment.  He’s a little too trigger happy and that makes him slightly less cool.  Plus, as we know, shootouts are difficult to make interesting in an action movie.  As a general rule hand to hand and melee weapon fights are more impressive and satisfying.

So now if we jump to Temple of Doom we have the curious proposition of Indy without a gun for 95% of the film.  This notion probably went down one of two ways: either this was mandated at some point during the screenwriting process, or Spielberg/Lucas realized after reading the script that the writers forgot to have Indy use his pistol and liked the idea so they had him lose it permanently in the beginning to match all the scenes.  It’s a great way to change up how Indy fights back and escapes impossible circumstances.  Furthermore it’s completely in keeping with the character and in fact makes him more badass overall.  He can’t lean on that crutch and quickly shoot his way out anymore, he’s gotta come up with another plan.

If you asked the average Indiana Jones fan what paraphernalia you associate with the character I bet the gun wouldn’t be the first or even second thing named (It’s probably the whip and the hat).  And it’s remarkable how the revolver became more of an afterthought with the three sequels.  I mean look at Last Crusade, he barely uses it in that one.  And in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull I think he only draws his piece once but never fires.  Spielberg and Lucas must’ve liked Indy gun-less because they essentially disarmed him after the first outing.

Even though it makes sense for Jones to carry a pistol considering the places he travels to and the people he deals with, it feels like they kinda made a mistake having him rely on it so much in Raiders.  That’s why the gun drop at the very start of Temple is so illuminating.  The filmmakers continued to refine the character and are acknowledging that Indy doesn’t need the fuckin’ thing by literally throwing that aspect out the window.  He can handle shit just fine without it.

Incidentally, I wanna revise my ranking of the four Raiders pictures.  I had stated in my Temple talkin’ that Last Crusade was my favorite, then Temple of Doom and lastly Raiders.  Well, in the more than five years since I wrote that I’ve changed.  Hey, that shit just happens in life.  What are you gonna do?  These days Temple of Doom is my favorite, Raiders is second and Last Crusade it third (Crystal Skull will likely remain at the bottom of the list if and when more Raiders get made).  How could my original favorite drop so much?  Maybe I’ll go into it one day, but for now that’s where I am.  And I know I know, I should’ve asked if you gave a shit, right?