Rapides et dangereux

Is it cheesy ? Definitely. Is it corny ? Oh ya. Did anyone deserve an Oscar? What do you think.

Is it a cultural icon that has had a decades long lasting impact on pop culture worth your time ? ABSOLUTELY.

Back in 2001 this movie was the next big thing. Everyone wanted a graphic'd out rice burner to drive around town in pretending they street raced.

Everyone wanted a Mia or Letty. Everyone wanted to have Dom's muscles and Brian's hair.

There's not enough to say about how this movie changed everyone in 2001. Just watch it yourself and put yourself in the mindset of 2001.

I don't remember when the first time was that I saw The Fast and the Furious but it dosen't matter because it gets better with each viewing. This movie is filled with what guys want to see; Hot and fast tricked out cars, beautiful women, and kick ass action sequences. The world that the characters live in in this film is the world we can only dream of, to race in cool tricked out cars with dozens of beautiful women surrounding you and cheering you on. All of this is what I love most about this film but I also love the cast; Vin Diesal, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster all clinch their roles. If I were to pick my favorite cast member I would have to go with Michelle Rodriguez because not only is she a talented actress she is beautiful and bad ass in everything she's ever been in and this is probably my favorite role of hers. This is a movie were you really don't have to care about the plot because all the eye-candy and fun of this movie is the cars, girls, and action which is enough to pull you into the driver's seat. The cars are fast the action is furious and that's why this movie rocks.

Today I saw Tokyo drift and yesterday I saw 2 fast 2 furious for the fifth time, but I still find myself drawn toward the original. It stars Paul Walker as an undercover cop who infiltrates the street racing underworld of LA to catch a crook who has been hijacking millions of dollars worth of electronics from 18wheelers, causing the truckers to take matters into their own hands, ultimately ending in deaths and multitudes of money stolen. Now, you would think that because of the semi weak plot, this movie wouldn't be that good, however, the main storyline is just a small part of this movie, the other elements being action and some interesting relationships regarding vin diesels character. Diesel plays a street racing god, one of the best in the LA scene. Walkers character, Brians, way into the world is through Dominic Toretto (Diesel). Toretto has an air about him which draws other in, and Brian is no different. Throughout the movie, Brian is getting to know Dom, earning his trust, etc, but at the end of the movie, both Dom and Brian are forced to make a decision about each other... The whole relationship is interesting to watch. As for the action, there is plenty of it. Besides the many races, there is also some gunplay and some hand to hand fighting, and some interesting hijacking sequences.

All in all the cars are hot, the girls are hotter, the cars are fast, the guns are loaded, and for the more serious, the relationship between Dom, Mia, Vince, Letty, and the others is amazing.

If you haven't seen this movie, rent it tonight

This is the movie that created a brand new mega movie franchise. Generally when there's movie franchises they make movies in the form of trilogies. But later this year when Fast and the Furious 6 comes out it'll be the sixth movie in the series which shows the level of box office appeal the series has to be able to pump out an average of 1 movie every two years is quite impressive. The only other series doing that kind of productivity with different directors on basically a once every 2 year rate is the James Bond series.

Vin Diesel who outside of his other series Riddick movies generally puts out mediocre to bad performances was basically made to play the role of Dominic Torretto. Same goes for Paul Walker, normally when I see he's going to be in a movie I don't bother watching it. But somehow when these 2 guys get together in a movie about driving fast cars with hot girls it turns into a guilty pleasure.

Officer Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) goes undercover in the Los Angeles street racing circuits in order to find out which of the racing crews is committing crimes with their muscle cars. But going undercover is never easy, especially with such affable miscreants.

The basic premise is really nothing special. But then again, it doesn't need to be. The point of this movie is in its style. It has fast cars, lots of racing, lots of hot, greased-up babes, muscle-heavy men (and cars) and a killer soundtrack. You don't watch it to be intrigued by carefully orchestrated plot points or tragic backstories or the heaviness of its pathos. No, you watch it to kick back, relax and have a good time.

And in delivering that, the movie more than delivers. But if it was just that, I'd probably rate the film a bit lower. What actually elevates this film above its immediate peers and helped launch a huge franchise, is the fact that this film is punching above its weight class and succeeding. And it does that by having some real good actors playing roles they were born to play. Walker is one of them, but I also have to mention Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez.

The dialogue is also surprisingly snappy and memorable. The plot, while basic, succeeds in making you care for these characters, and it also manages to make itself feel novel, despite arguably being at least a little clichéd. Once again, the fact that you care for these characters matters a lot.

Not a groundbreaking movie by any means, but it has surprising quality underneath all the testosterone being forcibly pumped into your veins.