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Out to own on DVD & Blu-ray NOW
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Another testosterone-fuelled, pimped-up, racing-car film with angst-ridden males, bootylicious babes, and a thumping soundtrack might be some folk’s idea of hell, having them reach for the headache tablets in a hurry. But the latest in this racy franchise for petrol-head video-gamers is actually a vast improvement on the others, possibility because the characters have matured and the mechanical details (such as rev counters jumping from 0-60 in more than 2 seconds etc) are a little more accurate.
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The daring stunts have been turned up several notches and are simply more breathtaking and hair-raising than before, with a climatic tanker scene at the beginning to kick off proceedings, complete with nausea-making rollercoaster road shot, and every racer’s lovable rogue, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel), at the helm. Director Justin Lin returns, adding visual elements of his previous Tokyo Drift, with some impressive super close-up angles of bits of vehicle fly towards you, in real-time, and some drifting in Downtown L.A. in the race sequence to select the best drivers to join ‘big boss’ Campos’s Mexican drugs smuggling gang. Effectively, what you have is a sequence of stunts and special effects with beautiful bodies - both car and human - sandwiching brief moments of dialogue that are, basically, an aid for the audience to ‘catch-up’ on the past relationships and links between the leads.
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This kind of film is about big visual thrills, banging tunes, rippling muscles - and not much else. It’s like watching a high-speed music video, complete with energetic tracks. There is some muted and obvious humour (intentional or otherwise), such as the line of highly-colourful muscle cars parked in a row, next to the hearses at Letty’s funeral, and Toretto’s comment to eager new fling, Gisele; “I’m one of those boys who appreciates a fine body, whatever the make” (rolling eyes to the heavens). It’s a film where men are men, and women are fragile or sex-hungry vixens. It’s definitely not about delving to far beneath the bonnet to decipher what it runs on - even though there are some head-scratching and bemusing aspects to the plot.
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Diesel provides his infamous poker-faced, hard-nut credentials, opposite blue-eye ‘boy-babe’ Paul Walker, the hotter-headed one of the unlikely ‘friends’. The rivalry between this pair is a welcome return as each alpha male brings down the baddies with some incredible driving action. Whatever your preference - more or less meat on the bones - this film’s cast has something for everyone to feast on and drool over. Good news for fans is the ending leaves it all wide open for another…
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Episode 4 fires up the adrenaline like an excitable beast on heat. With slick bodies - and even slicker moves, Justin Lin’s latest version is total entertainment in top gear!
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By Lisa Keddie
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Synopsis
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When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O’Conner (Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmanuever him. And from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what’s possible behind the wheel.
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Film Facts
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Official site: http://www.fastandfuriousmovie.net/
UK Release Date: 10th April 2009
Director: Justin Lin
Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson
Cast: Paul Walker (’Brian O’Conner’), Vin Diesel (’Dominic Toretto’), Jordana Brewster (’Mia Toretto’), Michelle Rodriguez (’Letty’), John Ortiz (’Campos’), Liza LaPira (’Agent Sophie Trinh’), Mirtha Michelle (’Cara’), Laz Alonso (’Fenix Rise’), Gal Gadot (’Gisele Harabo’)
Distributor: Universal Pictures International UK
Certificate: 15
Run-time: 107 mins
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Video on Real.com
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Trailer:
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UK Premiere:
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TWO CLIPS:
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FOUR EXTRA CLIPS:
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Behind-the-scenes Featurettes:
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Tunnel Run in London:
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