Fast and Furious 4

Date seen : 12/04/09

Rating : 4/5

Front man Paul Walker returns for his third run as Brian O’Conner but is absolutely upstaged by Vin Diesel’s Dominic Torretto character. The addition of original cast members Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, as well as new comers John Ortiz, Laz Alonso, and Gal Gadot, keeps the temperature turned up the entire movie. Surprisingly, there’s actually a pretty good plot twist as well.

FF4 goes right back to its roots by opening with a high speed tractor trailer jacking. The action is of course intense and well played, but the best moment of the opening scene is when Sung Kang’s Han Lue character flashes on the screen. Fans of the franchise know that Han was included in the Tokyo Drift movie, so this seemingly nonchalant transition instantly gives this movie placement on the FF timeline.
Other than the “original parts,” the main thing I noticed is that the movie actually tried to be a movie. It toned down the gearhead speak and didn’t try to establish street cred with a plethora of car terms. That being said, it is still Fast & Furious. The car driving scenes are intense but still have the cheesey cuts to in car trash talking that has been a calling card of the series. The soundtrack is amazing. Worth a watch