Look, people like this movie because it's got cars in it, they like movie with car races etc. That's OK, but if you like cars and like this movie, you don't like movies because anyone with a working brain can see just how dumb this film is. Not only is it shot in such a bland and generic way, but often a ugly look is achieved. Also, the characters are garbage, I mean Vin Diesel can be good when he isn't trying to be charismatic generic action man, which he is terrible at playing. All this movie tries to emhpasise is how kool street racing is, and how hot the chicks in it are. If some idiot wants to watch this stupid piece of garbage, then good for them, but I am shocked that there are seven of these films. This movie is too bad for anyone with intellectual genius to make any more of. If there was a 0 out of 10 option I would take it.

The interesting thing about the long-running "Fast and Furious" franchise is that series fans seem to fall into one of two camps. Those who feel that the series started off decent but has gotten progressively better with each passing sequel. Especially as they take themselves less seriously and simply aim to entertain their audience more and more with increasingly insane and physics-defying action. And those who far prefer the earlier and slightly tamer installments for their slightly more grounded realism. And they tend to lament the fact that the later sequels have gone in an increasingly unrealistic and over- the-top direction. And as a result, I feel I must warn certain audience members... I'm most certainly in the former of those two groupings. Yes, I am somewhat sorry to say that to me, the franchise as a whole really didn't start picking up steam until about the third or fourth chapter. While by no means terrible, the earlier films haven't aged particularly well at all, and feel quite... docile and bland. Even the subject of this review- the original 2001 release from director Rob Cohen. It's a standard story and spends so much time on a plot ripped straight from "Point Break" (only substituting cars instead of surf-boards), that it doesn't really entertain to the same wild extent that later installments eventually reached.The film follows detective Brian O'Connor (the late Paul Walker), as he goes undercover to infiltrate the underground world of illegal street racing in Los Angeles. O'Connor and his superiors suspect that the same men and women who hold these illegal events are also responsible for a string of crimes throughout the city. He eventually forms a sort-of friendship with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), one of the most famed of the underground racers. O'Connors conflicted feelings about whether or not to bust him are further complicated when he starts to fall for Dominic's younger sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), and eventually his investigation will lead to a complex and wild finale through the streets of LA.The highlights here are the wonderful and at-the-time relatively unknown cast and the high-octane action that crops up here and there. This is the film that really put Vin Diesel and the others on the map. Everyone gives it their all, and everyone comes across very likable and endlessly cool in the film. Especially Diesel and Walker, who both shot to stardom in the months following the film's release. I also really liked Michelle Rodriguez, who plays a supporting role as Letty, Domonic's girlfriend. She has that tough- yet-sexy appeal and works really well in the film. Brewster and fellow co-stars like Rick Yune and Chad Lindberg similarly do admirable jobs. On the whole, just a great, fun cast.Director Rob Cohen, fresh off of a string of 90's hits including "Dragonheart" and "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story", does a phenomenal job handling the action and adventure with his kinetic camera-work and unique use of color and saturation. Say what you will about the mixed quality of the films he's made- the man can make a thrilling sequence. You really feel the speed in the races and each crash hits you right in the gut. This is amongst his best work as a visual storyteller, and he delivers the action full-throttle. When the film goes into full- blown carnage, it works marvelously.Unfortunately, the film falters quite a bit thanks to the aforementioned stock-screen writing and for being a bit too dated when viewed in comparison to the rest of the series. For all intents and purposes, there's not a lot going on "under the hood" here. Every twist and turn is telegraphed from a mile away, characters fall into broad and undeveloped clichés (usually given a single "quirk" to define them, which is lazy screen writing 101), and you'll know how it ends pretty much immediately. It takes away a lot of the experience. The fact that the film is also basically a photocopy of the superior "Point Break" is also distracting at times and can occasionally lead to a lot of unintended giggles. In addition, this film feels very much a product of its time. This has "Extreme 2001 movie!" written all over it. From the music to the editing to even the slang used in conversation... the film is dated to the point it even occasionally feels a bit cringe- worthy.Still, I don't think it's a bad movie. Just a troubled one. And I do think it is still most certainly worth seeking out, especially as a prerequisite to viewing the entire series. It sets up a lot of characters and context that are expanded on in later films, and there's a lot of fun to be had with the great performances and top-notch action. For my money... It's one of the weaker "Fast & Furious" films. But it's still a "Fast & Furious" film through-and-through. And I say give it a shot.I give it an about-average 6 out of 10.

"The Fast and The Furious" was the "Point Break" of the 2000s — a cop goes undercover to bust up a group of criminals who are into a specific "sport," but he becomes attached to the very people he's trying to bust. "Point Break" is the better film, but "The Fast and the Furious" was the start of a multi-billion-dollar franchise. Go figure.Paul Walker plays the cop, Brian O'Conner, but the screenplay doesn't reveal this card until Brian has not only won the respect of top street racer Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), but also the viewer. This small betrayal of our trust is writer Gary Scott Thompson's shrewdest move as the film goes from somewhat interesting, albeit cliché, to more interesting, albeit cliché.The screenplay — co-written with Erik Bergquist and David Ayer ("Training Day") based on the "VIBE" magazine article by Ken Li — is not the focal point of the movie, of course. This was 2001, the peak of the MTV Spring Break era. The point was to show hot foreign cars, hot foreign (and American) women and a lot of burning rubber. The rock, rap and techno music of the time feature prominently, and even rapper Ja Rule had a supporting role as a racer, a reminder of how the start of the 21st century was also the beginning of the music business starting to infiltrate the movie business.All this to say, director Rob Cohen understands this is a style over substance situation. Quarter-mile races, chases, fist fights and criminal heist activity are the featured attractions — as are the beautiful cars and beautiful people. If this film can be given any credit for originality, it belongs to the merging of heist/crime movie and drag race aesthetics. Cars had of course been featured in movies and television before, but this movie more authentically plays to the car aficionado, as a handful of films did in this era (e.g. "Gone in 60 Seconds," "The Italian Job"). There's a certain grittiness that this film has featuring real street-racing cars compared to James Bond, for example, driving something too cool to believe.The movie isn't 100 percent shallow from start to finish, however. A genuine effort is made to build chemistry between Walker and Diesel's characters. The story works best when it builds and tests that relationship. Nothing else about the movie feels worth our investment, but somehow we desperately do not want Brian and Dom to turn on each other despite all the reasons they should. Both Walker and Diesel bring likable dimensions to their characters and their chemistry is likely to be the bedrock of future films. (This coming from someone who has yet to see any of the other films yet.)The supporting cast, however, doesn't offer much. Dom's girlfriend, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), brings nothing to the story, and the other guys in Dom's gang aren't given the chance to be anything but meatheads. The romance between Brian and Dom's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) exists for formulaic reasons, but the fact that both of them feel kind of like outsiders to the street-racing culture gives their relationships some legitimacy.But enough about characters. "The Fast and the Furious" delivers some solid action sequences, especially the ones involving street cars and semi trucks. The racing scenes don't allow for much dimension, and the editing is decent to optimize suspense, but the CGI and green screen elements pull us out of what should feel like a very realistic, gritty street race. There are enough quality moments for action fans in "The Fast and the Furious" to overcome the MTV Spring Break music video world its characters inhabit. The 2000s were full of glossy movies with inferior story lines, and while comparing "The Fast and the Furious" to these films would obviously make it seem like a great movie when in fact it's an average one, it could be a suitable enough ambassador of its time and culture to movie watchers of the future.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

As a car enthusiast i can say i loved this movie! Was fun to watch on my own time and didn't have to skip any boring dialogue like i always do.. Paul walker and Vin diesel make a very good combo in the first FnF but i personally think the acting in 2F2F was much betterPros(Things i like).The movie has many race scenes unlike the new FnF movies .Includes a multitude of cars from Japanese tuners to American muscle, .acting was good, as i love paul walker for his acting .You are able to watch the movie without worrying about plot holes as the movie keeps you interested with its race scenes .Excellent choice of music More focus on cars then bank heists and not much of a focus on hot women, however there is the fair share of hotties in the movie .VERY GOOD character development between the MAIN CHARACTERSCons .WARNING, this movie was made by someone who knows nothing about cars, so any car enthusiast may cringe when they see something that happens to a car that is supposed to make a person who knows nothing about cars(which this movie is targeted to) say "WOW! Cars can do that! So cool!" .acting may be corny at times .movie ends too fast, leaving little plot holes and poor acting (EX: jesses death" .Dont get exited about these cool modded cars with bodykits and spoiler, this concept is abandon in the 4th movie (2009) .Most of the side characters are abandon excluding Mia, letty, vince and hector...Overall, really good, but has is mini downsides..