FAST AND THE FURIOUS, THE
Released: June 22, 2001
After watching "The Fast And The Furious" for about 45 minutes or so it became apparent that I was actually being entertained by a recontruction of basic plot elements from 1992's "Point Break" starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. In "The Fast And The Furious", undercover cops, led by Brian (Paul Walker of the "She's All That" bad guy role fame in the Keanu role) infiltrate street racers to bust a hijacking ring. The Patrick Swayze character is handled by street racer/hijacker kingpin Vin Diesel and the Lori Petty character is handled very well by the sexy Panama-born siren Joanna Brewster, whose previous most notable acting stint was in 1998's Robert Rodriguez horror flick "The Faculty". Wisely, the hack director Rob Cohen (of "Daylight" and "Dragonheart" fame) chooses not to stick with just the hijacking or the undercover cop bust plot. Instead, we are given just enough of both plotlines with plenty of car chaes and loud electronica music, which when sewn up properly, is actually quite fun to watch. While I won't spoil the ending for you, it goes without saying that those who know "Point Break" will not be thrown too many curveballs on this one. Also, as a sidenote, for a PG-13 movie this has more sexy babes in wet T-shirts, more violence and more lite cussing than any other flick geared at the younger crowd than I recall ever seeing before...
117 Minutes
Universal