The Fast and the Furious (2001 film)
| The Fast and the Furious | |
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 The Fast and The Furious poster |
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| Directed by | Rob Cohen |
| Produced by | Neal H. Moritz Associate Producer: Creighton Bellinger Executive Producer: Doug Claybourne John Pogue |
| Written by | Ken Li (magazine article "Racer X") Gary Scott Thompson Erik Bergquist David Ayer |
| Starring | Paul Walker Vin Diesel Michelle Rodriguez Jordana Brewster |
| Music by | BT |
| Cinematography | Ericson Core |
| Editing by | Peter Honess |
| Studio | Original Film Mediastream Film |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 18, 2001 |
| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States, Germany |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$ 40 million |
| Gross revenue | US$207,283,925[1] |
| Followed by | 2 Fast 2 Furious |
The Fast and the Furious (also known in Japan as Wild Speed (ワイルドスピード)[2]) is a 2001 car film starring Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. Directed by Rob Cohen, The Fast and the Furious was the first mainstream film to feature the Asian automotive import scene in North America. It is the first film in The Fast and the Furious film series. The concept was loosely inspired by a Vibe magazine article about street racing in New York City.
Contents |
Plot
Brian O'Conner (Walker) is a police officer tasked by an LAPD/FBI joint operation with infiltrating the Los Angeles street racing scene, suspected to be the origin of a string of high-speed truck hijackings perpetrated by a trio of black '95 Honda Civics with green neon lighting under the chassis. Brian gets a job at a local shop and works his way up until finally getting an opportunity to compete against elite street racer Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and two other contestants at a large, late-night event. Brian barters his way into the race with the title for his '95 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS. O'Conner appears to be ahead in the race, having equipped his Eclipse with Nitrous Oxide tanks for an edge over his competition. However, after using both tanks while in the race he damages his intake manifold, resulting more severe damage to his engine. He loses the race, but gains Toretto's respect when he tracks he arrives in time to prevent Torretto from being collared by the LAPD after their arrival on-scene to break up the race. After losing the police, the duo accidentally venture into the Chinatown district of L.A. and encounter a rival gang led by Johnny Tran (Yune). After a brief discussion over territory, the gang seems to depart, but Tran and his cousin Lance (Lee) return and open up in a barrage of gunfire with Uzi submachine gun fire on the O'Conners Eclipse, the gunfire ruptures the Nitrous Oxide tanks and the ensuing explosion wrecks the Eclipse, leaving Torretto and O'Conner to complete the rest of their journey home on foot.
The next day, O'Conner is "arrested" by his superior (and handler) in the LAPD, Sgt. Tanner (Levine). They arrive at the operations headquarters, a repossessed home said to have been originally built for Elizabeth Taylor by Eddie Fisher. Once inside, Sgt. Tanner and Special Agent of the FBI Bilkins (Barry) voice their suspicions that Toretto may be the perpetrator of the hijackings and caution Brian to keep an appropriate distance so his judgment is not clouded. Since Brian's first encounter with Toretto, the duo become close friends, provoking the jealousy of Dominic's long-time best friend Vince (Schulze). Simultaneously, Brian becomes romantically involved with Toretto's sister Mia (Brewster). Since the Eclipse that Dominic won the title too was destroyed, Brian saw to it that Dominic be repaid appropriately, and so managed to present Dominic with a totaled '94 Toyota Supra to use as a blank canvas, and offers his talent as a driver to repay his debt.
While on his own, Brian investigates the other participants in the street racing crowd and discovers a cache of electronics hidden in the back of Tran's auto shop including 3 Honda Civics with no engines, and agrees to the police and FBI to raid the garage and Tran's house believing them to be the perpetrators of the hijackings. However, a connection is not found, as the electronics were legally purchased by Tran. Tanner and Bilkins again express their belief that Toretto is behind the hijackings and informs him that truckers all over the state are preparing to take up arms against the hijackers. Seeing his opportunity to break the case slipping away, Brian directly confronts Toretto about how he gets his income. Toretto agrees to reveal the source as long as Brian proves himself at the upcoming Race Wars, a legitimate closed-track event for auto enthusiasts held at a closed United States Air Force Base. Early on at Race Wars, Toretto's friend Jesse (Lindberg) races his imprisoned father's '95 Volkswagen Jetta against Tran's '00 Honda S2000 for pink slips and loses. In a state of panic, Jesse hastily flees the track instead of surrendering his car. Later that night, Toretto and his gang go out to do another hijacking. Brian, now feeling out of time, confesses to Mia that he is an undercover cop and tells her that the truckers are now armed. He convinces her to come with him to save her brother and his friends. Mia reluctantly relents, and goes along with Brian to find Dominic and the team. Mia informs Brian that Dominic stashes the Civic's outside of Thermal. Brian then dials an operator service and gives his serial number to verify his claim as a police officer. He then hands the phone over to Mia who gives Toretto's cell phone number to track him down to where the Civics heading outside of Coachella. During the hijacking, member Vince is severely injured after the trucker pulls out a shotgun and shoots him in his side and the grappling wire to which he was connected becomes tangled around his arm. The other team members attempt to help, but are thwarted by the trucker, who causes Toretto's girlfriend Letty (Rodriguez) out of control and crashing off the embankment on the side of the highway. Brian comes arrives, rescues Vince with Mia's help, and jumps off the truck just before the truck driver fires out of the window after reloading. Dominic arrives on-scene to find Brian and Mia crouched over Vince out in the field to which they pulled off the highway in, attempting slow the bleeding from the lacerations on his arm. Brian makes the difficult decision of blowing his cover wide open by phoning in for a medivac, revealing his status as an undercover officer in Dominic's presence. Dominic is visibly enraged, but contains his anger and after Vince is airlifted from the scene, forces Mia to return home with him, Letty and Leon.
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Back at Toretto's house, Brian attempts to confront Toretto, who is out to look for Jesse before Tran's gang does. Just at that moment, Jesse shows up. Tran and his cousin suddenly appear and perform a drive-by shooting at the house, killing Jesse. Brian and Toretto go after them, with Toretto using his late father's prized '70 Dodge Charger, a treasure that Dominic revealed to Brian in an earlier scene, letting Brian in on the secrets of his past. Brian maintains close pursuit of the Tran and Lance, though Lance pulls off the road in an attempt to flank Brian. Just as Lance is about to open fire on Brian from behind, Toretto appears and forces the cousin off a road embankment while Brian shoots Tran, killing him. Brian and Dominic then engage in an impromptu street race, narrowly missing a passing train. Toretto, however, is injured after he sideswipes a passing semi-truck, sending his Charger up in mid-air before crashing violently. Instead of arresting him, Brian hands the keys of the Supra they built together over to Dominic, and lets him escape, recalling how desperately Dominic wishes to avoid prison time again. After the end credits, Toretto is seen driving through Baja California in a '70 Chevrolet Chevelle SS and his voice can be heard saying, "I live my life a quarter mile at a time, nothing else matters. For those ten seconds or less.... I'm free." — recalling a crucial line from an earlier scene when Brian and him are in his home garage where Dominic revealed the Dodge Charger (and the story behind it) to Brian.
Cast
- Paul Walker as Brian O'Connor
- Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto
- Michelle Rodriguez as Letty
- Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto
- Rick Yune as Johnny Tran
- Chad Lindberg as Jesse
- Johnny Strong as Leon
- Matt Schulze as Vincent
- Ted Levine as Sgt. Tanner
- Ja Rule as Edwin
- Vyto Reginis as Harry
- Thom Barry as Agent Bilkins
- Stanton Rutledge as Muse
- Noel Guglielmi as Hector
- RJ De Vera as Danny Yamato
- Beau Holden as Ted Gassner
- Reggie Lee as Lance Nguyen
- David Douglas as Rasta Racer
- Peter Navy Tuiasosopo as Samoan Guard
- Neal H. Moritz as Ferrari Driver
- Doria Clare Anselmo as Ferrari Passenger
- Glenn K. Ota as Johnny's Father
- F. Valentino Morales as Dispatcher
- Mike White as Night Truck Driver
- Delphine Pacific as Racer's Edge Clerk
- Monica Tamayo as Monica
- Megan Baker as Gimel
- Tammy Monica Gegamian as Edwin's Babe
Director Rob Cohen makes a cameo appearance on the first race scene as a pizza delivery man.
Production notes
According to an interview found on the original DVD release, Cohen was inspired to make this film after reading a Vibe magazine article about street racing in New York City and watching an actual illegal street race at night in Los Angeles.
The film was shot in various locations within Los Angeles and parts of Southern California. Key locations included Dodger Stadium (on the opening scene where Brian tests his Eclipse on the parking lot), Angelino Heights, Silver Lake and Echo Park (the neighborhoods around Toretto's home), as well as Little Saigon (where Tran destroys the Eclipse) and the San Bernardino International Airport (the venue for Race Wars, which attracted over 1,500 import car owners and enthusiasts).[3]
Prior to filming, both Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez did not have driver's licenses, so they took driving lessons during production.
In one scene at Toretto's home, the gang is seen watching Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, another film directed by Cohen.
For the climactic race scene between Brian and Toretto, separate shots of both cars crossing the railroad and the train crossing the street were filmed, then composited together to give the illusion of the train narrowly missing the cars. A long steel rod was used as a ramp for Toretto's car to crash through the semi-truck and fly in mid-air.
Music
The film's score was composed by music producer BT, mixing Electronica with Hip-hop and Industrial influences. Two soundtracks were released for the movie. The first one features mostly hip-hop and rap music. The second one, titled More Fast and Furious: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture The Fast and the Furious, features alternative metal, Post-grunge and Nu metal songs, as well as select tracks from BT's score.
Release
The Fast and the Furious was released on DVD on January 2, 2002. A second print known as the "Tricked Out Edition", released on June 3, 2003, featured Prelude to 2 Fast 2 Furious, a short film that set the tone to the film's sequel.
The film was released on HD DVD on September 26, 2006 and on Blu-ray disc on July 28, 2009.
Reception
The Fast and the Furious was met with mixed reviews, with a score of 54% (based on 142 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes[4] (64% among 33 top critics)[5] Todd McCarthy of Variety called the film "a gritty and gratifying cheap thrill, Rob Cohen's high-octane hot-car meller is a true rarity these days, a really good exploitationer, the sort of thing that would rule at drive-ins if they still existed."[6] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "an action picture that's surprising in the complexity of its key characters and portents of tragedy."[7] Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today gave the film 2 1/2 out of 4 stars, saying that Cohen "at least knows how to keep matters moving and the action sequences exciting."[8]
On the other hand, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C, saying it "works hard to be exciting, but the movie scarcely lives up to its title."[9] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post gave the film a scathing review, calling it "Rebel Without a Cause without a cause. The Young and the Restless with gas fumes. The Quick and the Dead with skid marks."[10] In his review, Paul Clinton of CNN wrote that Cohen "created a high-octane, rubber-burning extravaganza. However, it also has plot holes you could drive the proverbial truck through, and an ending that is totally idiotic."[11]
Box office
| US Domestic Total Gross | US$144,533,925 |
| International | US$62,750,000 |
| Gross Worldwide Takings | US$207,283,925 |
The film was an unexpected summer hit. It grossed $40,089,015 on its opening weekend, surpassing the film's $38 million budget.[1] It grossed a total of $144,533,925 on the domestic market, and $62,750,000 overseas, for a total of $207,283,925.
Merchandising
Video game
The Fast and The Furious arcade video game was released by Taito in 2006.[12] A trailer for the movie was included in the 2001 PlayStation 2 game Tokyo Extreme Racer Zero.
Toys and model kits
Racing Champions released diecast metal replicas of the film's cars in different scales from 1/18 to 1/64.[13] RadioShack sold ZipZaps micro RC versions of the cars in 2002.[14] 1/24 scale plastic model kits of the hero cars were manufactured by AMT Ertl.[15]
Sequels
The film has spawned three sequels: 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), and Fast & Furious (2009). Paul Walker returned for 2 Fast 2 Furious, teaming up with Tyrese Gibson, but sat out for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Lucas Black starred instead, and Vin Diesel made a cameo at the end. The third sequel, Fast & Furious, was released on Apr. 3, 2009 and features Diesel, Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster reprising and returning to their roles from the first film. A fourth sequel, titled Fast Five, is slated to be released in 2011 and will feature both Diesel and Walker.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Fast and the Furious (2001)". http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=fastandfurious.htm.
- ↑ Yahoo! Movies Japan - The Fast and the Furious
- ↑ Cinema.com - The Fast and the Furious Production Notes
- ↑ Rotten Tomatoes - The Fast and the Furious
- ↑ Rotten Tomatoes - The Fast and the Furious (Cream of the Crop)
- ↑ Variety - The Fast and the Furious
- ↑ Los Angeles Times - The Fast and the Furious Review
- ↑ USA Today - Car Hoods Rev Up in The Fast and the Furious
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly - The Fast and the Furious
- ↑ The Washington Post - Fast Leaving Logic in the Dust
- ↑ CNN - Review: The Fast and the Furious Runs on Empty
- ↑ The Fast and The Furious arcade video game official website
- ↑ Racing Champions Ertl Company Press Release
- ↑ Micro RC Cars - RadioShack ZipZaps
- ↑ AMT Ertl - The Fast and the Furious
External links
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