Rating- * * * (3/5)
Whether or not it was a great film, or even a good one, this movie was one of the most talked about in 2001. It was probably because of the breakthrough performances by the lead actors, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, who became celebrities virtually overnight due to this film, but it also could have been that this is just a really fun movie. Sure, there is very little dialogue (and what’s there is cheesy) and there are some unbelievable plot points and characters, but in a pure action flick like this one you aren’t really looking for any of that stuff. It’s all about escapism, watching things you would never be able to do outside of a movie and getting away from the problems of your real life to enjoy the more exciting and adventurous problems of the movie’s reality. For a cheesy action film like this one, the acting is surprisingly good, particularly from Diesel, who I believe is going to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays a street racer who has been high-jacking trucks on the side. Paul Walker turns in a respectable performance as the undercover cop assigned to get to the bottom of the high-jackings and who decides to enter the world of street racing where he thinks the culprits will be. This all really just an excuse to do some unbelievably cool car chase scenes, one of which involves the high-jackers boarding a moving eighteen-wheeler while being shot at by a shotgun-wielding truck driver. The highlight of the film by far is the street race that occurs about a quarter of the way through the film which involves Walker, Diesel, and several other drivers. Mixed in with the traditional drag race shots are some computer generated shots that move from one car’s cockpit to another and even one shot that follows a nitrous oxide boost through the engine of the car and out the tailpipes. This is one of the most intense action sequences I’ve ever seen in a film and I would recommend the film for this scene alone. But the movie as a whole is not necessarily bad; it’s rather entertaining if you go into it with the mindset that you’re not watching Citizen Kane and just enjoy the pure, adrenaline-powered action sequences. Check this one out if you like car movies or if you are just looking for some mindless, but bloodless, action.