Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Universal Studios Home Entertainment – 107 mins – 2009 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.40: 1 – DTS-HD Lossless Master 5.1 Audio – Digital Copy

When The Fast and the Furious came out in 2001, it was an instant hit spawning fans that included muscle and tuner car enthusiast, as well as a new generation of wannabes who attempted to trick out their mom’s old Honda Civic into a street-ready ten second car. The movie gave Vin Diesel box office clout, and girls who could care less about cars just went to see Paul Walker’s blue eyes. Sure it was just a re-hash of the Patrick Swayze/Keanu Reeves 1991 film, Point Break, but it worked better. The Fast and the Furious spawned two lame sequels, the Diesel-less 2 Fast 2 Furious and the one that none of the original cast members were involved with, (not counting that 5 second cameo by Diesel), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Both of the sequels were successful enough to make the studio come to their senses and pay all the film’s original stars to return for one more adventure, Fast and Furious. The latest Furious film comes to Blu-ray from Universal Home Entertainment, so strap on your seatbelts for one sweet ride.

THE MOVIE

One good thing about Fast and Furious is that it continues the story line from the previous films, but only uses the bits and pieces that matter. The film opens in the Dominican Republic, taking place a year before the events of Tokyo Drift, where we find Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), hiding out from the law with a new posse, which includes Han (Sung Kang), who was the co-star of Tokyo Drift.

Dom’s old flame Letty, (Michelle Rodriquez) also comes along for the ride in an action prologue involving the heist of an oil tanker truck. Months later, Dom learns that Letty has been murdered and sneaks back into the US on a mission to find her killer. Here he is reunited with his sister Mia, (Jordana Brewster) and Brian, (Paul Walker), who now works for the FBI. There’s still tension between Dom and Brian, but they put it aside to track down Letty’s murderer, a drug lord named Arturo Braga who uses underground street racers to transport drugs across the border.

Directed by Justin Lin, (who also helmed Tokyo Drift), Fast and Furious is definitely the best film since the original, making you completely forget about the second and third movies and start fresh. Why makes this one succeed where the other’s failed? Let’s face it…its Vin Diesel. Sure it’s cool to see everyone from the original cast back again, but Diesel is the bond that makes the chemistry work. It’s like a Rocky film without Stallone, what would be the purpose of that? Also, where the previous two films were not sure what direction they were going, Fast and Furious knows exactly what it’s attempting to do; and as soon as the film starts it never takes it’s foot off of the gas pedal. Whereas the scope of the other Fast and Furious films is always condensed to one area, this time the film feels larger because Director Justin Lin sets the adventure in various places, such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and of course the Streets of LA. If he could have found a way to stick in Japan, I’m sure he would have.

Obviously, no Fast and Furious film would be complete without a showing off a collection of kick ass cars, and this film has some of the best yet in both the tuner and muscle categories. In the opening sequence Dom drives a sleek black Buick GNX that looks like Darth Vader on wheels, and Brian’s exotic Subaru Impreza that will make you want to turn on your Xbox and play Need for Speed to get your fix. Plenty of care went into the selection of cars used in the film, and who drives what to represent their character. If you’re a car lover, this alone will keep you watching.

Fast and Furious will not win any Oscars, but the beauty of it is that it’s not trying. It’s simply entertaining a target audience, and recapture what was lost in the previous sequels, making the first and fourth film perfect bookends. Will there be another Furious movies? Well being that this one made $350 million worldwide, which is more than any of the other films in the series made, I’m sure the producers will come up with something. And if so, just pay the cast whatever they want to get the ball rolling, because without Diesel and Walker together, there’s not much else to keep you coming back.

VIDEO

Fast and Furious looks fantastic on Blu-ray, presented in full 1080p in a 2.40:1 frame ratio. Just take a look at the opening oil tanker heist from the opening scene to see how the colors jump off the screen. Every spec of stubble on Diesel’s square jaw, and the lack of hair on his domed head are on full display as if you were sitting in the car next to him. There are plenty of CGI car effects in this movie, which at times looks like the cut scene for a racing videogame, but it works because it’s all visually pleasing. Grain does pop up during some of the night and interior tunnel sequences, but overall this one is definitely show off material.

AUDIO

Like the image quality, the sound for Fast and Furious is absolutely superb, offering a DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio mix that will bring your speakers to their knees. If you don’t have a surround sound system, you’re missing out on a major part of the experience, because when the cars rev up and race through the streets, or the tanker from the opening scene barrel rolls down the road, you want to hear and feel the rumble. Dialogue is crystal clear and Diesel’s signature voice is the icing on the cake.

EXTRAS

Fast and Furious actually comes with a solid package of bonus features, including a second disc with a Digital Copy, so Universal has made sure that you get your money’s worth.

Director Justin Lin offers a Director’s Commentary track, and even though he’s very passionate about his work on the Fast and Furious films, the track gets dull fast.

Los Bandoleros is one of the best features offered on the disc. Written and directed by the man himself, Vin Diesel, Los Bandelos is a twenty-minute short film that acts as a prequel to the events of Fast and Furious. Set in the Dominican Republic, the short features several cast members from the film such as Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Sung Kang, and goes into the preparation that leads to the oil tanker heist from Fast and Furious’ opening sequence. It’s very cool that Universal put up the cash and allowed Diesel to do this, because it’s a nice bonus, and actually not a bad short film.

Getting the Gang Back Together is a ten-minute featurette that goes into the concept of why the original cast members were brought back together for the fourth film. It’s probably because none of them have been in a hit movie in the last five years and they were offered a huge paycheck, but that’s just my opinion.

Under the Hood is divided into two sections “Muscle Cars” and “Imports” and looks at some of the cars featured in Fast and Furious.

Driving School with Vin Diesel is a four-minute spot that shows the D-man driving around the track and prepping his role.

Races and Chases looks at the main street race sequence, showing how it was done Fast and Furious style.

Shooting the Big Rig Heist dives into the film’s opening action sequence, displaying all the elements it took to make it look exciting on screen.

High Octane Action; The Stunts is more of the same, showing off how the action sequences were done.

South of the Border: Filming in Mexico is a small clip that shows the cast and crew filming on location in Mexico.

There’s also the music video by artist Pitbull for one of the songs featured in the film ‘Blanco.’

For those of you who like their movies on the go, a second disc features a Digital Copy.

Via Universal’s U-Control you can access ‘Take Control’ where you can watch director Justin Lin and the film’s star, Paul Walker talk about the film as the film plays. This is actually very cool, and beats listening to a standard commentary track. This is something that can seriously be utilized for future Blu-ray releases.

There a Virtual Garage that displays a 3-D version of the Buick featured in the movie, and allows you to rotate 360 degrees, paint it a different color, and add decals. It’s nothing fancy, but supposedly you can download an iPhone app that will allow you to use the device as a control for the virtual car. This couldn’t be tested because the retail version of the Blu-ray is not yet in stores, so this feature is not live as of this writing.

BOTTOM LINE

If you love the Fast and Furious films, this Blu-ray is a must buy, offering superior image and sound quality, as well as a sweet batch of bonus features and a Digital Copy tossed in. This one sells itself and will fly off shelves when it hits stores. Buckle up!

SCORES: (Out of 5):

The Movie: 4.0

Video: 4.5

Sound: 4.5

Extras: 4.0

Bottom Line: 4.0