This weekend the eighth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise hits theaters so you know what that means, it's family time. Throughout this week I will be revisiting the entire series in chronological order, so I thought it would be a good idea to re-evaluate these movies that have been in my life for 16 years now. That's right, The Fast and the Furious first hit theaters back in 2001 and I can remember it like it was yesterday. I, unfortunately, did not get to see this one in theaters, but I saw it almost immediately on home video and from the first viewing was totally in love with the family.
At this point in time, the franchise has grown immensely in popularity and some would argue in quality as well, so it's always interesting to hear peoples opinions on the first three installments. They are vastly different from what we are seeing nowadays and for some, that's a bad thing but for me, it's the charm that drew me into this silly crime world. The goofy cars, the overblown machismo, and the homoeroticism are things that made me only love this movie more and watching it last night, that's still the case.
It's no secret that the first film served as an unofficial remake of the 90's classic Point Break, so I tried to view it through that lens watching it this time around. I only saw that movie a few years back so I revisited it the night before and it was with this watch that every major connection became clear. Some may cry "rip-off" but honestly, this is exactly how you do a remake and they should be praised for it. They took the barebones of the story and reworked it into something new that better represents the times.
The Fast and the Furious doesn't just live in Point Breaks shadow though, they were sure to make the right changes to allow this to exist on its own. They were clearly successful in doing that as the movie spawned now seven sequels while the former never had one. One of those changes is that we are straight up praising the criminals here, we aren't just meant to understand why Brian doesn't want to blow them in we are meant to fall head over heels in love with their dynamic, and we do.
It's fascinating to look at the characters in this movie now knowing where they have gone and having seen this movie countless times. Michelle Rodriguez as Letty is barely even a real person, she is playing an archetype that existed in a small period of the early 2000's, it's kind of incredible. Vin and Paul Walker strike their chemistry from square one and although their characters haven't changed much down the line it's fun to see them in the earlier days.
What changed most for the two leads is the quality of their dialogue, now I'm not saying the spoken words in the newer movies are anything oscar worthy, but this first installment was really hamming it up. There is a line in this movie, I shit you not, where an FBI agent says to Brian "If you want time, pick up a magazine!". It's fucking incredible and we should be so lucky to have goofy movies like this one.
To cap it all off, the cars used this first time around are truly one of a kind and further this movie as an early 2000's time capsule. They are flashy and silly boasting bright colors and ridiculous custom decals that you'd never see on the streets today. Brian's orange Supra remains one of my all-time favorite movie cars because of it. Also, I think it goes without saying that Dom's old school Dodge Charger used in the final drag race is a true work of art.
The races themselves are their own kind of fun when we actually get to see them. Most notably the first race where Brian loses his car, the stuff at "Race wars', and the final drag between Dom and Brian. This is where we get to see the racing through "NOS vision" and its a silly, yet effective visual trick they use to emphasize how fast they are moving. Speaking of, I couldn't count a number of times "NOS" is said throughout this film, just adding to its time capsule status.
Watching this movie again, sixteen years after its initial release there is a lot to take in. First, Ja Rule cannot act and is, in fact, the worst (but in the best way in this movie) and second is that this franchise has come a ridiculously long way since its inception. The Fast and the Furious is only the beginning of what is one of the most unique film franchises ever to exist. Stay tuned for my thoughts on 2 Fast 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift, I can tell you I love them more than most and get hyped for The Fate of the Furious this weekend!
As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
No comments:
Post a Comment