There was a time when Vin Diesel was pegged as an up-and-coming actor in Hollywood. Steven Spielberg famously wrote a new character into "Saving Private Ryan" just for the actor, and Diesel voiced the titular machine in Brad Bird's animated "The Iron Giant" just a year later. Everything seemed to be going right for him. Summer action movies and big paychecks came his way, and his career was looking so strong that even though the original hit "The Fast and the Furious" made nearly 150 million dollars at the box office, Diesel declined to come back for the sequel.

Eight years later, things are a little different. Diesel hasn't had a hit since 2005's kid-flick "The Pacifier," he hasn't had much success since turning down that prior mentioned sequel, and the only film he's done that's drawn him any actual acclaim was Sidney Lumet's "Find Me Guilty" three years ago, which no one saw. I guess he decided to reconsider his original decision because he's back for "Fast and Furious" (the original title, sans the definite articles) an easy contender for the laziest titled film of the year.

Diesel may have changed his mind about actually coming back for a sequel, but it's pretty obvious five minutes into "Fast and Furious" that he still doesn't want to be there. He spends the vast majority of his time with a completely blank look on his face, seemingly wondering what he'll be having for dinner or how much longer they're going to make him sit in his car. He's barely even there, and though fans of the series will be glad to see him back, everyone else will yawn. His character, Dominic, goes through some pretty terrible things, and Diesel has a chance to actually do some acting, but he doesn't seem interested. Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, also returning from the original movie, make a bit more of an effort in their respective roles, but none of them are given the material that Diesel is-- the movie should be his, but he doesn't seem to want it.

Then again, you don't go see a film like this for the acting (or for the story, really); you go to get your adrenaline pumping, and because there are supposed to be some cool race sequences. The first 'Fast and the Furious' delivered just that, while the rest have fallen short. This new one isn't the worst of the series, but that says more about the quality of the series than it does about this movie. There's a grand total of one race here and it's the most poorly edited that the series has produced. Director Justin Lin seemingly has no idea how to stage an effective sequence of this nature, as there's really no tangible continuity within the scene: many of his cuts feel out of place, and the camera work and editing are terrible. We actually spend about half of the race focused on a GPS system in the car, ostensibly to show the drivers where they're going, but really showing the viewers. It's almost as if the filmmakers knew the scene was going to be confusing before they shot it and used the device to make sure the audience had some idea of what was going on.

The cars are fast enough and Lin is able to lend effectiveness to a few sequences based on that adrenaline-fueled attraction that has earned this series its popularity, but excessive use of bad CGI often hampers even these small successes. Explosions that look like they were pulled right out of a video game don't do the film any favors, nor do characters frequently defying the laws of gravity so absurdly that at one point during the climactic scene, several viewers in my audience audibly yelled out, "Come on!"

"Fast and Furious" falls especially flat when it spends time away from the interior of a car, but even when the film is working within its wheelhouse, nothing seems particularly fast, and only for a moment is anyone furious. Lame, melodramatic plot twists litter the narrative, leaving at least this viewer rolling his eyes regularly.

Last Word:

The original cast may be back but the fun is not. "Fast and Furious" is not the worst film in this series and the return of their favorite characters may be enough for series die-hards, but everyone else will probably prefer to pass on this one.

==Written by Andrew Thornton==

==From: In Review Online (www.inreviewonline.com)==

The similarity between the title of Fast & Furious and the first film's title (which is different only by the inclusion of a couple of extra words), not to mention the number-less nature of it, might not just be a judgment call by the makers to dupe general audiences into thinking this isn't the fourth in a series. It may be a subtle, hiding in plain sight reminder that this is just more of the same. And it is to the film's detriment. It's certainly kind of cool to see the original cast members come back for another go at driving fast cars and looking oh so cool doing it, but it gives no reason why you should choose this one over settling for just renting the original.

Picking up five years after the events of The Fast and the Furious, this film, directed by Justing Lin, sees the whole gang — Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster — reunited for another spout of driving fast cars and chasing furious bad guys. Stringing together whatever plot it can, it follows Walker's Brian O'Conner, now a federal agent, as he tries to track down and stop a notorious drug lord. But lo and behold Conner's not the only one after him, as before you can say "three, two, one, go!" he bumps into his old pal Dominic Toretto (Diesel -- as gruff and tough as always). But instead of arresting Toretto on the multiple charges he has built up, O'Conner decides to work alongside him to help him catch the guy he's after.

Those who have enjoyed the series up until this point know exactly what to expect from this one, and they get just that. This is the fourth film in a series that knows its core audience -- those who will eat up any racing scene or tough-guy-talk no matter how it plays out. Unfortunately, it's something we've seen a million times before, and done a lot better than it is here, including in the film which kicked all this fast and furious stuff off.

The Fast and the Furious is one of those movies which could readily be called a guilty pleasure — it's one of those movies often treated with a degree of apathy, sometimes even with full-on hate. But there's something extremely entertaining about how it just doesn't care about what more serious viewers out there might think about it, it just does what it does with great conviction and vigor. Even in a brainless "chase 'em and tough-talk 'em" flick like it is, that kind of thing's still got to be admired.

Even though Fast & Furious definitely gets back more into the spirit of the original, something the second and third films lost completely, it just wallows in the success of the first film, practically copying what has already come before and doing a significantly less good version of it. Something about just the right combination of silly and cool made the first one very entertaining and quite re-watchable indeed, but with the fourth film it just seems like they're riding on the coattails of a past triumph.

The whole plot, if you can call it that, of Fast & Furious feels rehashed, tacked on, and entirely uninteresting. A drug lord who is using certified "best drivers" to transport his "product" is something that feels not at all unfamiliar to anyone who watches more than a handful of movies a year. However, a coherent plot or satisfying storytelling probably isn't at the top of the film's — or the core audience's -- priority list. The "story" is just there as a container for the inevitably over-the-top race sequences and tough-talking bad (and good) guys.

It must be admitted that there are some pretty impressive action scenes to be found here. Since that's the primary goal of the film, all effort seems to have been poured into making them as exciting and gripping as possible. They pull it off for the most part, which makes the movie even more frustrating considering that there aren't enough of those scenes in it. For a film from a series that rides (no pun intended) on the quality of its action/race sequences, there is a surprising lack of them here. There are two or three gripping main ones which are about the only things resembling the word "memorable" in the film. In particular, the first real race including Diesel and Walker is quite good. But the overuse of what are at times pretty bad special effects help drag the action down as a whole.

It's clear that the film saw what special effects have been developed since the first entry in the series back in 2001 and used those new techniques as much as possible. The first film had what were obviously real stunts and very little CGI employed, but here it's pushed into overdrive. There's one short sequence in particular which sees Diesel time his driving perfectly so as to drive right under a giant gas canister that's on-fire and tumbling towards him. Not only is it eye-rolling because of just how ridiculous and over-the-top it is, but the CGI looks plain bad. You'd think that adding today's technology would make a franchise about speeding cars much better, but it strangely has pretty much the opposite effect.

Judging the film amongst others, the main problem with it is that it just doesn't seem to try very hard out with the action sequences. Perhaps they thought that having the original cast members back was enough to sustain the whole movie and that they could just tack on whatever rehashed, by-the-book, story they could first get their hands on. The action is impressive at times, but it is sadly wasted with an annoying overuse of obvious visual effects and a sheer low count of action scenes in general. It's not a terrible film by any means, but nor is it what you would call "worthwhile" other than for those who already know what to expect from the franchise.

Ultimately, I think it's time to hang up the Fast and Furious hat for good, leaving the series at a "four is plenty" level. However, since this is sure to be a financial success for the type of film that it is, don't be surprised to see another one of these things at some point...and probably sooner rather than later.

==Written by Ross Miller==

==From: Movie World (www.movie-world.moonfruit.com)==

Like the high-revving imports and American muscle cars that roar down the streets of its south Florida setting, 2 Fast 2 Furious is tricked out to the max. While Vin Diesel opted for his XXX franchise, this obligatory sequel to The Fast and the Furious benefits from Diesel's absence, allowing returning star Paul Walker to shine while forging a lively partnership with rising star Tyrese, who fulfills his sidekick duties with more vitality than Diesel could ever muster. The Miami/Dade locations are another bonus, lending colorful backdrop to the most dazzling street-racing sequences (both real and digitally composited) ever committed to film. The plot is disposable--former cop Walker and jailbird Tyrese are recruited by the FBI to dethrone a thuggish kingpin (Cole Hauser)--but director John Singleton keeps the adrenalin pumping, enlisting a rainbow coalition of costars (including rapper Ludacris and Chanel supermodel Devon Aoki) to combine a hip-hop vibe with full-blown action while showcasing hot babes, edgy humor, and some of the coolest cars that ever burned rubber. Heed the movie's warning, kids: Let the stuntmen do the driving. --Jeff Shannon