Slower and Serious-er
Review by Christopher Coleman
Those crazy kids and their suped up cars are at it again. FAST AND FURIOUS is the fourth film of the box-office-dominating-franchise. Director Justin Lin, who directed THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT is back, along with stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. It seems after three nitrous-laden films, there was still more high-speed-hi-jinx to bring to the big screen. Also returning to add his fuel to the fury is composer BRIAN TYLER. Tyler's score here is fraught with quick-tempoed, edgy, race/chase music again, but just as the storyline has matured some, the score also takes on more serious, dramatic ideas as well.
FAST AND FURIOUS, oddly enough is not a simple sequel, nor is it a prequel. It's actually a interquel, taking place between the events of the second (2 Fast 2 Furious) and third (Tokyo Drift) films. Many fans feel that this fourth episode returns the franchise to its roots; capitalizing on the elements that made the first film so successful. That belief is certainly evidenced by a record-setting, opening weekend box-office with over $70 million taken in. Regardless of the fandom and the money, critically-speaking, each successive Fast and Furious film received worse reviews than the one preceding it and such is the case here. FAST AND FURIOUS does bring back the most beloved characters of the series and certainly contains many of car-racing-and-chasing-thrills of its predecessors, but, at its heart, is a revenge tale. Unfortunately, the slightly-more-mature-storyline was comingled with slightly-less-mature-effects, reducing some of the key scenes, such as the tunnel races, to upscale video game footage. Perhaps its this unintended clash that has put the critics off. Still, with the advancing storyline centered around Diesel's character of Dominic, and being unaffected by the amount of effect shots or their final quality, BRIAN TYLER is given some new room to compose, giving FAST AND FURIOUS a distinguishing feel from the three before it.
Read the full review of FAST AND FURIOUS here
Review by Christopher Coleman
Those crazy kids and their suped up cars are at it again. FAST AND FURIOUS is the fourth film of the box-office-dominating-franchise. Director Justin Lin, who directed THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT is back, along with stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. It seems after three nitrous-laden films, there was still more high-speed-hi-jinx to bring to the big screen. Also returning to add his fuel to the fury is composer BRIAN TYLER. Tyler's score here is fraught with quick-tempoed, edgy, race/chase music again, but just as the storyline has matured some, the score also takes on more serious, dramatic ideas as well.
FAST AND FURIOUS, oddly enough is not a simple sequel, nor is it a prequel. It's actually a interquel, taking place between the events of the second (2 Fast 2 Furious) and third (Tokyo Drift) films. Many fans feel that this fourth episode returns the franchise to its roots; capitalizing on the elements that made the first film so successful. That belief is certainly evidenced by a record-setting, opening weekend box-office with over $70 million taken in. Regardless of the fandom and the money, critically-speaking, each successive Fast and Furious film received worse reviews than the one preceding it and such is the case here. FAST AND FURIOUS does bring back the most beloved characters of the series and certainly contains many of car-racing-and-chasing-thrills of its predecessors, but, at its heart, is a revenge tale. Unfortunately, the slightly-more-mature-storyline was comingled with slightly-less-mature-effects, reducing some of the key scenes, such as the tunnel races, to upscale video game footage. Perhaps its this unintended clash that has put the critics off. Still, with the advancing storyline centered around Diesel's character of Dominic, and being unaffected by the amount of effect shots or their final quality, BRIAN TYLER is given some new room to compose, giving FAST AND FURIOUS a distinguishing feel from the three before it.
Read the full review of FAST AND FURIOUS here
