Does what you know it will do and doesn't bother to do anything more than the basics
I never set out to do it but somehow I find myself watching my fourth consecutive film in this rather undemanding franchise – proof if proof were needed that (a) the teenage dollar drives cinema and (b) I simply do not make very good decisions when faced with making decisions in a DVD store ("oh look a movie with stuff going bang – let's just get that"). In this film Letty brings Toretto back to LA where he reignites the his feud with O'Conner (now an FBI agent) as the two seek the same drug lord but for different reasons, using street racing to audition for a job running "packages".
I can't really remember what I thought of the previous films but I'm guessing that they did the job, offering fast cars, stunts, video girls in skimpy clothes hanging off muscular and tattooed men, providing me with distraction on this basis but little else. The fourth film offered me some interest as, let's be honest, it represents a slump in the careers of all involved – especially Vin Diesel who was supposed to have gone on to claim the action hero mantel from the first film, only to fail at almost every turn and end up right back where he started. Anyway, enough of that because in theory that should not reflect on the quality of the film.
This film seems like a step back towards more of a "thriller" that the first film was as opposed to the pop video that the series became by the time Tokyo Drift rolled round. Of course this is all relative because this film still has elements of pop video, just this time it is a touch less obvious and does deliver some reasonable action sequences. I say reasonable because the film is still nothing particularly special. The high point comes early with a rolling robbery which, while good is not as thrilling as it could have been – which doesn't bode well for the rest of the film considering this should have been a brilliant opening. As it is the film delivers the obvious but perhaps does it well enough for target audience. The cast match this aspiration and could easily have been asleep for some parts of this. Walker is a bit less bland than in other performances and does a solid enough job. Talking of solid, Diesel shows all the charisma and presence that reminds me why his career has failed to take off – he is dull in the most part. The support cast aren't really worth mentioning beyond these two – nobody does anything to really mark themselves out.
A solid genre film then. Fast cars, explosions, stunts, video girls, a little bit of plot and that's your lot. Not bad per se, just the sort of film that you don't want to be making a lot of effort to see – because that effort will not be repaid here.
I can't really remember what I thought of the previous films but I'm guessing that they did the job, offering fast cars, stunts, video girls in skimpy clothes hanging off muscular and tattooed men, providing me with distraction on this basis but little else. The fourth film offered me some interest as, let's be honest, it represents a slump in the careers of all involved – especially Vin Diesel who was supposed to have gone on to claim the action hero mantel from the first film, only to fail at almost every turn and end up right back where he started. Anyway, enough of that because in theory that should not reflect on the quality of the film.
This film seems like a step back towards more of a "thriller" that the first film was as opposed to the pop video that the series became by the time Tokyo Drift rolled round. Of course this is all relative because this film still has elements of pop video, just this time it is a touch less obvious and does deliver some reasonable action sequences. I say reasonable because the film is still nothing particularly special. The high point comes early with a rolling robbery which, while good is not as thrilling as it could have been – which doesn't bode well for the rest of the film considering this should have been a brilliant opening. As it is the film delivers the obvious but perhaps does it well enough for target audience. The cast match this aspiration and could easily have been asleep for some parts of this. Walker is a bit less bland than in other performances and does a solid enough job. Talking of solid, Diesel shows all the charisma and presence that reminds me why his career has failed to take off – he is dull in the most part. The support cast aren't really worth mentioning beyond these two – nobody does anything to really mark themselves out.
A solid genre film then. Fast cars, explosions, stunts, video girls, a little bit of plot and that's your lot. Not bad per se, just the sort of film that you don't want to be making a lot of effort to see – because that effort will not be repaid here.
- bob the moo
- Feb 19, 2010