The Fast and the Furious: The Thrilling Franchise-Starter Celebrates 25 Years (4K)

The Film:

It's hard to believe that it's already been 25 years since the original "The Fast and the Furious" was released in theaters. What most critics seemed to dismiss as a silly little car flick was quite heavily embraced by the public, who not only enjoyed its exciting action sequences & undercover cop narrative, but also made it a rather large hit that saw it grossing over $200 million worldwide (about six times its production budget). Little did anyone know that it would go on to spawn an insanely popular franchise that now consists of 11 sequels & spinoffs, with another due out in a couple of years.

To celebrate the one that started it all, Universal Pictures is giving the film a brand new 4K release that features upgrades in Dolby Vision & Dolby Atmos, with a new retrospective featurette & all of the original extras thrown in, so now it's time to revisit this "silly little car flick" to see how well it holds up two and a half decades later. Were the critics right to dismiss it like they did, or is this another case of the movie-going public being better judges where fun & entertainment are concerned?

The film opens with a daring heist of a semi-truck by a crew driving three modified Honda Civics. To investigate this continuing series of crimes, LAPD officer Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) is sent undercover in order to find out who's responsible. This leads him to stake out notorious street racer Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), whose sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) he starts to form a relationship with. After nearly beating Dom in a race, and subsequently helping him get away from the police, Brian finds himself becoming part of the crew, a position from which he can further investigate. He is soon told that the truckers are arming themselves against the attacks, and is given a firm deadline to find the assailants, but after getting close to Mia & her brother, and with a strong possibility of Dom's involvement, will he be able to do what he set out to do?

"The Fast and the Furious" is one of those films that's never going to be mistaken for high cinematic art, but clearly that's not what director Rob Cohen & screenwriters Gary Scott, Thompson Erik Bergquist, and David Ayer were going for in the first place. They wanted to put together a film that centered on street racing and other car-related stunts, but they also wanted to do so in a way where it didn't seem like it was for that and only that, for if it had simply been one race after another, it's far more likely that the public wouldn't have taken to it as strongly as they did.

One can start to see why the critics were so dismissive 25 years ago, what with it still seeming like it's pointed directly at gearheads and action junkies, but it's also interesting to note that many publications/critics were able to see past that (including Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Roger Ebert himself) and see what the film actually does surprisingly well. Yes, it certainly has a fair amount of racing & car stunts, all of which are handled quite skillfully, bringing with them pulse-pounding adrenaline, tension, and plenty of thrills, but it's also balanced out with its intriguing narrative involving an undercover cop trying to get to the bottom of a mysterious series of heists.

This could've easily been an empty, forgettable action flick, one that gives the gearheads a little sugar rush, but that wouldn't have left much of an impact in the end. However, with the filmmakers taking their time to develop a compelling story to go with it, it becomes more well-rounded, giving it more of a sense of purpose than just giving the action junkies a few thrills. Again, this is hardly a film that anyone is going to hold up in particularly high esteem, but when all is said and done, it does exactly what the filmmakers set out to do, which is to deliver a fun & entertaining thrill ride that keeps you engaged with its compelling narrative. Indeed, many critics were quite dismissive upon its original release, but now perhaps they'll give it another try to see why the fans embraced it back then, and still do so now, with its new 4K upgrade being the perfect excuse to give it another spin around the block.

Video/Audio:

"The Fast and the Furious" comes to 4K in a 2.35:1, 2160p Ultra High Definition transfer of outstanding quality. The film has been remastered in Dolby Vision, giving it a beautifully sharp & clear picture throughout its entire 106-minute runtime. Likewise, the newly-remastered Dolby Atmos audio track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Universal has done an amazing job in both areas for the film's new release.

Special Features:

Riding a Legacy: 25 Years of Fast (28 Minutes)

Feature Commentary with Director Rob Cohen

Deleted Scenes (8 Sequences, 6 Minutes)

More Than Furious (2 Minutes)

Hot Off the Street (5 Sequences, 5 Minutes)

The Making of The Fast and the Furious (18 Minutes)

Dom's Charger (4 Minutes)

Quarter Mile at a Time (10 Minutes)

Tricking Out a Hot Import Car (20 Minutes)

Multiple Camera Angles - Stunt Sequence (8 Angles)

Movie Magic Interactive

Featurette on Editing for the Motion Picture Association of America (5 Minutes)

Visual Effects Montage (4 Minutes)

Storyboards-to-Final-Feature Comparison (2 Sequences, 7 Minutes)

3 Music Videos

Speed News Wrap (2 Minutes)

As you can see, this release comes packed with lots of bonus material, with the only new addition being a retrospective featurette that has the cast reflecting on the film from Cannes. Aside from that, all of the extras from previous releases are here as well, which includes a director's commentary, a making of, looks at editing, visual effects, storyboards, and stunts, as well as several deleted scenes. There's definitely more than enough material here to please anyone looking to learn more about how the film was made.

Conclusion:

At a superficial glance, Rob Cohen's "The Fast and the Furious" may just seem like a car-based flick for gearheads & action junkies, but looking closer, one finds that it's actually a thrilling blend of skillfully-executed races and other stunts & a compelling narrative that has an undercover cop trying to get to the bottom of a series of mysterious heists, ultimately making for a fun & entertaining outing that accomplishes exactly what the filmmakers set out to do.

Score: 3.5/5

Available on 4K starting today.

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