Fast and Furious [Blu-ray]

Somebody finally realised that just lavishing gorgeous cars and women at the screen with a paper thin plot wasn't going to cut it any more. Much as the addition of drifting and Lucas Black managed to make Tokyo Drift a more fun experience than the slightly more formulaic 2Fast2Furious, this ups the game by throwing in a revenge plot and a very angry Vin Diesel. If you haven't heard about the twist that steers the story, I won't spoil it for you. However, it works very well as a reason for Vin and Paul Walker to be back in the same vicinity as each other again, this time hunting a drug dealer with a great deal of wrath and steel.
The opening is a great tanker heist which feels original and is shot very well, and there's even a chase with a little free-running and some amusingly improvised combat techniques, which help to bring the series a little more up to date. Walker and Diesel play off each other very well, and the car chases and races rock.
This has great cars, sparky relationship conflicts, and spectacular stunts. It's what the series needed. Lets just hope they don't let the air out of the tyres again for the next one.

One for the collection this. I am actually a fan of the franchise and have enjoyed what the series has offered. Not so hung up on the third installment but this fourth version has amended for it. Never in the running for any oscar nominations this movie was only going to do what it said on the box and offer up a colourful and entertaining thrills & spills rollercoaster ride.

The return of the original cast was a bonus as we get to see whats been happening since the first movie. From this they've managed some semblence of a plot no matter how thin and cliched it is but what else are you supposed to expect. We're watching F&F for the cars and the action scenes and not much else. For this is where the movie gets it stars in my eyes. Plenty of action as Diesel & Walker rekindle there streetracing rivalry. They keep the pace of the flick moving along which is enough to keep me in my seat and reaching for the popcorn. I enjoyed the movie as an escape, put it on and turn off my brain for about 2hours and watch fast things go fast. Completes the collection as well.

Well, I'd heard that this was a pretty good installment of franchise that is The Fast & The Furious. However, I didn't think so. It was better than 2 but not as good as 1 or 3.

Fast and Furious - AKA The Fast & The Furious 4 - is actually The Fast & The Furious 2. Confused? Let me explain. The film kicks of with a set piece featuring Han (one of the main characters in Tokyo Drift) and gives us a glimpse of him and his life before what we see of it in Tokyo Drift; more importantly though, it picks up the story of the two lead characters (Vin Diesel and, er... the other one... What's his face) from the first.

The film fails, in my opinion, to deliver. It strays from the successful formula or fast cars and fast women and tries to introduce a plot and storyline... I mean, what were they thinking?

Normally, I suppose that is no bad thing, but that is not what I want when I want to watch a F & T F film. And worse still, the plot and story they introduce doesn't make any sense.

Also it's a little light on cars, chases, races and stunts for a Fast & The Furious film and the set pieces, when they did happen, were boring to those in the earlier films and failed to get out of second gear.

Overall the original film and Tokyo drift leave this film eating their dust. It is better than film number two but that's not saying much but the car scenes weren't as good as in the second film.

I look forward to seeing the fifth film in the series but I hope it's better than this because in a lot of ways it could be said that this is the weakest film in the series so far.

In fact, thinking about it, poor as it was, I think I actually enjoyed the second film more than this. At least it felt like a Fast & The Furious Film. Take away the two leads and this could have been any other third rate film.