O.K., I finally saw 'Fast and Furious' at the $5. matinee with Mrs. 5.0 (Tina) and it was intersesting but - as many have already stated - full of holes in plot and especially in auto tech issues. That said, overall we liked it, as our expectations were low to begin with and the movie turned out to be somewhat better than we expected. Lots of somewhat unrealistic but still riviting racing scenes and man, it sure was noisy!
In my experience, almost every movie where cars and/or racing is involved has a weak plot and generally second-rate acting.
'Bullitt' is the rare exception and that has only one one 8-minute chase scene - but it's a great one and - with the exception of the cars slamming down on the front suspension about a dozen times at high speed with no noticable damage - very realistic.
In most 'car' films, the 'car stuff' is always absurd; such as 160 MPH ricers and ten shifts per quarter-mile 'race'. Right.
The producers depend on audience ignorance and it usually works, plus the music is distracting enough to keep your mind off the details, like why the young 'cop' has never been to the police/FBI headquarters before that fake 'arrest' scene. Then, the senior cop tells him how "This house was built for Elizabeth Taylor by Eddie Fisher". Why does this matter? Never mind.
I spent some of the film explaining a few things to Mrs. 5.0, such as how Nitrous Oxide works and why no one who knows anything refers to it as 'NOS" (which is a brand-name) and that 'Ricers' need it to keep up with the Mustangs and Camaros on the street racing scene. She also thought that the races were a bit unrealistic but still exciting if you suspended rational analysis for awhile, which we did, so we could enjoy the film.
For me - as for others here - the best part of the film were the ending scenes involving the Dodge Charger with the blown big-block.
When that beast comes into view and we get the sound of honest-to-God American car muscle instead of Japanese encono-cars-on-steroids whine...and then the wheelie and the race!
I told Tina that one scene says it all about why I can never get into the Japenese 4-cylinder econo-car stampede as long as we have American V-8 muscle to drive, race and just enjoy. I respect any fast car regardless of 'nationality' or cylinder count, but there is simply no real substitute for the raw power of a V-8 and especially a maxed-out 9 or 10-second car, like the pumped-up old Dodge Vin Diesel drove in the end of the movie. That was a beast!
The sound of the V-8 (coming after all those whiny 'muscle cars') and that unexpected and dramatic wheelie were easily worth the $5. admission price.
Now, if only Vin and his gang could have figured out that robbing trucks while they are parked is a whole lot easier than robbing them when they are going down the highway at 60 MPH, a lot of grief and a lot of Hondas might have been saved.
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