Fast & Furious

It was a wise decision to link it to the story of the first one, as it was clearly the most successful of the first three installments. I applaud the fact that the fourth (after a schoolyard interlude called Tokyo Drift and a second one in a weird "buddy movie" style) returned to the original concept of the series, i.e. a glorious testosterone show full of souped-up cars and scantily clad women. Still, the fourth installment is a tad worse than the first, which is why it's simply not up to four stars. 3.5 stars (24/11/2018)

Return to the days when action heroes deserved endless admiration. Although some things may creak, especially the plot or Brian's investigative methods, I still enjoy it just the same. Everyone involved from the first installment literally shines in a grand opportunity, and the action continues to take my breath away, to my delight and slight relief. The threat that history would repeat itself with a decline in quality was proven to be the exact opposite, as the reboot, instead of copying the original in its uniqueness, opened doors to a scale many times larger. The fourth installment will remain unique in the series precisely because it hinted at future things while remaining a nostalgic spectacle with classic elements such as revenge or a love story. (08/04/2009)

Good and unpretentious entertainment slightly above the level of the first part. The characters aren't very complex but it doesn't matter at all because I trusted the actors; the action scenes are honest (except maybe the overly digital finale of the first one) and it all paces and progresses nicely thanks to Justin Lin's direction and Brian Tyler's music. I would have loved to see the final dusty chase in the cinema. (04/05/2020)

So what I have to remind you: The home's actual reconstruction; how Letty a.k.a. Criminal Las Vegas ended; I thought Brian spent the whole film pussyfooting around; it was clear he was eventually going to close the deal; damn, why was Han there so little; yes, the ending made me laugh like hell :-D and in general so everything I've superficially listed here left a sad smile on my face... ;-) What a party, beautiful cars! Too bad that the one Brian built blew up – and anyway, all the cars I liked blew up at that moment – it really was a pain in the ass, even the left-hand drive... ^_^ Well, it was a lot of fun. If there's another installment, I'll definitely watch it. I think I'd give it an extra star if I saw it in better quality. Ah well, it’s done. Maybe one day I'll give it a ratings boost. I couldn't stand the sight of a chamber drama and went for exhaust fumes instead XoD (27/04/2009)

Gal Gadot entered the Fast & Furious franchise with this installment, and that's about the only reason to wade through this silly mess. These formerly simple action films used to feature second-rate beauties such as Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, but only Gadot has made it to Wonder Woman. (19/04/2022)