Fast & Furious

The old parts work and the seasoned drivers do a great job handling it, but a digital facelift and a bunch of nitro can't prevent it from being a loss if the director has the gears beat up enough to barely jam it into third. (06/09/2009)

It’s got plenty of action, but also a few too many minutes. At least a small whiff of reality would have moved it up a league, but it's still the best episode of the series, which is quite sad in its way. (16/08/2009)

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)

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)

Qualitatively on the same level as the first one. Diesel smoothly returns to the role of the ultimate road pro, which, whether we like it or not, was the pinnacle of his career. Paul Walker in the meantime has grown to become the second ultimate pro (remember Running Scared?) and this shows in the movie. This movie is more about revenge and restoring old ties than it is about cars, but it certainly isn’t a problem. Given where the series was recently headed, this is a pleasant return to its roots, and as far as I’m concerned, I'd be happy to hang out with this group a third time round. (05/06/2009)

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)

Even worse than I expected. Even though the original cast is there and it looks like a dignified sequel, the screenwriters cook up something crazy they call a script, and they throw in some cars, crazy digital chases in tunnels, and the classic masculine charisma of Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, and it doesn't work. For car enthusiasts, it will be torture because there are only a few really good chases. For action movie fans, it will also be a tough nut to crack because there is a lot of action, but it's not worth anything. And for fans of the main characters, it will just be a sad nostalgic memory of the first and only original installment. A very botched thing. (01/08/2009)

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)

For the fourth time and... Well, it's not quite it. Besides the return of Vin Diesel, who already had a small cameo at the end of the third part, my least favorite Paul Walker is also coming back. He has aged a bit, but women still have to like him. He's the Hollywood tomcat who doesn't really touch anything meaningful. This is definitely not Brad Pitt, who managed to break free from the box. He transformed into a character actor. But Paul Walker is exactly the type that fits "Fast & Furious". Together with Vin Diesel, they form a proven duo who have to sort things out and solve their past problems in the fourth film. Who exactly does Paul Walker play, it's not clear. Although the character is still named Brian O'Conner, every time he is someone else. In the first film, a police officer, in the second, a person standing on the edge of the law, and in the fourth film, he becomes an FBI agent. I won't go into how he got the job, but what's important is that he has a target on a drug baron, who he can only get to with the help of Vin Diesel and, above all, fast cars. I like how the creators constantly excuse themselves that cars are not really necessary, that the problems could be solved differently, but obviously in America, races are very popular. And when an average American has a conflict with another average American, they simply have a race, and whoever wins, is right in the conflict as well. We are probably still a hundred years behind, as we don't have this on a larger scale yet. The story was very disappointing, but when it comes to racing, Justin Lin just goes on a rocket. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/08/warrior-x-ms-1-sibir-5x-rychle-zbesile.html (25/02/2013)

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)