In the heart of LA, street racing is
King. The Prince of the roads is Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel), an experienced
driver who puts other wanna-be’s to shame every week. Meanwhile, a team of
elite drivers dressed in black hijack trucks with high-tech gadgets and
weaponry. Who are they? And why are they stealing truck shipments? Cue young
LAPD officer Brian O’Connor; ordered by his superiors to infiltrate the street
racing scene and find out who’s behind these sophisticated crimes. He gets a
cool car to fit in with the street racing elite, but can’t drive too well.
O’Connor sets his sights on Dom
Toretto and his crew; sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), Dom’s girlfriend Letty
(Michelle Rodriguez) and a few of Dom’s mates. O’Connor goes deep undercover as
he believes Toretto might be the culprit behind the crimes. When Brian saves
Dom from being arrested after a street race, Toretto takes Brian in and
includes him in his world. As the undercover cop gets closer to Dom, and
especially his sister, he begins to doubt that Toretto and his crew are behind
it all. As the stakes get higher, Brian must question his duty as a police
officer and his loyalty to his new-found friends.
The first instalment in the series
was a classic example of it’s time. Street racing was already well-established
around the world, with seemingly young and normal people appearing out of the
suburbs and onto the city streets on Friday nights, with souped-up, flashy and
expensive sports cars. The culture involved was cool, stylish and
sophisticated. Their gatherings were well organised, with racers competing for
money and credibility. The style of the whole film was youthful and fast-paced,
with a well-assembled cast that had good chemistry and strong characters.
Audiences loved it, but many critics
have attributed the increasing popularity in illegal street racing in the early
00’s to this film, and it’s subsequent sequels. There were some instances in
the United States were over-confident drivers decided to replicate one such
scene from the film, where one of the characters drives his car under a long
semi-trailer. With just enough room to fit his car underneath the truck, the
character pulled off a cool move, adding to the excitement and entertainment of
the film. It didn’t turn out so well for one such driver in “the real world” as
he was killed trying to do the same thing.
The film certainly received some
backlash for influencing young drivers in powerful cars to emulate what they
had seen on screen, but this has always been a constant in the movies. How much
can they be blamed really? Aside from that, the first film did well enough to
green light a sequel which hit screens two years later. Vin Diesel didn’t
return for this one, but it would only be a matter of time before he did…
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