FAST AND FURIOUS

US, 2009, 107 minutes, Colour.
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham.
Directed by Justin Lin.

That's exactly it.

An initial attempt at a robbery involving road tankers and speeding cars along back roads and cliff paths in Santo Domingo is so pacily edited that it gets the adrenalin going at once whether you approve or not.

We are back at the 2001 The Fast and the Furious, having dropped the 'the's' to remind us that Dom (the smiling/humour and charsima free zone, Vin Diesel) and Brian (the tall Paul Walker) are still on different sides of the law and still rivals when it comes to racing their cars through crowded LA streets, out in the desert or though miles of tunnels under the mountains on the border between Mexico and the US. So, for the fans, there is a lot of driving, lots of souped up engines and manoeuvres and crashes and drivers with capital A, Attitude.

As with the previous films there is a final credits warning on the danger of the stunts, the fact that they were performed by experts and under supervision, and an exhortation not to try them.

There is a criminal sub-plot, as had The Fast and the Furious 2. A drug lord has been responsible for the death of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez). Dom is after revenge. Brian is with an FBI agent tracking him down. Yes, the do infiltrate. Yes, they do become drivers. Yes, there is rivalry. Yes, they combine to 'bring him down'. But, we knew all that – it was just the question of how enjoyable it was to follow it all.

It's undemanding action, expertly crafted – except that Diesel is so impassive we presume there is a lot going on inside. And Walker is bestubbled to give him that subversive FBI personal.

PS. It made over a million dollars worldwide in its first week of release. The release was also of pent-up adrenalin in the credit crunch times.

1.The popularity of the Fast and Furious series? Cars, speed, the technology? The macho emphasis? The female presence? The central characters?

2.The action sequences, more important than plot? The opening in Santa Domingo, the petrol tanker and the car chase and robbery? The chases through the streets of Los Angeles? The chases in Mexico and through the mountains? The adrenalin effect? The skill of the stunts and the special effects? The pounding score?

3.The focus on Dominic Toretto, in Santa Domingo, his relationship with Letty? The dangers in the stunt? His leaving her, working in Panama? Mia telling him of her death? His return, the funeral? His determination to track down Braga? The drug ring? Vengeance? His pursuit, holding the man out the window for information? The encounter with Brian? Their past history, rivalry, his going to jail, Brian working for the FBI? Their having to collaborate? The plan, the infiltration of the drug gang? The race – and Dominic cheating? The build-up the drug run? The attempt on their lives, Brian and Dominic surviving? Discovering the truth about Braga? Taking the drugs, setting him up? The confrontation with Braga, discovering that he was originally Campos? The chase through the tunnels? Dominic and his decision not to kill Braga? The court case, Brian’s testimony, the judge’s decision, going to jail? The end of the film with the set-up from the opening, to spring him from jail?

4.Brian, seeing him at work in the FBI, his stubbled appearance, tough? The pursuit of the suspect through the streets, the houses? Getting the information? His meeting with his boss, with Stasiak, undermining him? The other agents? His search for Dominic Park? The evidence, the car registrations, his confrontation with Park? The interrogation? The pursuit, meeting Dominic, saving the man outside the window? The discussions about the past, meeting Mia again, explaining the reasons for his leaving her? Combining with Dominic, the cars, the race? Doing the job, the attack, the shooting? His organising the set-up for meeting Braga, the exchange? For Dominic to be freed? Stasiak and the false chase? Through the tunnels? The arrest, in court, freeing Dominic from jail, with Mia?

5.Letty, the relationship with Dominic, participation in the robbery? Returning to Los Angeles, her murder? Discovering that she wanted to clear Dominic’s name?

6.Mia, relationship with Dominic, helping him? Her anger at Brian, reunited? Helping, the final escape?

7.Braga, as Campos, organising the races? His personality, his skills, rising from poverty? The set-ups, the drivers, killing the drivers? The exchange, the pursuit, his arrest?

8.The other drivers, Fenix, his vendettas against Dominic and Brian? His death? The other drivers, the recklessness, the pursuits?

9.The Koreans, the connections with drugs?

10.The FBI, the boss, his giving leeway to Brian? Stasiak and the rivalry? The false start for the pursuit?

11.The overall effect, popular at the box office? The warning against doing these stunts and driving in reality?