Fast & Furious - The Fast And The Furious (2001)

I can't remember the last time I truly felt WITH the characters in one of these movies. Their pain. Their thrill. Their embarrassment. But here you do. It's a roller coaster of emotions just as much as it is one of racing and action, fast and furious for real, and you don't just see the cars but you get a glimpse under the hood of them too. The engines. The parts. The tech.

You rarely do now do you? It feels like they've simplified one of the essential elements a bit too much since...

I love the new movies too - don't get me wrong, but the first ones... this felt real. This felt different. You had room to breath occasionally too, and to bond with the characters, and truly feel the turmoil when it's over. It's so gritty. The moments are merciless. When it matters it matters, but between those ten seconds - as they say, there's a whole lot of life going on too.

And before Luda there was Ja Rule! I didn't remember him.

I don't really feel the soundtrack's the best match at all times here - sometimes it's a bit much, sometimes it's a bit too techno - they could've amped up some scenes even more, but everything else about is this... it really made way for a legacy.

The name's true. It's exactly what it's supposed to be. And they had an after-credit sequence right from the beginning... I'm not sure I saw that bit before. Was hoping to see more but: it's a nice outro.

What a great start to a franchise the first one really was.

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome