Blu-ray Review: Fast & Furious

Release Date: July 28th, 2009
Running Time: 107 minutes

The Film

Sometimes you need a good mind-numbing action movie. Hell, the entire ‘80s decade flourished with them. As audiences have grown more intelligent many people have turned their noses up on the genre, but not me. Who cares if the film doesn’t feature award-winning acting, if you come out of the experience entertained then hasn’t the film succeeded on some level? Though I have never been a fan of The Fast and the Furious franchise, I found myself in the perfect mood to check out the latest entry. Fast & Furious simply is what it is—either you are in the mood for that or you’re not.

The film begins with Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his girlfriend, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), attempting a hijack mission on a fuel tanker. As a result the police heat grows on Dom and he leaves Letty behind so as not to take her down with him. Later he finds out from his sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster), that Letty has been murdered. Dom returns to Los Angeles and examines the crash site, replaying it in his head and finding traces of nitrometh. There’s only one mechanic that soups up cars with that—David Park.

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, FBI agent Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) has been after a drug dealer named Arturo Braga. But with virtually no information on the man, not even a face, his unit is going to get shut down. His investigation also leads him to David Park, where O’Conner encounters Dom. Both get information from Park regarding a street race in L.A. where the winner will get to run drugs for Braga between Mexico and the U.S. Dom and O’Conner, still harboring a volatile history, enter the race after meeting Braga’s number two, Campos (John Oritz). After an intense race through crowded city streets, both end up winning a spot on the team, though O’Conner has to do some finagling. Eventually they participate in a night race across the border, but things go sour and Dom and O’Conner find themselves in possession of $60 million worth of heroin. They will have to work together, outside of the law, if they want to lure Braga out of hiding and get revenge for Letty.

Fast & Furious achieves exactly what it sets out to do: it provides escapist entertainment through stellar action sequences and features pre-established characters with built-in chemistry. The driving action scenes are worthy of the franchise, whether it is the hectic race through busy city streets, or the nighttime dash across the U.S./Mexico border. The opening tanker heist is just a taste of what is to come. Within these scenes car buffs will find an excellent balance of tricked out muscle and import cars—the best of both worlds. The story itself is perfectly serviceable to get you from one action scene to the next, but the one place the film falls flat is the dialogue. It is very expository and on-the-nose, particularly with the more emotional scenes. The actors all try to deliver their lines well, even Vin Diesel with his trademark tough guy flatness, but the dialogue would sound corny even out of Oscar-winning actors. My advice is to just saddle up for the ride, ignore the scenes that don’t work, and enjoy the ludicrous moments that the franchise is known for.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 2.40:1, 1080p High Definition transfer. Colors always pop well, especially in the pristine, polished cars. From vibrant blues to deep silvers, the cars look gorgeous. Skin tones are also accurate, as seen in the diverse cast. Black levels are good, but the image can become soft and lose detail as evidenced in the night race across the border. In general, however, fine detail is top-notch. The standard close-up shots are perfect, but it is the crashes that show off the quality. Chunks of metal and glass flying through the air are crystal clear. Detail is also preserved during the races, even with the immense speed. The swooping, wide shots show off noticeable depth as well. Print errors and compression artifacts are not an issue.

The audio is offered in a reference-quality English DTS HD 5.1 Lossless audio mix and French/Spanish DTS 5.1 Surround Sound with English/French/Spanish subtitles. This mix is no joke and immediately rocks your entire system in the opening sequence. The panning effects throughout the film are the star of the mix as cars whip across the speakers. The various effects are crystal clear, from the crisp highs of burning rubber, to the deep engine growls and boisterous explosions. The best example of the sound design comes when Dom is visualizies Letty’s crash in his mind—you hear every detailed, brutal sound of the crash. Atmosphere is robust as well as heard in the bustling city effects during the street race. Dialogue is always balanced amidst the pounding score. This is a raging, energetic mix that can be over-the-top, but that’s exactly what the film calls for.

The Extras

Like the cars in the film, this disc is souped up with extra features.

Universal’s “U-Control” has some fun options. “Take Control” has Paul Walker and Director Justin Lin appearing during certain scenes to take control of the film and provide behind-the-scenes information. The “Vintage Car Garage” puts tech specs for the cars on the screen. You can also select this option from the menus to browse 360 degree views of the cars and build your own to share over BD-Live.

Commentary is offered with Director Justin Lin. He comes off as a well-spoken, clear-headed commentator. However, so much of this information is covered in the featurettes and U-Control so I would recommend watching those instead.

“Los Bandoleros” is a 20-minute short film written and directed by Vin Diesel that is a prologue to the film, focusing on Toretto and his crew. Seeing as how little screen time Michelle Rodriguez had in the film, it’s great to see more of her character here.

Two “Under the Hood” featurettes give an in-depth look at the powerful cars and their role in the film through interviews: “Muscle Cars” (7 minutes) and “Imports” (5 minutes).

“Getting the Gang Back Together” is a 10-minute interview featurette focused on the reunion of the original cast members.

“Driving School with Vin Diesel” is a 4-minute piece on stunt driving featuring the man himself, but it is ultimately too short to amount to much.

“Shooting the Big Rig Heist” is a10-minute behind-the-scenes segment on the production of the opening action piece. If nothing else you will gain a new appreciation for Michelle Rodriguez’s stunt work.

“Races and Chases” is an 11-minute piece on the race sequences and their importance to the franchise, including the city street race where Toretto and O’Conner go head-to-head.

“High Octane Action: The Stunts” is yet another 11-minute featurette on the stunts in the film and is actually a little more production-focused than “Races and Chases.”

“South of the Border: Filming in Mexico” is a short 3-minute segment about the location shooting in a small Mexico town.

A 5-minute Gag Reel contains the usual flubbed line delivers, etc.

The “Blanco” Music Video by Pitbull is offered.

BD-Live options include the “Video Mash Up” where you make your own sequences of action clips and music to share with friends.

Lastly, the disc is D-Box enabled, and a Digital Copy is included.

Final Thoughts

Fast & Furious is pure, popcorn fluff. If you go in with the right attitude you’ll enjoy an action-packed ride presented on a stellar Blu-ray disc bursting with additional content.