Not Point Break so much as Point Less.
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:141
Fresh:75
Rotten:66
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Sleek and shiny on the surface, The Fast and the Furious recalls those cheesy teenage exploitation flicks of the 1950s.
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS is a nitro-burning joyride that makes outstanding use of special effects, innovative camera work, and a nonstop throbbing soundtrack. From the opening sequence--a... THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS is a nitro-burning joyride that makes outstanding use of special effects, innovative camera work, and a nonstop throbbing soundtrack. From the opening sequence--a high-speed, high-tech truck robbery--the film never drops below the red line. Roaring along at breakneck speed, Dom (Vin Diesel) and his crew meet on the streets of L.A. each night to show off their high-powered racers. When new guy Brian (Paul Walker) wants to add his fuel to the fire, he can't cough up the cash to race, but offers up his car as collateral. In their tiny jacked compacts, Dom, Brian, and Edwin (Ja Rule) burst into a high-gear race with Brian nearly beating perennial champion Dom. But in the final moments, he loses the race and his car. Brian's debt is quickly cleared, however, when he saves Dom both from the cops and from a potentially violent encounter with Johnny Tran (Rick Yune), a rival gang lord. Dom takes Brian under his wing--a decision that disgusts his gang but delights his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster). The gang never suspects that Brian is not who he seems: he is actually an undercover cop, and though he wishes otherwise, he's there to bust Dom for committing the armed truck robbery witnessed in the opening scenes. [More]
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Rick Yune
Director: Rob Cohen
Director: Rob Cohen
Screenwriter: Gary Scott Thompson, David Ayer
Producer: Neal H. Moritz
Composer: Brian Tyler
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for The Fast and the Furious
This is probably the most fun to be had at the multiplex so far this year.
It doesn't matter that we know where it's going, what counts is that Cohen keeps his pedal to the floor and that his actors gun their lines with absolute conviction. Loud cars, fast music: this movie knows exactly what it's about.
High-octane action thriller that does exactly what it says on the tin: fast cars, great stunts, cool characters and a halfway-decent plot, it’s B-movie heaven.
This is the cinematic equivalent of the atomic bomb, roaring, snarling and flashing until we react. It's often annoying, but more often it's exhilarating, and so I guess I must recommend it.
Could you keep the noise down a touch, Vin? You're going to wake up the audience.
A visceral, high-octane, Formula One of a flick that puts the pedal to the metal in the opening minutes and does not take the foot off the accelerator until the end credits.
Sure it's a guilty pleasure watching stunt drivers put flashy state-of-the-art streetcars through impossibly daring maneuvers, but it's a happy indulgence nonetheless.
... when characters are not racing at breakneck speed, the movie as a whole ceases to move.
It's all testosterone and swagger, and tries so hard to be cool that it's just the opposite.
A gritty and gratifying cheap thrill, Rob Cohen's high-octane hot-car meller is a true rarity these days, a really good exploitationer, the sort of thing that would rule at drive-ins if they still existed.
While few of the paper-thin characters register long enough to make much of an impression, Diesel carries the movie with his unsettling mix of Zen-like tranquillity and barely controlled rage.
From first frame to last, this is an unabashedly B-Picture, elevated by A-level stunts but dragged down to C-level characterizations.
Returning the series to solid ground after 2 Fast 2 Furious leaned too heavily on cartoonish CGI effects, Tokyo Drift relies on old-fashioned stunt work that gives its best sequences a sense of brute physicality.
...ultimately entertaining enough to warrant a mild recommendation...
Latest News for The Fast and the Furious
April 01, 2009:
Our Favorite Fast & Furious Cars
The upcoming release of Fast & Furious marks the return of both Vin Diesel and Paul Walker to the franchise that helped make them stars. For that matter, Michelle Rodriquez and... More...
March 23, 2009:
RT on DVD: Bolt, Bond, and Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter
It's a good week for Watchmen fans, as the highly anticipated animated short Tales of the Black Freighter (and the faux-documentary Under the Hood) arrive on shelves. Animation... More...
August 25, 2008:
Exclusive Trailer Premiere: Fast & Furious
In what promises to be even faster and more furious to a greater degree, we've got the official first look at the trailer for Fast & Furious, which will reunite original cast... More...
November 21, 2007:
Jordana Brewster Joining The Fast and the Furious 4?
Justin Lin has already convinced Vin Diesel and Paul Walker to get on board for The Fast and the Furious 4 -- but they may not be the only members of the first installment's... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 66% 66% | The Merry Gentleman |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- The Fast and the Furious at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Fast and the Furious at IGN
- The Fast and the Furious at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

