The Fast and the Furious

The Fast and the Furious Information

The Fast and the Furious is a 2001 American action crime film directed by Rob Cohen, produced by Neal H. Moritz and written by Gary Scott Thompson and David Ayer. It was the first installment in the The Fast and the Furious franchise. The film stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Rick Yune, Chad Lindberg, Johnny Strong and Ted Levine. The film follows an undercover cop named Brian O'Conner (Walker) who is tasked with stopping a group of unknown hijackers that are using high-performance racecars to hijack 18-wheelers. The film's concept was inspired by "Racer X", a Vibe magazine article by journalist Ken Li about street racing in New York City. Filming locations include New York City and parts of southern California and New England The Fast and the Furious was released on June 22, 2001 to financial success. The film's budget was an estimated $38 million, grossing $207,283,925 worldwide. Despite its commercial success, the film received generally mixed reviews from film critics and according to review aggregators Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, though both Diesel and Walker were praised in their roles and became household names both in the U.S. and internationally. Also, many critics praised the action sequences, storyline and the soundtrack but criticized the direction and writing, some calling it a carbon copy of the 1991 film Point Break. The film was re-released on June 22, 2016, to celebrate its 15th anniversary. It was followed by 2 Fast 2 Furious in 2003.

Plot

In the docks outside Los Angeles, a semi-trailer truck is loaded with electronics. On the road, it is hijacked by three heavily modified black Honda Civics with green underglow. The Honda drivers fire a grappling hook into the truck's windshield, knock out the driver, and corral the semi allowing them to heist the electronics and escape.

The next day, undercover LAPD officer Brian O'Conner is assigned to find the gang responsible for the crimes. Brian uses his cover job at an auto parts shop to infiltrate the L.A. street racing scene. While visiting Torreto's Market, a local grocery, he flirts with the shop's owner, Mia Toretto, who is the younger sister of a well-known street racer, Dominic Toretto. Vince, one of Dominic"?s henchmen and who has a crush on her, starts a fight with Brian, which Dominic breaks up.

During a local racing gathering, Brian arrives with his 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS, and Dominic arrives in his 1993 Mazda RX-7. Dominic organizes a drag race with a local betting schemer called Hector, and two other drivers. Brian wagers pink slips for his car. During the race, Brian blows his engine, handing the victory to Dominic. As Brian prepares to give Dominic the keys, the LAPD arrives, forcing everyone to flee. Dominic drives his Mazda into a local garage and parks it there, intending to walk home, but is spotted by a police cruisin Brian arrives and saves him from the cops. The duo ventures into the territory of Dominic's old racing rival, Vietnamese gang leader Johnny Tran and his cousin, Lance Nguyen. Tran and Lance blow up Brian's car. Afterwards, Dominic tells Brian that he owes Dominic a "ten-second car", a car that can drive a quarter mile in under 11 seconds from a standstill.

Brian goes to Dominic's garage, where he offers his skills as a driver and a mechanic. He begins dating Mia, much to Vince's dismay. Brian investigates Hector and Tran, convinced that Tran is responsible for the truck hijackings. He is cornered by Vince and Dominic, who demand an explanation. Brian lies about checking the cars of his rivals for the upcoming Race Wars, a street racing event in the desert. Brian, Vince, and Dominic check out Tran's garage, and Brian notices a shipment of electronics in the garage. Meanwhile, Brian and Dominic builds a replacement car for the Eclipse, a 1995 Toyota Supra.

Brian reports the batch of electronics to his superiors at the LAPD and FBI, and they arrest Tran and Lance. It turns out the electronics had been bought legally, leading to the duo"?s release. Despite his own doubts, Brian is now forced to assume that Dominic is the actual perpetrator of the truck heists. Brian's superiors give him 36 hours to find the perpetrators, as the truckers are now arming themselves in self-defense against hijackings.

At the Race Wars, Jesse, another of Dominic"?s henchman, loses his father's Volkswagen Jetta to Tran, but flees with the car. Tran confronts Dominic, who mocks him instead. Tran accuses him of reporting him to the police, leading to Dominic beating Tran up. Later that night, Brian notices the crew leaving, and realizes that Dominic is indeed the hijacker. He reveals his true identity to Mia and convinces her to reveal the location of the Civics and aid him in his plans.

Dominic, Vince, Dominic's girlfriend Letty, and another henchman Leon, prepare to hijack a semi-trailer truck. However, the truck driver is armed and uses aggressive counter-hijack tactics against Dominic's gang. Vince is trapped on the truck's hood having been shot, while Letty's car is knocked over and flips from the highway, later saved by Leon. Brian arrives with Mia, who commandeers the Supra while Brian rescues Vince. When Dominic arrives, Brian is forced to blow his cover and call for a medical evacuation to rescue Vince. Dominic leaves with Mia and the rest of the crew after Vince is saved.

Brian arrives at Dominic's house to arrest him, before Jesse is killed in a drive-by shooting by Tran and Lance on dirt bikes. Dominic and Brian pursue them, with Dominic ramming Lance's bike off the road before he can shoot Brian. Brian shoots and injures Tran. Brian proceeds to chase after Dominic, culminating in a quarter-mile drag race. The race ends in a dead heat and they barely manage to cross a railway crossing before a train passes by, but Dominic violently crashes his father's 1970 Dodge Charger R/T into a truck. Instead of arresting Dominic, Brian gives him the keys to his own car, telling him he owes him a ten-second car; Dominic is able to escape the police.

In a post-credits scene, Dominic is seen driving through Baja California, Mexico, in a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle, having presumably abandoned the Supra.

Cast

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Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner, a New York Police Department detective who is sent undercover by the FBI to locate and apprehend the crew of the truck hijackers. He works part-time at the chop shop The Racer's Edge, owned by Harry, to connect with the street racing scene and find out more about crews. While there he bonds with Dom after saving him from getting arrested. He also saves Vince at the end by getting him off the truck, blowing his cover by calling in a medivac. Brian first drives a 1995 Mitsubishi Ecilpse GSX, later a red Ford Lightning and later on, an orange 1995 Toyota Supra MK IV.
Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, a professional street racer and leader of the hijackers. He lives with his sister Mia. His father was a stock car racer, who was killed during a race by fellow racer Kenny Linder. (Dominic's father car crashed in the wall and burned). In retaliation, Dominic beat up Linder, and for that he was banished from the professional racetrack for life. Linder became a school janitor who has to take the bus everyday. Dominic becomes a street racer and starts hijacking with his crew; he serves as a driver. He drives a red 1993 Mazda RX-7, and has a custom-built 1970 Dodge Charger in his garage.
Michelle Rodriguez as Leticia "Letty" Ortiz, Dom's girlfriend and part of the crew. Living on the streets and always into cars, Dom was always her love interest, and she became his when she turned 16. Letty is street-smart and a skilled mechanic and driver, using her skills as one of the drivers during hijackings. She drives a dark-faded red 1997 Nissan 240SX S14.
Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto, Dom's sister. Although aware of Dom's criminal activities, she is not part of the crew. She runs a little grocery store where the crew usually meets, Brian's love interest, she is unaware that he is a cop. Vince also has a crush on her, establishing his rivalry with Brian. Mia is sad that her brother is a criminal, and wishes that he would reform his ways. Mia is also a very skilled driver and drives an aqua-blue 1994 Acura Integra GSR 4DR.
Rick Yune as Johnny Tran, Dominic's main rival and Vietnamese gang leader of the Little Saigon crew. He is initially Brian's prime suspect in the hijacking case. Tran usually drives motorcycles with his cousin Lance, but he also has a custom black 2000 Honda S2000. Tran comes from a very wealthy family, and on his record only has minor offenses: parking tickets, speeding, etc. Tran kills Jesse at the very end, and he is subsequently shot by Brian.
Chad Lindberg as Jesse, Dominic's friend and part of the crew. He grew up on the streets and he was brought into the crew by Leon. Jesse's father is an old friend of Dom's who is serving time in jail. Although he is brilliant in math and algebra, Jesse suffers from ADD, which resulted in him dropping out of high school. A computer expert, Jesse also participates in hijackings as a driver. Jesse races in his white 1995 Volkswagen Jetta A3. He is killed by Johnny Tran when he escapes after losing a pink slip race to him.
Johnny Strong as Leon, Dominic's friend and part of the crew. He grew up with Vince and also brought Jesse along. In the hijackings, he serves as an attacker, usually pulling out windshields of trucks to create safe passage for Vince. He drives a yellow 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R R33. After the heist, it is suggested that he left L.A.
Matt Schulze as Vince, Dominic's childhood friend and part of the crew. He grew up with Dom and Leon. He has a crush on Dom's sister Mia and dislikes Brian due to the former's attraction to him. He also suspects that Brian is a cop. Vince drives a blue 1999 Nissan Maxima. On the last failed hijacking, Vince is shot by a truck driver, forcing Brian to blow his cover in order to save his life. It is implied that Vince escapes from the hospital and flees to South America, settling in Rio de Janeiro.
Ted Levine as Tanner, an L.A.P.D. sergeant and Brian's supervisor. He organizes the investigation with the F.B.I., placing Brian undercover.
Thom Barry as Bilkins, the F.B.I. agent who organizes the joint operation with Tanner.
Ja Rule as Edwin, a fellow driver at the drag race who drives a red 1997 Acura Integra.
Vyto Ruginis as Harry, owner of The Racer's Edge chop shop. He is an informant for the L.A.P.D., being under Brian's supervision to avoid serving five years in prison for selling stolen car parts.
Stanton Rutledge as Muse, an L.A.P.D. officer who works with Brian, Bilkins, and Tanner.
Noel Gugliemi as Hector, the organizer of the race in which Dom and Brian participate.
R. J. De Vera as Danny Yamato, a fellow driver at the drag race who drives a white Honda Civic.
Beau Holden as Ted Gassner, a car part owner who is tortured by Tran to give him engines for his cars.
Reggie Lee as Lance Nguyen, Johnny Tran's cousin, who is knocked down by Dominic. It is implied that he is later arrested and sentenced.
David Douglas as Rasta Racer, who races Letty at Race Wars with an RX-7 but loses.
Peter Navy Tuiasosopo as Samoan Guard, a security guard at Race Wars. He and Vince break up Dom and Tran after they fight.
F. Valentino Morales as Dispatcher
Neal H. Moritz (the film's producer) as Ferrari Driver who races Brian.
Rob Cohen (the film's director) as Pizza Hut Delivery Guy during the first race scene.

Production

Development and filming

Director Rob Cohen was inspired to make this film after reading a Vibe magazine article about street racing in New York City and watching an actual illegal street race at night in Los Angeles. While the film eventually became titled "The Fast and The Furious", its original name was "Redline" before it was changed. Roger Corman licensed the title rights of his 1955 film The Fast and the Furious to Universal so that the title could be used on this project; both films were about racing.

The film was shot in various locations within Los Angeles and parts of southern California. Key locations included Dodger Stadium (on the opening scene where Brian tests his Eclipse on the parking lot), Angelino Heights, Silver Lake and Echo Park (the neighborhoods around Toretto's home), as well as Little Saigon (where Tran destroys the Eclipse) and the San Bernardino International Airport (the venue for Race Wars, which attracted over 1,500 import car owners and enthusiasts). The entire last rig heist scene was filmed along Domenigoni Parkway on the southern side of San Jacinto/Hemet in the San Jacinto Valley near Diamond Valley Lake.

Prior to filming, both Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez did not have driver's licenses, so they took driving lessons during production. For the climactic race scene between Brian and Toretto, separate shots of both cars crossing the railroad and the train crossing the street were filmed, then composited together to give the illusion of the train narrowly missing the cars. A long steel rod was used as a ramp for Toretto's car to crash through the semi-truck and fly in mid-air.

An alternate ending titled "More than Furious" was filmed, in which Tanner drops Brian off at the Toretto home, where he encounters Mia packing, intending to move away. Brian reveals that he resigned from the LAPD, who let him go quietly, and that he wants another chance with her. When Mia tells him that it's not going to be that simple, Brian tells her that he's got time. This ending was released in the collection bundle DVD version.

Music

Template:Main article The film's score was composed by music producer BT, mixing electronica with hip-hop and industrial influences. Two soundtracks were released for the film. The first one features mostly hip-hop and rap music. The second one, titled More Fast and Furious, features alternative metal, post-grunge and nu metal songs, as well as select tracks from BT's score.

Release

Box office

The Fast and the Furious was released on June 22, 2001 in North America and ranked #1 at the box office, earning $40,089,015 during its opening weekend. Its widest release was 2,889 theaters. During its run, the film has made a domestic total of $144,533,925 along with a foreign total of $62,750,000 bringing its worldwide total of $207,283,925 on a budget of $38 million, making it a financial success.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a rating of 53% based on reviews from 147 critics with an average score of 5.4/10, while the audience score was 74% and had an average rating of 3.4/5. The critical consensus reads: "Sleek and shiny on the surface, The Fast and the Furious recalls those cheesy teenage exploitation flicks of the 1950s. On Metacritic, the film gained a metascore of 58 out of 100 based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Todd McCarthy of Variety called the film "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." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "an action picture that's surprising in the complexity of its key characters and portents of tragedy." Vin Diesel's portrayal of Dominic Torretto won praise In particular with Reece Pendleton of the Chicago Reader writing "Diesel carries the movie with his unsettling mix of Zen-like tranquillity and barely controlled rage."

Other reviews were more mixed. Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, saying that Cohen "at least knows how to keep matters moving and the action sequences exciting." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C, saying it "works hard to be exciting, but the movie scarcely lives up to its title." Rita Kempley of The Washington Post gave the film a scathing review, calling it "Rebel Without a Cause without a cause. The Young and the Restless with gas fumes. The Quick and the Dead with skid marks." Paul Clinton of CNN wrote that Cohen "created a high-octane, rubber-burning extravaganza" but he criticized the film for "plot holes you could drive the proverbial truck through" and an idiotic ending.

Accolades

Award	Category	Nominee
AFI Award	Cinematographer of the Year	Ericson Core
ALMA Award	Outstanding Song in a Motion Picture Soundtrack	The Fast and the Furious
ASCAP Award	Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures	Caddillac Tah
Black Reel	Theatrical - Best Actor	Vin Diesel
BMI Film Music Award		BT
Golden Trailer	Best Action	The Fast and the Furious
Hollywood Breakthrough Award	Breakthrough Male Performance	Paul Walker
Golden Reel Award (Motion Picture Sound Editors)	Best Sound Editing - Effects & Foley, Domestic Feature Film	Bruce Stambler (supervising sound editor) Jay Nierenberg (supervising sound editor) Michael Dressel (supervising foley editor) Steve Mann (sound editor) Kim Secrist (sound editor) Steve Nelson (sound editor) Howard Neiman (sound editor) Glenn Hoskinson (sound editor) Tim Walston (sound effects designer) Charles Deenen (sound effects designer) Scott Curtis (foley editor) Dan Yale (foley editor)
Golden Reel Award (Motion Picture Sound Editors)	Best Sound Editing - Dialogue & ADR, Domestic Feature Film	Bruce Stambler (supervising sound editor) Jay Nierenberg (supervising sound editor) Becky Sullivan (supervising dialogue editor/supervising adr editor) Mildred Iatrou (dialogue editor) Donald L. Warner Jr. (dialogue editor) Robert Troy (dialogue editor) Paul Curtis (dialogue editor) William Dotson (dialogue editor) Cathie Speakman (dialogue editor) Nicholas Vincent Korda (adr editor) Lee Lemont (adr editor)
MTV Movie Award	Best On-Screen Team	Vin Diesel Paul Walker
MTV Movie Award	Best Movie	The Fast and the Furious
MTV Movie Award	Best Male Performance	Vin Diesel
MTV Movie Award	Breakthrough Male Performance	Paul Walker
MTV Movie Award	Best Action Sequence	The Fast and the Furious
Taurus Award	Best Driving	Matt Johnston Mike Justus Debbie Evans Tim Trella Christopher J. Tuck Kevin Scott (semi driver)
Taurus Award	Best Work With a Vehicle	Christopher J. Tuck Mike Justus
Taurus Award	Best Stunt by a Stunt Woman	Debbie Evans
Taurus Award	Best Stunt by a Stunt Man	Christopher J. Tuck Tim Trella
Taurus Award	Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director: Feature Film	Mic Rodgers
Taurus Award	Best Work With a Vehicle	Jimmy N. Roberts
Taurus Award	Hardest Hit	Mike Justus

Home video

The Fast and the Furious was released on DVD on January 2, 2002. A second DVD entitled the "Tricked Out Edition", released on June 3, 2003, featured The Turbo Charged Prelude for 2 Fast 2 Furious, a short film that set the tone to the film's sequel. An abridged version of the short film is also on the sequel's DVD release.

Merchandising

Racing Champions released diecast metal replicas of the film's cars in different scales from 1/18 to 1/64. RadioShack sold ZipZaps micro RC versions of the cars in 2002. 1/24 scale plastic model kits of the hero cars were manufactured by AMT Ertl.