everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

This film is probably the dumbest sh** I have ever tried to watch. They have made about ten of these films now and I'm sure they gotten worse since this one. Anyone with half a Brain should avoid this.

"The Fast and the Furious" is not a great movie, but it delivers what it promises to deliver, and knows that a chase scene is supposed to be about something more than special effects. It has some of that grandiose self-pitying dialogue we've treasured in movies like this ever since "Rebel Without a Cause." "I live my life a quarter-mile at a time," Toretto tells Brian. "For those 10 seconds, I'm free." And, hey, even for the next 30 seconds, he's decelerating.

The movie that started it all follows a pretty generic plot and doesn't have the best action or acting, but is a passable film to build a franchise off of. Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) is an undercover cop trying to infiltrate a gang of street racers led by Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel). Brian flirts with Mia (Jordana Brewster), Dom's sister, and clashes with the gang of street racers, especially Vince (Matt Schulze). The rest of Dom's gang including Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Jesse (Chad Lindberg), and Leon (Johnny Strong) are more accepting of Brian's presence in the group. Brian loses a race to Dom but helps him elude the police to gain his trust. Owing him a car, the two work to build a new car as Brian investigate a string of truck robberies. He suspects that the criminals are led by a rival racer Johnny Tran (Rick Yune). Sgt. Tanner (Ted Levine) and Agent Bilkins (Thom Barry) push Brian to look at Toretto as his bond with the team grows. They build a fast car that they plan to use in the upcoming street racing competition know as Race Wars. Check out more of this review and others at swilliky.com

Set in Los Angeles, this movie focuses on a team of thieves who hijack trucks operating a high speeds from optimally powered race cars. The cargo is then taken and sold on the black market. Needless to say, the FBI and local authorities are anxious to capture and prosecute these criminals before the truckers take matters into their own hands. To help them on this case a young police officer by the name of "Brian O'Conner" (Paul Walker) volunteers to go undercover and infiltrate the most high-profile illegal street racing team in the area which is led by a man named "Dominic Toretto" (Vin Diesel) who also has a prison record for violence due to his explosive temper. However, in order to investigate this case Brian first has to get inside this close-knit team and that is more difficult than anybody realizes. Additionally, this particular team is but one of many and it might not be the one responsible. But one thing is sure—action needs to be taken soon before violence erupts on the highways. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film has enough fast-paced action and drama to satisfy most fans of the genre. No doubt about it. On a more critical note though, I thought that some of the characters—most notably "Letty" (Michelle Rodriguez), "Vince" (Matt Schulze) and "Hector" (Noel Gugliemi)--were much too pretentious and almost to the point of being downright annoying. Likewise, some of the previously mentioned action scenes were more than a little unrealistic as well. But that's Hollywood for you. In any case, from what I understand this film has turned into a profitable enterprise for Universal Pictures and since nothing succeeds like success has bred numerous sequels in its wake. That said, despite the flaws just mentioned I enjoyed this movie and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.