'Fast and Furious 4' is faster and more furious

Fast and Furious 4
Director: Justin Lin
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez
Rating: *** 1/2

If it was only about fast cars and ‘fast’ women, then the movie’s success would have been a granted. But it is not. Three movies have preceded it (The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), the first a roaring success, while the other two not so well-received.

It simply had to have more than just racing cars. If it were to get back onto winning ways, the original team would have to be reprised. So in come brawny and bicep-as-big-thigh Vin Diesel (Dominic Toretto) (not seen in the second installment and only a cameo in the third) and Paul Walker (Brian O'Conner) (not seen in the third). And it proves to be a masterstroke. And the rest of the original cast also comes in: Jordana Brewster (Vin’s sister Mia Toretto) and Michelle Rodriguez (Vin’s girlfriend Letty).

Described as an ‘interquel’, Fast and Furious 4 is set after the happenings of the second flick and before Tokyo Drift. Dominic is now a fugitive, living in Mexico, faraway from Los Angeles and Letty, because he thinks that the law might be catching up and she’d be safe away from him. (All those death defying manoeuvres like driving under a rolling tanker on flames are seemingly safer.) Brian is back as a cop trying to pin down a drug mafia kingpin. A phone call later, Dominic is back in LA to avenge a death. His target: the same kingpin. And they get back to doing what they do best, racing (to breach into the kingpin’s core group).

It’s apparently not about mindless racing this time, as vengeance, love and friendship all vie for equal space. It is in these times, when Dominic longingly remembers Letty, when Brian and he try to renew their friendship that the movie slackens a bit. But don't get me wrong, The Fast and the Furious hasn't gone tame.

Fans of the series will still see the likes of Nissan Skyline, Subaru Impreza WRX 5D and Ford Mustang in dramatic action sequences as the Japanese imports meet American muscles. Every time Dominic and Brian ignite their engines, it is The Fast and the Furious at its best with some tremendous, edge-of-the-seat gripping action sequences, be it the introductory scene when they escape a fireball-like tanker by going under it (as mentioned earlier), or while racing away from villains across the Mexico border and under a tunnel, or even competing in a no-rules race in LA’s traffic infested street.

Amid all the scantily-clad women, Vin Diesel does what he does best, kicking keisters and racing away convincingly and with Paul Walker does a great job at reprising the successful combo. But it is the action that lifts the movie and makes it highly entertaining, cloaking many of its flaws. (When Vin Diesel and company are robbing a tanker in the Dominican Republic, one is in many ways reminded of the introductory scene in Dhoom 2, where Hrithik Roshan flies and dances on a moving train and is able to get away with the booty without battling an eyelid, with a lousy background music that screams ‘Dhoom, Dhoom’. The mentioned scene in Fast and Furious 4 should not be missed to see how things actually should be done.)

It is, but, contrary to beliefs only about fast cars, and whenever an engine is ignited that the movie does too. And yeah, Brian still isn’t able to beat Dominic in a race, and Dominic still owes him a ten-second car.