Rob Cohen, the initiator of The Fast and the Furious, tried to recreate & relive 1950s' racing car exploitation niche by stemming it in the 2000s.
It doesn't take a genius to detect how lousy some of the handheld camera usage is, or how randomly bad the cinematography angles are for most of the runtime. Acting performances by the junior artists are super subpar, repetitions of dialogues can be heard at many instances, certain dubbings miss-sync, film editing is not in order, stunt double is apparent, slow-motion highlight at the climax is weak and obviously in a movie like this, characters tend to make several stupid moves for convenience purposes. Oh yes, almost forgot the mindless blow-ups & skin show too.
Worst of all these? The non-stop ear-piercing background music that goes on and on and on! It's either the loud engine noises or the constant stereotypical choice of scores that annoy the hell out of the audiences! How are we supposed to watch a feature that continuously agonizes our attentions? By now, you would have known where does the direction & technical qualities of the motion picture stand.
But, the settings really function. This automobile amusement world is established, no problem in that. Ordinary laymen could learn a thing or two about vehicular accessories here. Mainly, you'll be introduced to the street racing underground, where actions & heat are really on camera. Speaking of it, keep your eyes out for the climatic stunt sequence revolving a man-rescue from truck, which is easily the highlight of the entire movie. Trial with a road-on Ferrari is also a quick jab of adrenaline.
The premise, surprisingly works on a freshman level. It is a good decision taken by the makers to focus on the relationship between Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel). A cop, tries to sneak in the corners of a suspected criminal by staying under his shadows, without realizing, forms an accidental friendship which causes a 180° change in his dramatic motivation. Essentially, a Point Break remake. Even though the connection between the two lead actors is somewhat flimsy, there's undeniably tension whenever Brian's real identity is about to tear, and the peak is great when it actually does. The question on how Dominic's able to afford all the deco for his hot rides apart from opening bar joints, is always there. And, it's addressed. But if you start questioning details such as the police forces' unprecedented concern over robbers who steal electronics equipment among presumably worse crimes like murders or why the gang even chose to loot this particular object keeping in mind its supply & demand, you'll not get an answer.
Vin Diesel's attitude as Dominic Toretto is swag, although he would perfectly fit Shyamalan's Unbreakable universe since injuries barely affect him. There are scenes which do not contribute any value to the picture's progress, such as decaf or regular coffee choice for the Sergeant. One may complain on the palpable green screen tech during the first race, but it did brought in the desired effect.