Fast & Furious (2009 film)

Did You Know?

• Fast & Furious was the first theatrical release to feature 4DX and D-BOX motion feedback technologies.
• The original short film Los Bandoleros (2009), written and directed by Vin Diesel, reveals events leading up to the film's opening and was released as a free download on the iTunes Store.
• The film was originally set for release on June 5, 2009, then pushed to June 12, before being rescheduled to April 3, 2009.

Plot

Five years after leaving Los Angeles, Dominic Toretto and his crew hijack fuel tankers in the Dominican Republic. Dom leaves his girlfriend Letty behind to protect her from police. Months later, he learns Letty has been murdered and returns to Los Angeles for her funeral. At the crash site, he finds traces of nitromethane and traces the buyer to David Park.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Brian O'Conner is tracking Mexican drug lord Arturo Braga, whose identity is unknown. Both men's investigations lead to Park. Dom confronts Park, but Brian intervenes and makes Park an informant. Park gets Brian into a street race where the winner becomes the last driver on a heroin trafficking team.

Dom wins the race by bumping Brian's car. Brian arrests another driver, Dwight Mueller, and takes his place on the team. The team meets Braga's henchman Fenix, and Dom notices Fenix drives the same green 1972 Ford Torino Sport described by the mechanic.

Cast

Vin Diesel plays Dominic Toretto, a professional street racer, criminal, and fugitive. Paul Walker is FBI agent Brian O'Conner, who once helped Dom escape the law and later rekindles a relationship with Dom's sister. Michelle Rodriguez plays Letty Ortiz, Dom's girlfriend who is killed in a car explosion set by Fenix Calderon. Jordana Brewster is Mia Toretto, Dom's sister and Brian's ex-girlfriend from five years prior.

John Ortiz portrays both Arturo Braga and Ramon Campos, a Mexican drug lord who hires street racers to smuggle heroin. Laz Alonso is Fenix Calderon, Braga's enforcer. Gal Gadot appears as Gisele Yashar, Braga's liaison who shows romantic interest in Dom. The supporting cast includes Sung Kang as Han Lue, part of an oil heist with Dom; Don Omar and Tego Calderon as Santos and Tego, members of that heist team; Shea Whigham as Brian's sarcastic colleague Michael Stasiak; Liza Lapira as FBI agent Sophie Trinh; Jack Conley as Brian's boss Richard Penning; and Greg Cipes, Neil Brown Jr., and Brandon T. Jackson as Braga's street racers.

Production

Universal announced the film in July 2007 after positive audience reception to Vin Diesel's cameo in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Principal photography ran from early February 2008 to August 2008, with locations including Los Angeles and the Dominican Republic. About 240 cars were built in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, though replica vehicles did not match specifications. For instance, the replica of the F-Bomb 1973 Chevrolet Camaro had a 300 hp V8 engine and 3-speed automatic transmission, while the actual car had a twin-turbo 1,500 hp engine and 5-speed transmission.

The original 1970 Dodge Charger 426 Hemi R/T from the first film was replaced by a 1969 model modified to look like a 1970 car. The red 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS from the first film's end credits appears and is later modified for a street race. The fuel heist used Chevy trucks with 502ci GM big-block motors. The blue Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 was cloned using Nissan Skyline 25GTs, and a dune buggy with a Skyline R34 shell was used for desert scenes.

Reception

Fast & Furious grossed $30.6 million on its first day and $70,950,500 over its opening weekend, the sixth-largest of 2009. It surpassed The Lost World: Jurassic Park as Universal's biggest opening weekend at the time and set records for April and car-themed films, later broken by Fast Five. Internationally, it earned $102.6 million in its opening weekend. The film concluded its theatrical run on July 2, 2009, with $155,064,265 in the United States and Canada and $205,302,605 elsewhere, totaling $360,405,638 worldwide. It ranked 17th among 2009 films. On Rotten Tomatoes, 28% of 176 critics gave positive reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10. The site's consensus stated the film had action and stunts but lacked a competent story or compelling characters. Metacritic assigned a score of 46 out of 100, indicating mixed or average reviews. CinemaScore audiences gave an average grade of A−.