Fast and Furious

Boy! Is it EVER!

Vin Diesel ("The Pacifier" and "Find Me Guilty") re-teams with Paul Walker ("Eight Below" and "Flags of Our Fathers" to once again subject us to the world of muscle cars ("The Fast and The Furious" - 2001).

Yes, once again we see absurd action and wildly impossible car races, smashups, and vehicular stunts. We watch our manly men with stony faces as they (sorta) work undercover, over the objections of the agency that employs Mr. Walker. Their objective is dual: Vin Diesel wants revenge for the murder of his long-time girlfriend and Paul Walker, who is in love with Diesel's sister, wants to break up a drug cartel. Of course, the man they seek is one and the same...but I won't divulge his name to you.

For someone like me, the revving of engines and the unrealistic races were laughable; others in the audience were riveted by the action. We saw lots of undulating bodies, but nothing that was particularly X-rated. Our heroes weren't profane, they didn't consort with any of those undulating bodies, and both seemed to be reasonably decent guys. And of course, after a drag race conducted in L.A.'s Koreatown (!?!), both qualified to drive fast cars through an under-the-Mexican-border tunnel for a despicable drug smuggler. Despite those absurdities, I was never bored...does that count?