The Fast and the Furious (From Stroud News and Journal)

Anyone who hasn't been there would think America was a country overrun by high velocity maniacs, when the truth is they live in more of a nanny state than we do.

Every street corner has a camera and one digit over the speed restrictions and you are nabbed. In fact they are 30 years ahead of what's coming our way.

Perhaps that's why films like The Fast and The Furious about illegal street racing are so appealing. They feed our frustrated competitive needs - the speed demon that lurks within.

In the manner of all the best fantasies in this film there is a motorway chase that entails hijacking an 18-wheeler truck by three Honda Civics, one of which slides under the truck and then appears unscathed. The reality would have been strawberry jam. That said, it is fast and furious.

Blond, blue-eyed cop and would-be detective Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) goes undercover to investigate a series of multi-million dollar motorway heists involving DVD equipment.

He has to infiltrate an illegal drag race team headed by the prime suspect Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel - sounds like a vintage petrol.)

The gang are antagonistic towards him and beat him up, but he hangs in there probably because he fancies Toretto's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) who runs a sandwich bar and sustains him with tuna salad on white bread, no crusts, every day. And they say romance is dead.

Things start to get sticky when one night O'Connor saves Toretto from certain arrest and they discover on affinity for each other.

Will O'Connor choose ambition over friendship, trust and love?

The Fast and The Furious is based on a magazine article by Ken Li revealing the ins and outs of real life street car racing gangs.

The script by Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist and David Ayer is fairly inane, but it doesn't matter, as there are car chases and excitement aplenty.

This film is easier to understand than Gone in 60 Seconds and has no pretensions.

Walker (The Skulls, 2000) looks beautiful but cannot act, while Diesel (Pitch Black, 2000) looks hunky and can.

In fact he is excellent and I am sure will be a high flyer before long.

Director Rob Cohen (Daylight, 1996) has very sensibly kept the film to 90 minutes, which is his trump card.

Any longer and it would have palled, but at that length it zoomed throughout.

Cinematographer Ericson Core (Payback, 1999) has done some terrific camerawork and editor Peter Honess (LA Confidential, 1997) cutting and pasting is fantastic.

This is a stereotype car chasing story and none the worse for that.

It has cool souped-up vehicles and gorgeous girls so will appeal to most males between 15 to 30.

So though it's twaddle it is fast and furious which is, after all, what it claims to be.

Clare Shepherd

7/10