Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster all return in their original roles that began with the 2001 film The Fast and the Furious, which was loosely based on a magazine article by Ken Li.
You can tell Walker has spent time building his acting skills in smaller films. His reprisal as agent Brian O'Connor brings even more dramatic depth into the story, which involves international crimes. Brian’s explanation of why he released Dominic Toretto at the end of the first film creates a nice arc for the character as Walker handles the dialogue and action very well.
Diesel, who also co-produces, returns as Dominic Toretto, who also appeared at Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift ending. This bona fide star has a magnetic appeal that equals Rodriguez’s fiery performance as Letty. Brewster reprises her role as Dominic’s sister and Brian’s love interest, Mia.
A star with a lesser presence then Diesel wouldn’t be able to elevate the material, which is basically a marketable story with a marketable ending that only drags in a few spots. Dominic has lived through tough decisions and outcomes that didn’t always go his way – a far cry from the boastful, center-of-the-universe attitude he previously had.
As in previous installments, the visuals have a huge impact as the audience gets a realistic depiction of the underground street-racing world full of “10 second cars”, international crime, and fierce competition. Dominic lets his actions do the talking more in this installment as he and Brian find themselves knee deep in the law and past transgressions.
Han, played by Sung Kang, also returns from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, which puts a spin on this movie series’ timeline. New characters include Gisele Harabo, played by newcomer Gal Gadot, who’s involved in some hefty operations. There's not much carryover from the second film, 2 Fast 2 Furious, except for the stress on action and Dominic’s method for getting into a car.
Article comments
1 - Betty
I like the movie. It was good, especially the opening seen but I would have liked my children to see the actors take a more appropriate view of saying that its just the movies. Sometimes out children can become decentized from watching these things to where they think certain activities are okay. This would not be good. I took the additional time to show my kids a website called Evo Street Racers as they had lots of realistic information on how lethal the activity can be.
2 - Tall Writer
Yes, definitely a good movie. Have a great content site for your kids that you may want to refer to when needed. Tracksters.com would also be a great Website for the kids (see one of my articles too for more information - third page, they're in alphabetical order).