Fast & Furious (also known as Fast & Furious 4 in other countries) is the fourth film in The Fast and the Furious film series. It is an interquel set between the second and third films. The film was released in the United States on April 3, 2009. The plot connects with the original film of the series from which Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster reprise their roles.
PlotAfter a successful run at hijacking fuel tanks on the highways of the Dominican Republic, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) has become an international criminal. Dominic's partner Han (Sung Kang) decides to flee to Tokyo, and Dominic feels compelled to leave his girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez).
One day, in Panama, Dominic receives a phone call from his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), who tells him that Letty was just murdered. Dominic returns to Los Angeles to find out who murdered Letty. After Letty's funeral, Dominic asks his sister to take him to the site where Letty's accident occurred. At the scene, Dom finds traces of nitromethane residue that can only be purchased at one body shop in L.A..
At the body shop, he finds one of his old racing counterparts that, after being coerced, leads him to a man named David Park. Dominic finds Park and hangs him out of a window threatening to drop him and vowing to kill anyone that stands in his way of avenging Letty. He receives the information that only through a street race, arranged by Ramon Campos, can he gain access to the man responsible for Letty's death.
Meanwhile, Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker)—now an FBI agent, is assigned to track down a notorious drug lord named Arturo Braga. Brian, after chasing down a criminal on foot, receives information also leading to David Park.
Both Dominic and Brian, having received the same information are led to the underground entrance race that guarantees them a spot on the team that traffics heroin across the United States-Mexico border. During the race, Dominic and Brian outlast all of their competitors until the two of them remain and head towards the finish line neck and neck, Dominic sideswipes Brian's car causing him to swerve out of control which hereby ensures that he comes in first, securing his spot on the team so that he can seek justice on Letty's behalf.
Having lost the race, Brian uses his influence at the FBI to ensure that one of the other members on Braga's team, Dwight Mueller, gets arrested for "distribution of methamphetamine," in order to usurp his spot of the team. At a party, Ramon Campos, Braga's right hand man, welcomes them to the team and gives them a GPS that will alert them to where they will begin their race.
Dominic ends up in a confrontation with a racer identified as Fenix, the driver of the car that collided with Letty before firing the shot that killed her.
Dominic and Brian both receive the coordinates to meet with Campos and are transported, along with their cars by semi-trailer to the Mexican border to receive the heroin that they are to transport, from there they are to follow Fenix's lead to the other side through an underground tunnel so they aren't seen by the satellite images and forward looking infrared used to monitor the borders.
After the transport, Dominic realizes that the drivers are thought of as disposable and that after successful trafficking of the product they are shot and killed in order to avoid paying them. Letty, having been in the same situation was the only driver to get away when they attempted to shoot her, it was the pursuit that led to the car crash and subsequent shooting causing her death.
Dom anticipated the double-dealing because of the warning given by Gisele, Braga's liason, in the form of the Spanish phrase "vaya con Dios", set his car to explode by discharging nitrous oxide with the spark from the cigarette lighter in his car after he learns from Fenix that he was responsible for killing Letty with no remorse.
Brian hijacks one of the Hummers carrying the heroin, escaping the gunfire, and head back to the U.S., where Dominic learns that Brian was contacted by Letty who agreed to infiltrate and collect information leading to Braga in exchange for clemency for Dominic. Brian speaks to his superiors about a plan that he has devised to trade the heroin for Braga if they will pardon Dominic.
An exchange is arranged with Campos, 6 million dollars for the heroin, provided that Braga be the one to deliver the money personally. The FBI is poised to arrest Braga at the exchange site, however, Dominic and Brian both realize that Campos is in fact Braga before the FBI does and the raid is botched. Braga evades capture and flees over the Mexican border out of the FBI's jurisdiction. Brian and Dominic head after Braga on their own and find him in a cathedral praying for salvation.
They kidnap Braga with intent to take him back to the United States where he can be tried and imprisoned for drug trafficking, but after having taken him captive they are chased by Braga's henchmen. The chase leads to the same underground tunnels that they went through in order to transport the drugs into the United States. Once on the United States side of the border, Dominic kills Fenix by crushing him with his car and Braga is finally apprehended by the FBI, as is Dominic.
Dominic is tried for his crimes and, though Brian appealed to the courts on his behalf, is sentenced to "25 years to life without the possibility of early parole." The movie concludes with Brian, Mia, Tego, and Rico racing towards the prison bus transporting Dom to the Lompoc Penitentiary.
Main CastVin Diesel as Dominic "Dom" Toretto: An elite street racer from the United States, wanted for committing numerous semi-truck hijackings. At the start of the film, he is living in the Dominican Republic and continues to hijack fuel trucks to earn money.
Paul Walker as Brian O'Connor: A former police officer and talented street racer, Brian is now an FBI agent hot on the trail of the Mexican drug lord Arturo Braga.
Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto: Dominic's sister and love interest of Brian. She reunites with both men when their paths cross over the Braga case.
Michelle Rodriguez as Leticia "Letty" Ortiz: Dominic's girlfriend who lives with him in the Dominican Republic at the start of the film. Her murder at the hands of Braga's organization is what spurns on Dominic to seek revenge.
John Ortiz as Ramon Campos/Arturo Braga: Initially portrayed as a liaison for Braga's organization, he eventually reveals himself to be Braga himself. A powerful drug cartel leader who recruits street racers to move heroin across the US-Mexican border.
Laz Alonso as Fenix Rise: An enforcer for Braga who is responsible for Letty's death.
Gal Gadot as Gisele Harabo: An liaison for Braga who eventually sides with Dominic after he saves her life and helps him locate the drug lord.
Jack Conley as PenningSung Kang as Han: One of Dominic's crew in the Dominican Republic. Talks about moving to Tokyo when the heat comes down, speaking of "crazy s*%$" that's going on.
Don Omar as RicoTego Calderon as Tego
PrequelA 20-minute prequel directed by Vin Diesel and focusing on Dom & Letty which also introduced the character Han (Kang), was filmed in the Dominican Republic during the summer of 2008. The prequel is said to establish what happened to these characters after the first film, The Fast and the Furious.
This prequel takes place where the second film left off, and represents what happened before Tokyo Drift. It will be released on the Fast & Furious DVD.
MusicThe score to Fast & Furious was composed by Brian Tyler, who recorded his score with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox.
The trailers for the film features the track "
We Are Rockstars" by Does It Offend You, Yeah? and a Travis Barker-remixed version of "
Crank That" by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em.
The official soundtrack was released on March 31, 2009 on Star Trak. The first single from the soundtrack was titled "
Blanco" and is by Pitbull featuring Pharrell Williams and is produced by The Neptunes.
The first promo single (firstly thought of as the second single, but switched) from the soundtrack was titled "Crank Dat (Travis Barker Rock Remix)" and is by Soulja Boy and features Travis Barker. The second single from the album is "Krazy" by Pitbull featuring Lil Jon.
The track is also featured on Pitbull's upcoming album. The third and final single from the album is "Bad Girls" by Robin Thicke. The soundtrack will also feature the song "G-Stroll" by Busta Rhymes featuring Pharrell Williams and also produced by The Neptunes. The track is a leftover track from Busta Rhymes' album Back on My B.S. Amazon gave the album an average score of 3.5/5, calling it a Spanish-themed rap soundtrack with mostly average tracks.
ReceptionFast & Furious has received unfavorable to mixed reviews. As of April 3, 2009, the movie was rated 22% on the Tomatometer on the Rotten Tomatoes website, and Metacritic has scored it a 45%.
Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, and the Los Angeles Times all praise the film. However Roger Ebert, who gave positive reviews to the previous films, gave unfavorable comments to the film: "I admire the craft involved, but the movie leaves me profoundly indifferent.
After three earlier movies in the series, which have been transmuted into video games, why do we need a fourth one? Oh. I just answered my own question."
On its first day of release the movie grossed $30.1 million dollars, and peaked at the top spot of the weekend box office with $72.5 million dollars, which is more than Tokyo Drift earned in its entire domestic run.
The film was the best opening to date of 2009, and was double what most industry observers expected.
Other records include best April opening and the best opening for Universal Pictures.
Recession has hit the world of B movies: There's no longer a budget for definite articles in titles. Fast & Furious, about dirtied-up car racing and badass drivers, arrives eight years after The Fast and the Furious revealed the unlikely charms of the sewer-throated, shovel-headed Vin Diesel.
Back then, as Diesel's Dominic Toretto burned through L.A. streets, we gasped, Who is that walking Popeye, and why does he sound like he's in a Sylvester Stallone tribute band? Back then we also met Dom's nemesis, Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), an equally feisty driver (and, as it happened, an undercover cop) as blond and blue-eyed as Toretto was bald and swarthy. We met Dom's cute sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster), who loved Brian, and the tough-babe driver Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who loved Dom.
Mostly we met hot rods driven by hot dogs — and although the movie was no Point Break, it was great to rocket along for the nitrous-injected ride. The Fast and the Furious celebrated great music, cars, and minimally clothed chicks cast as extras.
Later on, Dom became a fugitive in Mexico, Brian went to Miami (in 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious), and the F&F franchise took an invigorating global detour to Japan (2006's The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), where Diesel's Dom showed up for a cameo.
Now the original gang is reunited in L.A. for a victory lap, and they're looking pretty fly for old-timers.
The music, strong on reggaeton, still pulses. The chick ?extras still favor bikini tops. The stars' jawlines are slightly softened, and the lived-in look suits them. (The plot, for what it's worth, is about chasing down a nefarious drug lord — who happens to be hiring guys who can drive real fast.)
Fast & Furious is still no Point Break. But it's perfectly aware of its limited dramatic mission, and sturdily directed by Tokyo Drift's Justin Lin with space for a global audience to talk back to the screen.
And in the jammed landscape of mass-market new releases, it offers an attractive getaway route from self-importance, snark, and chatty comedies about male bonding. Here, stick shifts do the talking.
fast and furious, new model, original parts.