I watched a movie yesterday.

"Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig" (AndySheehan-StreetsideStig) 02/15/2016 at 10:42 • Filed to: None

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It was called The Fast and the Furious .

I’ve seen clips and such, but I hadn’t watched the whole thing through since I saw it in the theater when I was 15. And you know what? It’s actually a pretty good movie. Yes, it’s cheesy, and there were certain plot points that didn’t make sense, but it was a really cool idea for a story and the characters had surprising depth.

I think most of the negative reaction to FF1 has come from the car community for the car lingo BS, and not undeservedly. “Double-clutchin’” is just silly, the manifold is not really in danger, and I’m not sure any of us overnights parts from Japan. But it seems they put some effort into the dialogue about specific mods. When they discussed turbos, Koni adjustable struts, and fuel management, I thought, “Yeah, those are pretty good mods.” The lingo was basic, but I’m not sure I’d talk about them any differently if I was checking out someone’s work at Cars and Coffee.

Yes, the cars are ridiculous. Big wings on FWD, absurd body kits, crazy decals, street glow, and a Del Sol on air suspension. But Rob Cohen used actual car clubs around LA for all the extras, which makes the film a pretty solid monument of the era, even if it’s silly and cliche now. At least it was accurate.

And we all scoff at Brian for showing up with an Eclipse to the first race, but I think his car choice rather reflected his character. He started with a DSM not known for reliability and thought he could quickly and easily boost it with NAWS to get “the respect” he needed to infiltrate the world of underground racing. He ruined the car and had to rebuilt another from ashes, this one a much more serious performance car. Eclipse to Supra was an appropriate analog for his arc.

Also, holy crap, Leon had an R33.

Anyway, The Fast and the Furious held up, even if the series has since been diluted and morphed. I enjoyed it.

fennelbreath > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 10:47

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I am a proud fangirl of this entire franchise. I rolled my eyes pretty heavily when the first installment was released, since I was deep into VWs and that Jetta is an embarrassment, but I came around pretty quickly. I love it. I’ve even written about it.

Turning it from a “car” series into primarily a “heist” series was a smart move.

And I adore Michelle Rodriguez.

Svend > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 10:51

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Watching it again in full. Do you know why they are furious?

I want a British version of ‘Not too fast and mildly ticked off’.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 10:52

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2 fast 2 furious was what almost killed the franchise for me, IMO. It went to far into “so bad its bad” territory where the first has enough camp and like you said, decent charcters (in a fun, enjoyable to watch sense) that when the amazing action and cars aren’t on screen, you still like what you see.

But other than the second one, yeah the series as a whole is pretty fun. I do enjoy watching them on occasion, and fast 5 is one of my favorite movies. Ever. It’s basically ocean’s 11 with cars and some good old fashioned campy fun.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > fennelbreath 02/15/2016 at 10:52

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I remember liking that Jetta because it looked so different from all the other cars. I didn’t know anything about cars back then, but where the others were all sports cars, or at least 2-doors or hatches (with the exception of Vince’s Acura), here was a plain old sedan that had been customized to be “cool.” I realized that people could customize any car.

crowmolly > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 10:55

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I always liked the first movie. Never expected it to be anything other than what it was. No claims to accuracy.

The plot itself (as has been mentioned on here before) is basically Point Break with street racing subbed in for surfing and extreme sports.

fennelbreath > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 10:56

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Fair point, that. I’d never thought about it that way. I hung out with a pretty snooty VW/Audi crowd at the time, and we were just like, “Nice automatic. Nice body kit. You think you can take an S2000, yeah, good luck.” Like I said, snooty.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > Svend 02/15/2016 at 10:57

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Oh, there are many reasons for the fury. Boning people’s sisters, lying about being cops, stealing people’s engines, etc.

A British version would be excellent. But classical British. Otherwise all the lines would be, “U wot M8?”

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 10:58

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The first Fast and Furious is still one of my all time favorite movies. It certainly got me even more into cars. Btw, the yellow R33 was crushed in 2011 because of the world’s dumbest law.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/15/2016 at 10:59

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And 2F2F is probably the nadir, though Tokyo Drift is hot on its heels with Lucas Black’s horrible acting.

The rest of the franchise is great, though. I think Fast Five might be my favorite, too.

crowmolly > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 11:00

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Biggest reason for the fury is because somebody was inappropriately accused of narc’ing on somebody else.

fennelbreath > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/15/2016 at 11:01

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“2 Fast” was definitely a product of its time (I’ve seen the purple Eclipse in a museum, and man, it has not aged well), but the series as a whole made a nice recovery.

davedave1111 > Svend 02/15/2016 at 11:08

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“Do you know why they are furious?”

Not sure if you’re joking, but... Furious doesn’t mean angry, so much as passionately energetic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Furio…

deekster_caddy > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 11:08

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The first movie was not bad, although cheesy much like you said. Then I watched 2Fast 2Furious and was horrified. Then I watched Tokyo Drift (3) and was mortified. Awful, awful films where the cheese went over the top. I haven’t watched any of the others. I hear that I should let the newer ones have a chance, but I’m not sure I have the time anymore.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 02/15/2016 at 11:08

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Guh. Government criminals.

deekster_caddy > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 11:09

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After 2 and TD I couldn’t watch any of the others. I hear they got better, and I should give them another chance but somehow I just can’t.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 11:11

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The Skyline was my favorite car in the movie so reading that it was crushed made me sad and angry..

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > fennelbreath 02/15/2016 at 11:13

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Well, they had a point. The car didn’t even have front calipers. But I think that was the enthusiast community’s reaction to the movie as a whole. Honda people were probably laughing about Dom’s Civics’ spoilers, and everyone was laughing about the NAWS. But the filmmakers had to skate a fine line. Too technical and they’d lose clueless kids like me. Too general and it wouldn’t seem real. I think that’s a big reason they went to more of a heist format. Focus on the mission, with the cars in the background.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > deekster_caddy 02/15/2016 at 11:14

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They got much better. They’re still cheesy, and you can’t take them seriously, but they’re really fun.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 02/15/2016 at 11:16

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It’s really stupid. They shouldn’t be able to pull cars out of people’s driveways and crush them.

deekster_caddy > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 11:16

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Yeah, I get that. I’m okay with some cheese, or they wouldn’t be able to do any movie stunts. But combined with the awful acting and NAWS everywhere I got really turned off. Especially having used N2O on real cars at real drag races... I know that’s not how it works, so it’s a little hard to get over their constant use of NAWWWS as a backup plan...

fennelbreath > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 11:17

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I don’t know, the younger Honda/Toyota/Subie crowds took it pretty seriously, holding meet ups in theater parking lots before the opening and everything.

Svend > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 11:18

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I can just see the British version now. The police chase consists of a diesel Ford Focus who hasn’t pulled over immediately, the copper driving a Vauxhall Astra pulls up and the officer gets out walks up to the driver’s door of the Focus and says ‘now sir, do you have any ideas as to why I pulled you over just now?’, (mildly ticked off driver says) ‘no officer, do I have, bulb out?’, (copper) ‘no sir, you were going five over the speed limit. Would you mind stepping out and having a seat in the back of my car while I run some details?’.

Concluding with ‘right sir, everything is in order. I won’t issue a fine today but will point out the speed limit is there as much for your safety as everybody elses’, Ford driver now gets back into his car (now further ticked off because he’s late even more than he was before being stopped) and drives off. The end. 15 minute film righ there. :)

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > fennelbreath 02/15/2016 at 11:22

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Oh yeah. By “laughing at,” I meant criticizing.

Svend > davedave1111 02/15/2016 at 11:23

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Yes. I was joking.

I want to use that in an argument.

“no sweetheart I’m not furious you left the tap on and it flooded the bathroom, I’m just passionately energetic okay?” :)

fennelbreath > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 11:30

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I know what you meant, I’m just saying that wasn’t really what I saw. The Honda kids my age were more like, “Dude we are finally represented on film!”

And given some of the shit I witnessed the few years I went to WaterFest, the VW kids really had no business scorning the RaceWars scenes.

davedave1111 > Svend 02/15/2016 at 11:32

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Like that old one about Noah Webster, walked in-on in flagrante delicto by his wife, who exclaimed ‘Noah, I am surprised!’, to which he replied ‘No, my dear, I am surprised, you are merely astonished’.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 12:47

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in an odd way, I like his fake southern drawl. Like he’s trying to pretend to be something he’s not, in a world he does’t belong in. And there’s a poetic symmetry wit the “2JZ mustang” that was actually a restomodded V8 mustang with 2JZ noises dubbed in outside of beauty shots with the hood open.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/15/2016 at 12:51

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Oh, the 2JZstang was great. But that kid just can’t act. It was distracting.

Steve in Manhattan > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/15/2016 at 15:45

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SigOther out of town, so I watched Furious 7 ... big dumb fun. And they handled the Paul Walker thing well.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > Steve in Manhattan 02/15/2016 at 15:53

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Agreed on both points.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/15/2016 at 18:05

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Lol, that drawl is not fake. That is very much a North Alabama accent, as that is where he is from.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 02/15/2016 at 20:02

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Oh god, the acting is worse than I realized. He made his natural accent sound unnatural.

Burn-Spaz1966-Burn > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/16/2016 at 04:32

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There was acting?

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > Burn-Spaz1966-Burn 02/16/2016 at 07:58

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There was attempted acting.

sdmikev > Svend 02/16/2016 at 10:34

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That could also be the Canadian version, eh.

Burn-Spaz1966-Burn > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/16/2016 at 17:02

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I know but can’t look at it that way.

Nauraushaun > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 02/17/2016 at 06:37

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I agree completely.

I’ve always loved that movie. I’ve seen the rest of them a bunch of times, I sort of resent them for not being proper car movies. Fast and the Furious is probably the greatest street racing movie ever made . Probably one of the greatest car movies I think.

As a non-American, this is the first time I’ve realized that a Skyline should not be in that movie.