Fast and Furious

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"New Model, Original Parts" screams the tagline to this, the third sequel to the surprise 2001 hit that made Vin Diesel a star (momentarily, at least), and gave Paul Walker ample opportunity to do his most convincing Keanu Reeves impression yet. This time, director Justin Lin takes the reins, having tried to unsuccessfully reboot the franchise a couple of years ago with a new cast in Tokyo Drift. The resulting film plays like a Basshunter video crossed with the plot from a Steven Segal film. While not as bad as that may sound, it is quite a lacklustre exercise in what can only be described as "petrol-head porn."

The plot sees Diesel's Dominic Toretto up to his old tricks: stealing stuff from bad folk with really nice souped-up "ten second" cars, in an incredibly over-elaborate manner. But when the heat gets too close and there is a chance his missus Letty (Rodriguez) might get nabbed by the fuzz, he bolts from their South American paradise, only to return home when Lenny is clipped by some over-zealous heroin smugglers. Walker's O'Conner, meanwhile, is tracking said smugglers, and still pissing off the hierarchy of the FBI with his maverick attitude. Opening with a so-so heist that sees Diesel's gang of comical thieves stealing oil, things pick up when we're reintroduced to O'Conner, as he chases a hoodlum through a crowded building, and ends up on top of a car with the perp, two storeys below. Unfortunately, though, it's pretty much all downhill from there.

Lin appears to be a director with very little flair, in terms of the dynamism needed to elevate a film like this - let's face it, the script was never going to be great. The plot was always going to be silly, and the acting hammy; but what people want to see is explosions, cool cars and hot chicks, in whatever order offers the most cohesive slickness. This tired sequel simply does not deliver any of that, and while the packaging is pretty, once the plot revs up, most people will find themselves bored and awaiting the next mediocre set-piece. Diesel is pensive, Walker confused-looking, and Rodriguez and Brewster barely used. This will disappoint fans of the original, and most fun, first film.