You might think this is simply a tale of young men and fast cars. It's actually a thriller on speed. Nigel Bell
This film has proved to be the surprise summer hit in the States. Given the teenage/early 20s audience it's aiming for, it's likely to repeat the success over here.  | | Come on boys it's only a little axle grease |
Not that this is a great movie. It's a film which does what it sets out to and on two particular occasions does it dazzling with genuine adrenaline pumping scenes of high action/ sharp editing. It's basically a mix of Top Gear meets Rebel Without A Cause meets Grease meets The Warriors. Rookie cop Brian (Walker) goes undercover to try and discover who is hijacking trucks on the open highway.  | | Oops |
It's a race against time because the truckers are pretty fed up and about to take matters into their own hands. He hooks up with Toretto (Vin Diesel - great name for this film) who's a bit like the Fonz in the way that he's the idol of all the street kids keen for a bit more action in their lives.  | | Anyone else laugh and I cut the brake leads |
He's king of the illegal street racing circuit. He also has a sister whom Brian falls for. So the scene is set for high speed races, gang warfare, jealousy, death and friendship. It all works in its limited way which includes rock and hip hop, limited dialogue (imagine Kevin and Perry with US accents), meaningful glances, women getting dirty (in their mechanics uniforms!) and perhaps most importantly, how to put your shades on correctly. A must for those boy racers roaring around Mansfield town centre on a weekend. For the rest of us, we've still got a few more weeks to be entertained by Murray Walker. 
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