THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS

I first started watching Fast and Furious franchise when it came out on DVD in 2001 or 2002, I was one of those girls who didn't care for Barbie dolls and preferred Lego and toy cars. I remember watching the first movie with my family, completely amazed by it all. The car stunts were insane and the plot was heart pumping, I'd never seen anything like it. I had the biggest crush on Brian O'Conner, and I would always wonder why Dominic Torretto was so huge, and would even wish I had a family like the Torretto's and could fix cars and race them, typical imagination of a child. It was the movie that started it all, involving car races, loads of crazy, never would you ever do stunts, hijacking, stealing, and generally a lot of shooting of guns and violence and romance and of course drama, a little war fare between teams, all combined into one movie.

2 FAST 2 FURIOUS

I didn't really think anything of the franchise continuing, I generally thought it would just be one movie and that was it. But then 2 Fast 2 Furious came out in 2003. Although it mostly got a negative reception, I didn't hate it, at the time, I was still young and enjoyed the whole film. The movie went in a different direction to the first, you go from a street racing movie, to a movie where drugs and law enforcement are prominent. Additionally, most of the characters you see in the first movie weren't in the sequel, and that's probably why some people may not have liked it. However, the movie was necessary, just like every one of these movies are. You needed to be introduced to new characters, one being Roman Pierce; Brian's partner in crime, and Tej Parker, who both become a bigger part of the franchise, and the other Monica Fuentes. Once again, the movie ended showing lack of continuation and so I thought it was the end.

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT

Then, in 2006, everything changed, I was a little older and thought nothing of another Fast and Furious movie coming within those three years. However, The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift appeared out of nowhere. At first, I was utterly confused by the movie, it was a completely different cast, the main character wasn't Dom, it was Sean Boswell, and set in a different country, obviously being Japan, that isn't even mentioned in the first two movies, and it just made no sense, and to make things even more confusing, Bow Wow was in it, I mean I didn't even know this boy existed still. This is the main reason why the movie flopped a little. The budget was quite small and the box office didn't do too well, compared to the first two movies. Tokyo Drift is set after the fifth movie, being Fast Five, so basically the fourth movie of Fast & Furious and Fast Five are prequels of Tokyo Drift. The confusion of the movie is that you don't see the main cast of the first two movies and merely see a cameo from one, so you don't really know that it is set ahead of time. In my opinion, the casting was awful, the acting was awful and overall, the movie was made way too early because when watching Fast & Furious and Fast Five, the cars evolved drastically and then you go back to Tokyo Drift and notice that they're a little bit older as the movie was made 3-5 years before the prequels. A positive aspect of this movie is probably the mystery behind it, although it is somewhat seen as being a negative by myself and others, it is an optimistic feature of the film as you don't know what to expect and you don't know where the franchise is actually heading at all, this movie also reaffirms a main character's mysterious quality in the movies as they continue. So although this may not be my favourite movie of the franchise, there are some qualities that aren't as bad as you think, and the good thing about it is that everything is explained.

FAST & FURIOUS

Finally, the instalment returns to the original timeline, revealing the original cast six years after 2 Fast 2 Furious and is set before Tokyo Drift. The timeline for Dominic Torretto is set after the first, original movie where the character resides in a different location with Letty Ortiz and there is an introduction of new characters Leo Tego, Rico Santos, and Gisele Yashar, and also a little confusion over one of the main characters, Han-Seoul-Oh, who was introduced in Tokyo Drift. Once again, Dominic and Brian cross paths, and the essence of 2 Fast 2 Furious comes into play as Brian is actually a FBI agent, got a suit and tie this time and is doing it voluntary, in this movie and there are drugs involved, a drug lord who goes by the name Arturo Braga and high speed races. Fast & Furious ups the ante a little whereby races are done with open roads rather than closing of streets to have a path free from traffic, and crossing borders of countries is involved. Essentially, I don't mind watching this movie, it gets back to the roots of the original scene but also adds in a little extra high-octane action for your adrenaline. I also love that it reunites the original bromance and reignites it all, the ending proving that the team and the franchise is far from done.

FAST FIVE

The fifth instalment, being Fast Five, released in 2011, definitely goes far behind anything you've seen in the first three movies of the franchise and is set before Tokyo Drift. I think this has got to be one of my favourite films in this series for sure. The reason it is one of the best is because it's actually a film transitioning from petty street races and local law enforcement to featuring only one car races and focusing on action including good, old, up-close and personal physical fighting, guns and brawls, and even involves a heist. The film is set in Rio De Janeiro and a team is assembled again consisting of Dominic and Mia Torretto, Brian O'Conner, Vince, Roman Pearce, Tej Parker, Leo Tego, Rico Santos, Gisele Yashar, and Han-Seoul-O. Again, you see the team going up against the big guns, which include; crime lord Hernan Reyes and his men, the police of Rio and Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs and his team plus Elena Neves, a local officer. Each of the, can I call them, villians of the film, have a bounty on the heads of the team, scouring the country. Reyes for personal reasons which involve a stolen car and Hobbs purely to extradite Dom, Mia, Vince and Brian. The film is highly regarded for its stunts and effects, it goes from a nitrous oxide on the down low to nitrous oxide going on steroids. The film ends on a high note and all is well. When finishing the film, you think that it's all done and dusted, what could top off this film and you just want the characters to live happily ever after, but of course, right at the end, it shows that there is a continuation. I recommend you wait for the credits to end because there is a post-credit scene.

FAST AND FURIOUS 6

In 2013, Fast & Furious 6 was released, set before Tokyo Drift, and you are once again on a journey with the professional criminal gang turned wanted fugitives, who have gone their separate ways and retired, are reunited to complete a job offered by Luke Hobbs, who works alongside a different partner, Riley Hicks. The bargaining chip is to save a family member and provide full amnesty for their past crimes. This time, the team up against Owen Shaw's team, Roman even describes them as their "evil twins" as there is a similarity between each of them. I guess this film actually presents the cliche of good vs evil and actually presents the audience with an evil mastermind. The film is set out in numerous locations, a majority of it based in London, England, and towards the end is followed by a NATO base located in Spain. There are at least two car races, one at the very beginning, and another in the film. There a lot of gadgets compared to the previous films, a lot of car chases involved, one car chase involves a tank and a plane the size of Roman's forehead, which is pretty epic. I personally thought after Fast and Furious 6, the franchise was done; if you've never seen the film, the opening credits are usually just an opening scene which shows the title of the film and presents the cast and crew of the film. However, the opening credits were much more different, presenting a monologue of the previous movies whereby scenes are shown in chronological order according to the timeline of events and summarising the past 12 years. Also, in the end, all the events lead to the film of Tokyo Drift, which I previously mentioned, everything is set back to the timeline and everything is explained in the end.



So essentially, the order of the timeline is: The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast and Furious 6 and then Tokyo Drift.








Then finally, we come to Fast and Furious 7 or Furious 7, whatever you want to call it. The film continues from Fast and Furious 6 and Tokyo Drift, as both collide in the timeline. It again shows that cliche of good vs evil, exhibiting another mastermind gone bad, being Deckhard Shaw, the brother of Owen Shaw. Due to events that occur in the previous movie of Fast and Furious 6, Shaw swears vengeance against the team. There's a lot of action present in the film, including, head on collisions with cars, and there are once again, more car chases than races. Again, the film's location changes, going back to the roots of the film in Los Angeles, then going back to Tokyo, then going to somewhere completely random in the Caucasus Mountains which is in Eurasia between the Black and Caspian Sea, and then Abu Dhabi and finally back to the streets Los Angeles. There's technology involves in all this mess, a covert ops team, a militant army, a lot of explosives, a lot of guns, cars falling from planes, car driving through buildings and a lot of bad ass stunts, car driving and just a whole of asses that are bad. It's definitely the most far fetched film in the franchise but it sure does keep you on your toes and makes you want to hold onto something. As alls well that ends well, the film takes a drastic turn of events, and ends on a happy but sad note.

FOR PAUL

The seventh instalment of Fast and Furious, is probably the most personal for me, purely because of the events that occurred before the released and during the film's production with the passing of Paul Walker; and also his friend Roger Rodas, who we must not forget also perished in the car accident that involved the pair. The franchise of Fast and Furious has been a massive part of my life, I've watched it from the beginning and will watch it to the end, buying tickets to see it in the cinemas and purchasing copies of the DVDs. The films have grown and the characters have developed. Being so emotionally invested in this franchise has made me feel apart of it, like I've been living the experience the characters have and that the actors have. Although I don't know either of the actors personally and merely watch the films, I still feel as though I have a personal connection with the characters and those actors who play them. Paul Walker was a beautiful man, all he did was for the good of people and the world in general. The man lit up the screen with his presence, and in interviews and other videos I've seen, always made jokes and smiled. It's been an emotional ride for the Fast and Furious fans and the ending of the film was perfect. The tribute was an incredible way to send off Paul, who is looking down at us. It started the way it ended, with Brian and Vin racing each other and I appreciate the fact that Brian was retired rather than killed off in the film so that his legacy is limitless in the franchise and in life itself. The voice over from Vin Diesel was heartfelt and the music accompanying the tribute was all too much. It's safe to say I couldn't hold the tears in once I realised that the ending was going to be for Paul, as soon as I heard the voice and the music, that was it, I broke down. I think if you didn't cry in the film that you probably are just heartless, I mean how could you not cry, I could probably understand if you hadn't grown with the films and the cast or didn't pay attention to the films and merely watched them for entertainment, but actually I don't understand. Paul Walker wasn't just an actor but an activist and was an all round good natured person, and a man that was taken too soon.