You have certainly provided ample food for thought, much more than I would have thought possible regarding the two movies in question. FATF would seem to be nothing more than a throwaway "adrenaline-pumping" adventure that makes no effort to do anything but look slick. While it has been some time since I have seen Point Break I do not remember it with nearly the intellectual fondness that you have managed. It was certainly entertaining and is, as you described, Keanu's best movie. That's not saying much. Now would be a good time for me to insert a line about your "sad devotion to that ancient film" but I will pass. Personally I found similar enlightenment in American Graffitti and I am sure there are those who would question my sanity because of it.

These types of movies which center around a certain culture or lifestyle rarely stray far from the formula. Showcase the lifestyle in question while reaching a certain defining moment in a central character's life. In that respect there are many movies which follow the same formula, some more enjoyable than others. As you have noted, it is not the story itself which is important so much as the story-telling. One need look no further than Star Wars to prove this theorem. While one of my favorite films of all time it is basically an amalgamated rehash of classic legends, beginning with the Arthurian struggle of Good vs. Evil with a dose of sorcery (the Force) thrown in for good measure.
Luke Skywalker being the classic poor boy made good and Han Solo the dashing yet slightly troublesome right hand man.

 

I have to agree that F&F was a pretty banal film with weak plot and characters, but... They were not going for film making excellence in the vein of Titanic or Gone with the Wind or something. They were trying to show the street scene and sell tickets to the PG13 crowd. If judging by those standards, they did an outstanding job. This film has already grossed over $115M and will easily reach $150M with foreign sales. They made this film for under $40M, so it was a great success for everyone involved. Hopefully, they will listen to the extensive criticism and do a better job with the second one.

 

the FATF grossed over 140 million here in the states. worldwide? i have no clue.
ja rule's little cameos certainly were entertaining and the bottom line is, it got my adrenaline going.

good acting/bad acting? who cares? sequel? with those kinds of numbers, you can bet your life on it.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jvils
[B]Yes, there will be a sequal.

 

I thought this movie was fairly entartaining. I don't think this movie was made to be a documentary of import street racing. It does have many made up and fake aspects to it, but i think most people in the general public couldn't tell plus this movie wasn't intended to be perfectly accurate. It was just to entertain.

 

Wantone........is it the song that has a really cruisy feeling with a pumping bassline and only a few words?........if so, the song is called 'Organic Audio' by Nurega. I downloaded it by getting the download utility www.imesh.com (like Napster). Then, type in 'Nurega', or 'Fast and the Furious' in the search and you should be able to find it.

Actually, the thing that pissed me off about the movie, is that they released two CD's of music from the movie, but all the techno/trance/drum and bass tracks that are in the DVD menu's and in the movie are NOT on any of the CD's or listed in the credits at the end of the movie. That music was the best part.

Did anybody laugh when Paul Walker rammed the Lightning into the kerb towards the beginning of the movie? Also, has alybody seen the movie 'The Party' with Peter Sellers (made in the 60's). It's a cult movie that is deliriously funny. I'm sure they used the same house in FATF.

Overall, I enjoyed FATF. But it WAS corny and there were some stupid references in there. I like how Paul Walkers Eclipse shit itself after the first drag race, but then it was magically ok when the cops came! It's funny that they they had black, asian and hispanic people in their cliques, but there wasn't a 'white' clique apart from Vin's crew. Does that strike anybody as odd?

Also, there were no middle eastern cliques.....in Australia, imports are extremely popular with the middle eastern community. Did anybody elso think Ja Rule looked like a little kid sitting in that Momo racing seat? And, was that RJ Devera playing the Playstation in the Civic at the start?

I do hope the sequel is better than the original. Overall, I enjoyed the first one, although it was very far-fetched at times.


Cheers,

 

Yes, that was him. The director said something about sneaking him onto the set 'cause he's wanted for street racing or something. Anybody know if that's true? Also, the director is the pizza guy that can't get thru the street blocked by all the cars, and the producer is the guy in the Ferrari.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mav
[B]The ending left things hanging...

 

You know, you're absolutely right. There are so many parallels. The people who made Point Break should get royalties... hehe

 

I made the mistake of using a free dvd rental slip from blockbuster to rent this piece of crap.

what a terrible movie. not only was it technically very flawed, but the acting sucked, the action sucked, and it was boring.

total waste of time.