Part 4?!?!!

They've done it again. Just when you thought that the franchise couldn't continue, they went and made a part 4. Of course I'm talking about the Fast and Furious franchise!

I have to admit. Though not exactly a high art or super duper produced series, the Fast and Furious franchise has been highly successful by making entertaining films that are heavily targeted toward the car enthusiasts demographic (i.e. you fine folks). In part one, you had a very Point Break-esque analogical film starring Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, and man/woman Michelle Rodriguez (Trust me, the similarities are there. Just replace "surfing" with "street racing" and it's the same idea). Before the first Fast and Furious film, there wasn't a prominent street racing film in popular American cinema. Then in part two--the aptly named 2 Fast 2 Furious--the adventures continued but only this time, the cast saw familiar faces from the first installation along with Ludacris, Tyrese, and Eva Mendes.

Part three is when the series really flipped the script and introduced a completely new cast, a new director, and a completely new form of street racing. In The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, you had a hillbilly troubled kid who got shipped to Japan to live with his dad and he gets sucked in by the underground drift racing subculture of Japan. The film had breakthrough roles for many of the actors including rapper Bow Wow. However, Tokyo Drift was not as strongly produced as its first two predecessors and director Justin Linn was left with a project of appeasing to a demographic of Fast and Furious fans that was hanging on by a thread. Also, it was also unfair that as his breakthrough American film (aside from Better Luck Tomorrow), he had to work with unknown actors. In my opinion, he did the best with what he had and the though a bit hokey at times, the film turned out OK.

I feel the story of this new 4th installation will be a prequel to Tokyo Drift. It has been confirmed that Paul Walker and Vin Diesel will make a return as well as Sung Kang who played Han in Tokyo Drift. If you don't remember, Tokyo Drift ended with a cameo by Vin Diesel and it was stated that he was friends with Han. Part four will probably develop this story of their friendship. Also, Justin Linn will make his return and this time, I feel that he will have a fair opportunity to make a name for himself by working with bigger named actors and possibly a higher budgeted film.

Although I won't be quick to admit it, I get pretty excited every time I saw a trailer for a new Fast and Furious. I guess it'll just be another addition to complete my Fast and Furious DVD collection.

Rack of Lam