Flick fueled by Diesel and cool cars

Fast and The Furious - PG-13\nStarring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker\nDirected by: Rob Cohen\n"The Fast and the Furious" came out of nowhere to surprise and enthrall gear heads and action flick enthusiasts alike. The movie personifies the entire idea behind a "sleeper" hit. It didn't feature any major celebrities or have a bloated budget but managed to gross $145 million dollars domestically and cemented the career of up-and-coming action star Vin Diesel ("Pitch Black"). The recently released DVD should please fans of hard-hitting yet mindless action filmmaking.\nAn article that appeared in Vibe magazine concerning the alluring subculture of illegal street racing loosely inspired "The Fast and the Furious." Diesel headlines the flick as Dominic Toretto, a cocksure adrenaline junkie and all-around badass who leads a crew of street racers suspected of hijacking semi-trucks. Human Ken doll Paul Walker ("Varsity Blues") co-stars as undercover cop Brian O'Connor who poses as an incumbent racer to infiltrate the crime ring, but in the process falls for Dom's nubile little sis, Mia (Jordana Brewster of "The Faculty"). Action ensues, cars are demolished, cue the piss poor alt-metal/hip-hop/techno soundtrack.\n"The Fast and the Furious" features some of the sweetest car chases/races ever committed to celluloid, and for this reason alone the DVD is well worth purchasing. And if that weren't enough, the disc is chock full of some pretty cool extras including "Racer X" the article that inspired the movie, the making of "The Fast and the Furious" from storyboards to final feature comparison, the flick's theatrical trailer, numerous featurettes concentrating on the film's special effects and a "dope" Ja Rule music video. \nAlthough many of these features are cool, some wind-up falling short; all of the deleted scenes were rightfully discarded, Rob Cohen's feature-length commentary is nothing to write home about, the "exclusive" featurette on editing for the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) should have remained a tad more exclusive and for some reason a lame public service announcement featuring the all-together bland Walker proceeds the film. \n"The Fast and the Furious" isn't highbrow filmmaking and won't elicit much thought amongst viewers. But it sure does entertain and is well worth a look.