The big problem with Fast and Furious. And how to fix it.

Here’s a Fast. Here’s a Furious. UGH! Stereotypical, generic, moneymaking, pointless, unnecessarily complex heist movie with some Dodge Chargers thrown in for lolz. That is what Fast and Furious has been ever since Fast Five. Up until then, the Fast and Furious franchise has been all about modified cars and epic chases. The stuff that made movies like Bullitt and The Blues Brothers so great. Of course, all typical moviegoers care about is if there are any explosions or not.

So to outline the problem, I’ll share a little anecdote of mine with y’all:

I remember when The Avengers first came out, I was excited for it like everyone else was. My friends were talking it up like it was the next Star Wars or something. Alas, when I finally got the chance to see it, eh. It’s not a bad movie but I saw past the big explosions and crazy effects, probably cause I watch too much anime, but nevertheless, it wasn’t strikingly appealing in any particular way. I found some parts of the movie pretty funny (like the interaction between Loki and Hulk) but all in all, eh. For a movie so hyped up and talked about, with multiple movies leading up to it, I expected much more. The only thing that kept me more or less excited for the series was that there are more movies expected that could possibly fill in the plot holes and such.

That’s the problem with The Fast and the Furious franchise. Too much action, too little substance.

Now, the new Fast and Furious, what is there to say about it? It’s going to end up just like every other movie from Fast Five and up; action, heists, some weird rave/car meet thing with emphasis on the rave, and FAMILY (sarcasm). The problem is character and story development. If you’ve never seen a modern F&F movie, don’t worry, here’s a basic rundown:
Everything’s going good, got money from the last heist and all
Oh no! Something happens to a family member! Here comes plot!
Work for top secret government agency to bring them back because apparently what they really need to defeat a global criminal underground is a bunch of street racers and Skylines (not arguing the latter point, ;) )
Get family back together and we good
Live in peace until the next movie

All “modern” F&F movies go through this layout and as a result, there is zero to little development in the entire series. Even in particularly touchy moments when someone dies or something equally tragic, there’s about 2 minutes of remorse, then life moves on. No development on the tragedy or change within the characters. And when things are all good, that’s about it. Back to raves and sitting around the table with Coronas and a random group of supercars in the background; how we got them? No one knows. Now here’s how to fix the Fast and Furious series:

1. Dedicated cars for the characters:
   Up until Fast Five, every character had a dedicated hero car, something that was like an extension of themselves. Brian had his Eclipse GSX, MK4 Supra Turbo, R34 Skyline(s), and Subaru WRX STI hatch; Dom had his ‘68 Charger, ‘70 Chevelle SS, and various FCA products. Though the crew does get their own cars in Fast and Furious 6, they’re just government-bought classics from a snobby concours-style auction house; no story, no bond, nothing. I’d like to see a scene where the crew takes some time to go out and buy and modify their cars. You can even a “Roman moment” where he fits his car with chrome rims or something. Go crazy. But focus on things like the engine and suspension, if the general crowd can’t figure it out, throw out a horsepower figure or wildlife analogy and they’ll be happy.

2. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:
   The newest movie features Dom turning evil or something but I bet you 3,000,001 virtual cookies that he has a reason for doing so that involves protecting his FAMILY. Why can’t we have the surrounding characters develop? Maybe Roman finds a purpose to why he’s doing things, Hobbs tries out street racing and finds his “happy” side, anything!

3. More racing:
   Bring it back home and back into cars. I think F&F 4 hit the mark here. We have a street race but it is crazy and out of proportion like how the general public would like it. Make it something like that but even crazier. Make it a transcontinental race for example. Have Dom and Brian run the race as undercover racing for the win to get close to the underground kingpin who runs the thing. You can easily fit in multiple stunts and have it expand to something globally crazy since multiple governments involved. Take some inspiration from Redline, highlight the technology in the cars and turn the cars into their own. But most importantly, don’t end with everything going back to normal! There has to be some change in the characters or new situation that makes the audience think. That’s the difference between an action flick, and a film masterpiece.