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Fast and the Furious, The
Universal Pictures

Fast and the Furious, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 58 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.2 out of 10
based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 225 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for violence, sexual content and language

Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Rick Yune, Beau Holden, and Hill Harper

A fierce and frenzied look at rival Los Angeles street teams who use street racing as a means of establishing power. (Universal Pictures)


GENRE(S): Crime  
WRITTEN BY: Gary Scott Thompson
Erik Bergquist
David Ayer
Ken Li (magazine article)
 
DIRECTED BY: Rob Cohen  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: January 2, 2002 
Video: January 2, 2002 
Theatrical: June 22, 2001 
RUNNING TIME: 107 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Shrewdly conceived, confidently executed and outrageously entertaining.
80
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
The result is an intensely involving entertainment that can be enjoyed by viewers who scarcely know how their own cars work.
Read Full Review
80
Washington Post Curt Fields
Along with the cast's charm, they provide enough fuel for a fun one (movie).
Read Full Review
80
Village Voice Amy Taubin
(You) might be charmed by the film's blend of kineticism, car-culture rituals, and hilariously flat-footed dialogue.
Read Full Review
80
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Loud, trashy, implausible and exciting, The Fast and the Furious may not have much of a brain, but it's definitely got a pulse.
Read Full Review
80
Variety Todd McCarthy
A gritty and gratifying cheap thrill, Rob Cohen's high-octane hot-car meller is a true rarity these days, a really good exploitationer, the sort of thing that would rule at drive-ins if they still existed.
Read Full Review
80
LA Weekly Manohla Dargis
The best cheap thrill to come out of Hollywood in ages -- it's a shot of tonic for the current blockbuster bloat.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Turbo-charged wallbanger with the IQ of a tire iron. But it jumps off the screen with the mindless panache of a good bad movie.
75
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Not a great movie, but it delivers what it promises to deliver, and knows that a chase scene is supposed to be about something more than special effects.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Something special about it. It's a formula movie, to be sure, but it's Formula One.
Read Full Review
70
New Times (L.A.) M.V. Moorhead
The movie may be intellectually sophomoric, dramatically adolescent and morally vacuous, but it's good fun while it lasts.
Read Full Review
67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
With its machine-gun editing, extremely loud (mostly rap) soundtrack, occasional music-video interlude and overall in-your-face sensibility, it's a movie that's determined to chase anyone past age 30 or so right out of theater.
Read Full Review
67
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Pure, unadulterated teen exploitation filmmaking at its best -- a heady, rocketing blast of fast cars, loud hip-hop, and a script so cheesy it might as well have “Made in Wisconsin” stamped on it.
Read Full Review
63
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
A massive compendium of youth-movie/pedal-to-the-metal cliches. But man, is it fast!
63
Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
There's some undeniable appeal to watching a well-oiled, built-for-speed machine operating with its pedal to the metal -- even if it's destined to wind up in flames before the finish line.
Read Full Review
63
USA Today Susan Wloszczyna
High-grade B flick about illegal street racing among gangs in Los Angeles applies the brakes only for the bare minimum of plot injection.
Read Full Review
60
Slate David Edelstein
Fearless as these racers are, it's hard to muster enthusiasm for a movie that plays chicken and then swerves about a mile before the collision.
Read Full Review
60
Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
Strictly where the boys are: posing, posturing, and talking engine envy.
60
Chicago Reader Reece Pendleton
While few of the paper-thin characters register long enough to make much of an impression, Diesel carries the movie.
Read Full Review
50
New York Post Jonathan Foreman
Better than any automobile flick put out by Hollywood in a while and, thanks to some genuinely exciting moments, it is easily the most entertaining so far of this summer's big, brainless action movies.
Read Full Review
50
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Works hard to be exciting, but the movie scarcely lives up to its title. It could have used a bit of a fuel injection itself.
Read Full Review
50
Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
This is not a movie about actors. It's a movie about racing, chasing, chicks and adrenaline -- just what many theatergoers are dying for in a summer dominated by a sweet ogre and a dumbed-down historical tragedy.
Read Full Review
40
TV Guide Tanya L. Edwards
This testosterone-driven, car-crime picture evokes the testosterone-driven, surf-crime picture "Point Break."
Read Full Review
40
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Neither fast nor furious, this film belongs in the section of the supermarket where blah-white labels and big block lettering denote brandless cigarettes, vodka, crushed pineapple and, in this case, action picture.
Read Full Review
38
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
If it worked, The Fast and the Furious would put viewers in the same position as the policeman protagonist, attracted to speed but appalled by crime. Instead it sentences you to an hour and a half in a high-decibel limbo.
Read Full Review
30
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Rob Cohen, who last directed "The Skulls" --ouch! -- can consider this one another career-killing skid mark.
Read Full Review
25
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Drowns in its own noxious fumes. Who knew being bad could be so dull?
25
New York Daily News Jami Bernard
Unless you live and breathe exhaust fumes, there isn't much to sustain a viewer through a lame story and dialogue so pathetic.
Read Full Review
20
Washington Post Rita Kempley
The Fast and the Furious is "Rebel Without a Cause" without a cause. The young and the restless with gas fumes. The quick and the dead with skid marks.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 225 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
Better than i would've expected. Good stunts at the end, although the rest is somewhat cheesy.

letty gave it a 10:
Vin Diesal is soooo sexy... Paul Walker is yuck! Vin should do more topless movies!

Robin D. gave it a 10:
I thought he did a real good job in this movie along with all his movies he hiis so great and looks good to.

Daisy D. gave it a 10:
I thought vin diesel played a very good part in this movie.

Gabor A. gave it a 2:
One of the most shameless knock offs of all time. Not only in concept but scene for scene this movie is simply Point Break. In order to try to steer away from that notion the movie takes a few steps away from the much better counterpart. All of these diversion scenes are ridiculous and make no sense and are just added and padded action sequences like the final meaningless race. According to the other user reviews all the American audience wants these days is action and good looks. Well, Point Break has both and its a much better movie. So go see that instead.

[Anonymous] gave it a 10:
It was a GREAT movie especially because of VIN ... if you girls think he looks good in the movies ... he looks better in person =)

Psymon M. gave it a 10:
This film is amazing. Paul Walker in particular is a sick actor. p.s (I love jordana Brewster).

Read more user comments...

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