I grew up playing racing video games, graduating through Rad Racer (NES) to the legendary Gran Turismo for the original Playstation. The game served to whet my interest in cars and racing, which simply flourished throughout the years.
This above image is circa year 2002, an event called Hot Import Nights, or HIN, from Orlando, FL. This event was a celebration of modified import cars to include (but not limited to) the usual suspects of Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and Mazda. This picture is a 4th generation Honda Civic. The featured image is a Nissan 350Z from the same event.
I’d integrated with a group of similar minded comrades with dreams, one of which owned a 6th generation Honda Civic SI. All I can say about that car is… VTEC. VTEC is the variable valve timing which essentially changes the car’s performance characteristics based on the RPM levels. It translates to an extremely fun driving experience…
I’d left this group for college located a moderate distance away, but I frequently returned for local events back home. I attended the 2001 movie The Fast and The Furious during one of these visits. This film glorified both import tuning and street racing culture. The film was a gimmick for all intents and purposes. Little did anyone know how the film would spark a billion dollar franchise spanning 8 films to date.
This film is a story of an undercover cop that grows to sympathize the target he is investigating to apprehend. This story is a common theme in many other films and nothing innovative. The acting was frankly a bit cheesy in many ways. It was these quirks which made it such a cult favorite among guys like myself. The movie was scored by up and coming electronic/trance producer Brian Transeau, alternately known as BT, who just recently produced one of the hit singles for one of the biggest pop groups of the time *NSYNC. This score, although very relevant for its time, did not age well. However, the score did additionally serve to build the aforementioned cult following.
This movie served to be successful enough to inspire a sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious. This 2003 sequel, introducing well-known R&B singer Tyrese and Atlanta rapper Ludacris as cast members, served to ramp up the millennial appeal with the latest and greatest newly released sportscars as well as some classic beauties as of its time.
The formula for this franchise was set: drama + action + cars = successful cinema. The popularity of the franchise decreased through the first few movies, oddly enough, but it dramatically began its uptick following the fourth movie Fast & Furious. This fourth movie continued the storyline set by protagonist Brian O’Connor and his relationship with Dominic Toretto and his friends/family.
Now, this post won’t serve to be a chronicle of the entire series itself, because I share the opinion of many who followed the film from the beginning: the series was run into the ground as a cash cow. The executives behind the name did not care about the niche import-tuning beginnings of the series, instead looking to cash in on the newly built brand and the names of these celebrities that began the franchise. They added more and more big name talent to the series and more outlandish action segments to the degree that it became simply comical in nature. I regard the first film as the best in the series although the numbers dictate that the 7th was the best film to date. The primary focus of this blog post is the first film.
I preface this next segment with the fact that I am not a movie critic–just another Joe with an opinion. The first film built a franchise from nothing because of the drama that was established. The cast successfully pulled me into their world with all of the import cars and action simply accentuating that plot. I watched the rest of the films to simply follow what would come of them next. That’s how it is supposed to work, and I applaud them all for accomplishing that goal.
When lead actor Paul Walker tragically passed away in 2013 it hit me exceptionally hard which is admittedly strange, considering Paul and I have never met. The reason it hit me so hard had to do with how emotionally entrenched that I am with the series in general in addition to how much of a shock it was. I am skeptical whether the franchise will ever be the same with him gone. In fact, I would state that the popularity of the 7th film is primarily predicated on the fact that this would be the final movie to truly honor the legacy of Paul’s character.
For those of you who made it this far into this ramble, thanks for reading. This first movie and its following franchise does hold a special place in my heart and likely forever will. I do hope that a similar auto-focused franchise (perhaps a new one) will follow in place as I am doubtful that this existing one will make the adjustments needed to right itself in my eyes. I close this with a snapshot of my current two daily drivers today.
