'Fast & Furious' may not win any Oscars, but . . .
"Fast & Furious" may still be an awards contender even though it's clearly not academy fare. Its impressive box office take (projected to be $60 million this weekend) proves that it's a winner. Even some normally crusty critics like it. The Washington Post says "Fast & Furious" "is fun and frantic -- like the original on double nitro."
The stars of "Fast & Furious" are the cars, of course. The New York Times notes the film's "outlandish vehicular mayhem" while dismissing Vin Diesel as "an inexpressive chunk of man whose actorly range is largely restricted to the occasional furrowing of a brow." Vin Diesel and Paul Walker won an MTV Movie Award (best on-screen team) in 2001 for the original, "The Fast and the Furious," which also scored four other MTV noms, including best movie (it lost to "The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring") and — take heed, New York Times — best male performance (Vin Diesel lost to Will Smith in "Ali").
Vin's never been nommed at the Oscars, of course, but he's still earned the academy's respect. Remember that hilarious riff at the Oscar telecast in 2003 when host Steve Martin singled out Mickey Rooney — situated far back in the audience — and said during the opening monologue, "I'm sorry we couldn't get you a better seat, but Vin Diesel is here!"
Photo: Michelle Rodriguez and Vin Diesel in "Fast & Furious." Credit: Universal Pictures
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Hey man. Chill out. It's a movie. To be honest, in my opinion, if people are stupid enough to watch this movie and say "I want to do this. I'm going to become an illegal street racer and traffic heroin from country to country", then let them. It's their choice, not yours. If a loved one is hurt from any type of street racing activities then sue the shit out of the person who did it. Quit blaming the media for other peoples stupid mistakes. Street racing is not a problem. The crack dealers selling drugs to your relatives are. Get over yourself and quit imposing your will on other people.
Posted by: Trey Carlisle | April 09, 2009 at 07:12 AM
Of course it shouldnt win Oscars... I dont understand how we can support a movie which many people, includeing cops and the media, believed was the result of increasing street racing and the consequential accidents... Given how much this movie is projected to make I intend on contacting Universal to see what they intend on doing about addressing the problem of street racing along with Evo STreet Racers to see if they have any recommendations on how to deter the problem.
Posted by: Damon Brown | April 08, 2009 at 10:25 AM