Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS [Cannes Film Festival - Cannes, France]
The idea of doing a "The Fast And The Furious" midnight screening at The Palais makes sense since the context of the festival continues to change as cinema continues to change. The fact that no American studios per se are showing on the Croisette here is also subtly in the background. While this is definitely the 25th anniversary of the first film (and Vin Diesel has been actively pursuing a final film -- and its budget since the last film didn’t do as well) honoring the first movie is a good PR move. But as the delay in the screening start showed with Vin interacting heavily with fans outside and then speaking before the film, he knows the power of the spectacle but maybe in a way overplayed it. He did something similar a couple years ago at CinemaCon. That said, despite some dated material, the first Fast, playing as a Cannes Classic (even those it never played Cannes) holds up remarkably well. The DVD angle and some other aspects are dated but the play of the main four in Vin, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster still rings true.
Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez (looking like she was having a great time) were dancing on the red carpet. And Paul Walker’s daughter was there as well in addition to Donna Langley, the head of Universal who was likely on hand to gauge response. The cool thing about the movie now (save from some Nitrous FX that looks dated) is how practical the film is despite its roots in early 2000s culture (though it did come out before 9/11). The franchise now has becomes a bloated version of itself of course but returning to the basics shows what is possible. The racing scenes are still pretty cool. Rodriguez looks amazing (remember she had just come off "Girlfight") and Paul Walker and Diesel have the right dynamic to make it work. The event itself was a nice bit of nostalgia playing to Hollywood glamour in the Grand Lumiere Theater at the Palais. It was just about old school action movie techniques while still keeping the Hollywood industry in the Cannes lens. When the Universal logo came up, the place definitely roared. “The Fast And The Furious” was the beginning of an era looking to conclude 25 years later and the Croisette paid tribute to that. B
By Tim Wassberg
