Fast & Furious Crossroads opened a world of possibilities for me. Indeed, this is not my first post about car racing, and I doubt that it will be my last. I’m not complaining though. The energy that I get from these posts is keeping me sane during these awful times, and I’m loving it. Besides, it gives me a chance to look back to movies that I’ve forgotten over the years. Or to discover them in the first place, which is also nice.
Fast & Furious Crossroads: Going back to 2001
And that’s the case with The Fast And The Furious. Fast & Furious Crossroads serves as an inspiration to look back at the movie that started it all. A billion-dollar, action-packed franchise that keeps on growing with each additional movie. And they’re a lot of movies in the franchise, let me tell you that.
Eight so far, with the ninth (called F9) scheduled to come out in 2021, and the tenth in 2022. Not to mention there’s a TV series, several spin-offs and what not else. But as I recall, there were plenty of movies in the early 2000s that involved racing and fast cars in general. Besides Fast And Furious of course. Gone In 60 Seconds came out a year before, Driven, Taxi 2 and The Transporter. And sure some of them even had some successful sequels, but none of the aforementioned movies had the cultural impact of the Fast and Furious franchise. 20 years later, it’s still ridiculous as ever but still going strong.
I mean in the original movie they were stealing electronic goods out of regular trucks. Things like VCRs and stereos. In the last movie, there was a nuclear submarine involved. Yeah, things are a lot different now. Which is why I felt that it’s good to get back to the roots. To the movie that’s inception to this insanity. The movie that made stars out of the entire cast of actors. Fast And Furious. However, I can’t really do that without mentioning the game that’s an inspiration for this post.
Fast & Furious Crossroads: What’s The Game All About?
Developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, Fast & Furious Crossroads is racing & action-role playing combined in a hybrid of a video game. The game-play is a combination between the Ridge Racer and God Eater game-play. Indeed. Most of the Fast & Furious Crossroads game is focused on racing. But there are also the characters that occupy the game. And they must defeat enemies and avoiding traps by using the equipped weapons on their cars. Fast & Furious Crossroads is currently on sale here at IndieGala, but that sale ends soon. Hurry up!
Things Were So Simple Back Then
And when I say simple, I mean simple. Where else can you see a hijacking scene that’s done with a Honda Civic? Don’t get me wrong, I love the insanity that it’s now become. Not to mention, I’ll happily pay good money to see the new movie, because who knows? Maybe they’ll be stealing some space station in Fast and Furious 10. One can only hope. Lord knows they’ve got nothing else to work on. But we. the fans, fell in love with the silliness, the camp and charm of the first movie.
But let me tell you why I still love the first Fast and Furious movie. Because underneath all that silly dialogue, all those fast cars (that I barely remember the names) and even faster scenes that involve those cars… I remember something else. No, not the plot that’s oddly similar to Point Break. The small hint of properly developed characters. And I do mean small hint. Not much else was developed (plot-wise) but damn it those characters were enough to make me care about them. I still do, to be honest.
Now, by this point, I’ve seen the first Fast and Furious movie a couple of times. And even if there’s a gun to my head, I can’t really tell you much about the aforementioned plot, besides the basics. Paul Walker’s character Brian (aka my high school crush) is an undercover agent that will infiltrate in Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) „family“. He’s a mechanic who’s doing street racing on the side, and Brian needs to find out who’s doing all the hijacking and stealing. However, after spending time with the „family“, he’ll soon become one of them. There’s the bait that they built the entire franchise on. Cars come and go, but „family“ is forever.
The Accent Is On The Family
Like I’ve said… I can’t really get into details about the movie, even now. But I can immediately tell you that I loved the connection between the characters back when I saw it in 2001 and now. The instant connection and the bond that they formed. There’s fantastic chemistry between each and every one of the characters that I love to this very day. They take care of each other. They respect each other, and they got each other’s back. At all times. Furthermore, to this day I still vividly remember the scene in which Mia is trying to fix herself up when Dom invites Brian at his home party. She’s upstairs and panics when her crush (lucky b***h) accepts to come at the party for a couple of beers. I remember the tuna sandwiches on white bread. No crust.
And I suppose, in a nutshell, it explains the appeal that the entire franchise has to so many fans. Yeah, the plot gets inflated in each upcoming movie, and that plot doesn’t love logic very much. But that’s beside the point. You remember the characters. You crave them also. There’s a great balance between them too. Somehow they all complemented each other, despite the differences. Brian and Mia, Dom and Letty. Character-wise and visually as well, they work well together.
Action-Packed And Fast-Paced
Oh, and another thing that sold the movie. The action scenes. There are still to this day holding up. They’re still great, and I’m glad that the directors kept evolving them in each movie of the franchise. Because, let’s face it. You’re not going to a Fast and Furious movie to watch Oscar-worthy performances. No. You’re going to see some awesome car chases, things blowing up and kick-ass fights. Compared to the later movies of the franchise, the 2001 movie has a B-movie feel but that’s not part of the legacy. No. The characters are what carry the franchise for 2 decades now. With the help of a few kick-ass explosions now and then. But come on! Family comes first.
Fast & Furious Crossroads
Did you like the original Fast and Furious movie? Or now? Which movie is your favorite from the Fast and Furious franchise? Tell us in the comment section. We’d love to know.
