With the release of the Paul Walker/Vin Diesel starrer The Fast and the Furious in 2001, local mods evolved, street lingo expanded with terms like ‘10-second car' and ‘NOS,' and stock cars exuded character with aero kits and underglow lights.
For anyone who's into cars, the sheer number of Japanese and American street racers in the film was just pure eye candy, from Walker's Mitsubishi Eclipse and Toyota Supra to Diesel's Mazda RX7 and Dodge Charger.
The sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, was hardly as entertaining as the first movie. Walker, this time with Tyrese Gibson, tried to make up for Diesel's absence by acting all angst-y and by scowling at the camera most of the time.
The plot was as thin as the hair on Gibson's head but this was well compensated by the rush brought by cars like the Skyline GT-R, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII, Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder, and the Yenko Camaro that crashed on to a boat in the movie's climax. And there's Eva Mendes. Need we say more?
The third installment to the Fast and Furious series sported an equally dud storyline. Lucas Black gets grounded for street racing in the US and is sent to his dad in Japan where - news flash! - street racing is tolerated. Way to go, Mom!
None of the actors in the earlier Fast and Furious films were in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, except for Vin Diesel who appeared cameo towards the end. The drifting element spurred excitement over the film, not to mention babes in micromini schoolgirl skirts and street racers like the Nissan Silvia S15, Veilside Mazda RX7, Nissan 350Z, and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.
Three installments later, the makers of The Fast and The Furious decide to bring car nuts back in time with an interquel between the second and third films in the series.
The magic that boosted the first movie into a box-office monster that spawned the sequels is hopefully back with the Diesel-Walker tandem back in action for Fast & Furious.
Other than just reuniting both Diesel and Walker, the interquel also brings back Black's drift mentor, Han, which conveniently explains how he became Diesel's friend as mentioned in the third movie.
This mixing of characters across different sequels/interquels and whatnot can sure be confusing. Top Gear Philippines will be happy to enlighten you as we bring five lucky readers to a special screening of the most awaited car movie of the year.
Click here to get a chance to win two tickets to a drive-in special screening at the roof deck of MC Depot, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Screening is on April 5.
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