He’d done Saving Private Ryan, Pitch Black, and Boiler Room, but he hadn’t cemented his role as an action movie star.
Then a car theft/racing movie came out, and he was unstoppable.
Not until the most recent, Fast Five, would any of the franchise score above 36% on Rotten Tomatoes (apparently, the franchise needed an inject of The Rock).
I recently got a chance to watch Fast Five the same weekend that basic cable showed The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious (the only entry in the franchise with no Vin Diesel at all), and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
As much as I enjoy these movies, several things jumped out at me that I hadn’t noticed before, and I decided to make them the subject of this Monday’s column.
What you can learn, but shouldn’t, from a bunch of thieves, undercover cops, and street racers after the break
- Girls are for sex. There are no women, only girls – and they have to look pretty. Even if they’re tough, they have to be hot. If they want authority, they have to sleep with an authority figure.
- White people are the best. Look who has the leadership roles in these movies – they’re all white. Even when they set the movie in Japan, a white boy has to win.
- The street is all about fast cars, motorcycles, and violence. It’s never about back-breaking poverty or getting ahead through hard work or education, or both.
- Loyalty is more important than law and order.
- The police will try any dirty, underhanded, trick and make any deal to get the target of an investigation. Because, you know, they don’t care about it standing up in court. They’re just going to assassinate the target anyway.
- If you can’t color-coordinate your outfit, your make-up, and your car, then you’re just a wannabe.
- Street racers always put extra gear in their cars – like light effects, steam nozzles, and powerful stereos. That stuff doesn’t weigh anything, right? It couldn’t possibly affect performance.
- If you might be heading for jail, eating lots of good food is more important than sex, building a legal defense, or trying to get away.
- No matter how much trouble someone is in, you should never force them to deal with it or get help from an authority figure. Narcs are the lowest of the low.
God only knows how misogynistic The Fast and the Furious 6 will be.
I really hope that these movies are intended to keep dumb, suburban, white kids from surviving to adulthood or forming meaningful relationships.
Because otherwise, they’re pretty disturbing.
