Fast and Furious...great moogily oogily! (1 Viewer)

[Sean Moon]

This DVD is incredible. Picture is amazing, but the sound....my God the sound. I have only watched the opening race scene(NOS fest) and the speakers should have been smoking after that scene. This is the new demo disc folks...U-571 can retire(for a bit). This redefines aggresive in terms of sound. I listened to the DTS track for this scene..will compare the Dolby at a later date, too caught up in how great this sounded. The rumble of the cars, the music filling every speaker(especially that one funky note that only played from the rear left in this scene...cool) and the sound of the world whipping by you as the cars race down the street. This is insane stuff. Will be watching the entire film tomorrow, but this one scene blew me away. This is a must buy disc.

 

[Sean Moon]

Oh...and there is already one Easter Egg I have found. On the special features menu highlight multicamera feature, which allows you to watch the view the final crash of Toretto's car after the race to beat the train
from 8 different angles. With the feature highlighted, hit right on your remote...a steering wheel will appear on the side of the screen. Select it and it will play all eight angles of every shot in the scene in succession, so it in otherwords plays like a Michael Bay movie.

 

[Brett_B]

When I originally watched this movie in the theater with a fellow HTF'er, I said to him on the way out that this will probably be the new demo disc.

Next week is not going to get here quick enough.

 

[Sean Moon]

Hell, I remember saying that in the theater too. The thing I remember most though was seeing JPIII the next night in the same theater, Fast and Furious was playing in the auditorium next door and I could feel and hear parts of it over JPIII. Now that is power!

 

[DanR]

I've been dying to get my hands on this since June.

If anyone reading this from the northwest suburbs of Chicago has found this available early in our neck of the woods, please email me and let me know where you found it so I can run out and get it ASAP.

Thanks.

Regards,

Dan

 

[Derrick_Ellis]

I'm in Schaumburg Dan. If you're anywhere near there, try searching the Wal-Marts and Target. I hear you can get lucky there sometimes. I think I might go tonight. If I see anything I will email you.

 

[Sean Moon]

OK...just finished the entire film, and good god is this disc amazing. The sound is just lifethreatening. The soundtrack starts using discreete effects a lot of the time too. One of the best sounding DVDs ever. The NOS Fest race and the final highjacking are the two best, but everything on this disc is showoff material.

 

[DanR]

Derrick,

That sounds like a good plan. I'm thinking tomorrow (i.e. Friday) will be a good day to get this early. Since you are in Schaumburg, I sent you an email about a store over there where I got The Untouchables almost 2 weeks early last year around this time.

Regards,

Dan

 

[Brian Bowles]

I dont get it. The movie has bass? I just watched the openging NOS scene and the bass was no where near as much as JP3 for me and my SVS. Besides the fact that this movie is a little too far fetched. My brother works in the automotive industry and he could not watch all of it. He just laughs. Sorry guys it seems a lot of people do like it though.

 

[Sean Moon]

I dont think you we are listening to the same disc. The bass on the NOS FEST scene is very much there and LOUD. When Dominic first turns on his stereo the bass hits hard. The shot with the flares coming out of the cars pipes has deep bass.

And as for the movie being unrealistic...most of the film was actually live action, very little effects use. The NOS Fest used the most effects, but only to show the drivers. The charger scene used some, but just to add the train.

And this wasnt meant to be realistic...just fun.

I will go so far to say the script is terrible and the story of racers highjacking trucks stupid (why didnt the truck drivers just stop?)...but damn is this a fun movie.

 

[Sean Conklin]

I will go so far to say the script is terrible and the story of racers highjacking trucks stupid (why didnt the truck drivers just stop?)...but damn is this a fun movie.

I thought the acting was good and I thought Vin Diesel rocked in this film, and the action is out of this world, WOW! I definitely give it 4 stars!

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

Exactly, it may not have been "mechanically" correct, but who cares?

I'm just curious... how was this movie not "mechanically" correct? I mean... when you consider the effort Rob Cohen put into making sure everything was accurate, and the fact that most of the extras were real-life street car racers, you'd think they would have a pretty good grasp on things. Just curious as to what you mean...

 

[CraigMc]

There were a few *technical* goofs - "Motec Exhaust System" (MOTEC don't do exhaust systems) is the most obvious one that comes to mind - but who cares??

Think about it - the bulk of it was factually correct. Amazingly a lot of the racing was correct and a lot of effort was actually put into making the movie true to the street racing scene as possible.

And besides, watch any movie involving computers - they screw up factually sometimes it's laughable, but it certainly doesn't make the movie bad!

Whenever you're close to the subject at hand (ie, I'm in the IT industry), sometimes it makes it harder to watch because you know what they're saying is completely wrong, but it's just a movie and I ignore it - they can't get everything absolutely factually right.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Too farfetched? On the contrary, this film is quite accurate! I listened to Rob Cohen's commentary today, and he strived for absolute accuracy when it came to the cars, and the whole street racing sub culture that exsists in LA. These guys pour thousnads of dollars into these cars turning them into super speed machines.
Just about everything you see in the film about these cars is dead on. They really do adrenalize these cars with NOS, and they really do speed down these city streets at 170 mph. They really do monitor police activity to make sure the heat is occupied elsewhere. In fact the only thing he took a little liberty with, was the NOS fest scene where their were 4 cars racing, he stated that in reality they only race 2 at a time, 3 at the most.
Even the cars themselves were real. He stated that he allowed the extras, who were also real street racing fans who attend these races, to drive their own cars in the film. So when you see everyone haul ass when the cops show up, they're driving thier actual cars that they own!
So the film is not as farfetched as you might think it is, these races happen, in very much the way you see in the film. After listening to Rob Cohen's commentary, I would love to attend one of these races. The way he talked about it, it sounds like a blast! The cars, the girls, the excitment, the SPEED! This film captures all of that.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Brian, trust me when I say that their is something amiss in your system somewhere. This dvd has low end that registers on the ricktor scale!

 

[Brian Bowles]

I will go back and check everything guys. I must have something wrong somewhere or something. I get bass on JP3 that makes the couch vibrate and my back itch but I did not get it on this. Thanks for the advise. I will check everything, turn it up and get back with you.

 

[Damien Montanile]

Whenever you're close to the subject at hand (ie, I'm in the IT industry), sometimes it makes it harder to watch because you know what they're saying is completely wrong, but it's just a movie and I ignore it - they can't get everything absolutely factually right.

Bingo! Being a computer geek by profession I also find it hard to stomach certain movies (like Hackers). That just glorify a lot of reality and create technobabble that looks or sounds flashy, but in reality is nonexistant in the real world. Its hollywood and they have artistic license though.
What bugs me more are historical inaccuracies in movies. Parts of Gettysburg comes to mind, as does Pearl Harbor.
I dont know much about cars (though the movie inspired me to do so ) so I really would be ignorant about certain things in regards to FATF. Though while watching movies that I dont have much knowledge on the content, I always think about how someone is out there possibly cringing or applauding over the accuracy of a movie.
-D
-D
I dont

 

[GlenH]

I thought this was a VERY entertaining but VERY bad movie at the same time. Because it was so entertaining, I have watched it a few times and agree with all the comments regarding the soundtrack. It is incredible.

However, this movie has MANY inaccuracies. As a person who used to be one of those idiots participating in street racing, let me point out a few:

1. All the racing sequences take FAR too long. People do not race for minutes on the street. It is either a 1/4 mi or several street lights - perhaps a bit longer if you are racing in one of those industrial areas with long city blocks. It is ridiculous to see these people blitzing 140 mph on city streets, then continue to race for another 20 seconds. Most racing at these types of speed are done on the freeways - NOT city streets. It's just logistically impossible to do without blocking off a good 30 or so city blocks.

2. The sequence where Michael Spilner opens his laptop during the race and keys in a sequence of codes to change fuel/ignition maps, is RIDICULOUS. If you are traveling at 100+ MPH speeds and accelerating, shifting, etc., there is NO WAY you would be able to look away from the road to punch any keys - especially with 3 other cars next to you racing at 140+ mph. Also, when he slams the notebook computer shut, that would theoretically shut off the computer and mess up his engine management programming.

3. The shifts do not occur fast enough. If you have a car capable of hitting 140+ mph in a short distance, each shift from 1-2, to 2-3, and even 3-4, would occur VERY quickly - like within the first 6 to 8 seconds or so. You would be too busy shifting through all 5 gears to play around with a laptop computer.

4. The "SR20" engines mentioned are Nissan engines that are RARELY used in Hondas. There have been maybe 1 or perhaps a handful of people who installed SR20s into Hondas, but this is a very RARE thing to do.

5. SR20 engines, while excellent 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engines, are NEVER in "short supply" during ANY race weekend. These engines are all readily available at all times for about $500 used. Why? Because these engines came stock on Nissan Sentra SE-Rs, and Infiniti G20s for the last 10 YEARS and are thus very common. Not only that, but if these racers were serious, they would be looking for SR20DET motors which are a bit more rare as they come from Japan only and cost about $1,500 each to $2,500 for the GTiR versions. However, even these motors are NOT rare. Why? Because MOST of these racers are NOT into modifying Nissan cars and they would rather get engines from Acura Integras and Honda Preludes to use in their Civics.

6. Talk about vehicles such as the Blue Nissan Maxima "running 10s" in the 1/4 mi is pretty much fantasy.

7. The statement that "you'll blow yourself to pieces" when running NOS is pretty ridiculous. NOS is actually quite safe when set up properly with the correct fuel management.

8. That scene where the mitsubishi eclipse's motor blows up due to that 2nd shot of NOS is also ridiculous. An engine which blows up from NOS will not cause a metal panel from the bottom of the car to pop off. It just won't happen.

9. After the eclipse motor blows up, and the engine is all steaming, there is no way Spilner would be able to drive that same car and race through the street away from police. When NOS fries an engine, typically the pistons are shot and the car will not be accelerating at any decent amt of speed.

10. As someone mentioned before, MOTEC is a engine computer management system - not an exhaust system.

There are other inaccuracies, but I think you guys get the idea. I don't fault this movie for its inaccuracies because, If they did an accurate movie about street racing, it would be VERY BORING. Despite these issues, it is VERY ENTERTAINING because of the music, how it was edited and the far fetched plot.

This movie is about as accurate as, say, the Rocky movies are to real heavyweight championship fighting. Some of the Rocky movies were entertaining, but I doubt if ANYONE has seen a pro heavyweight title bout that resembled anything from the Rocky movies. Same holds for Fast and the Furious and real street racing.

With respect to the lifestyle, clothes, music, etc., yes, the movie is pretty accurate there. Yes, people do drive around with stickers all over their cars, neon lights underneath (though no serious racer would do this), cars without their hood on, and chicks wearing skimpy clothes in the middle of the night, etc. THE most accurate and funny thing is how a group of friends or their "crew" would all drive around by themselves in their own cars to go to the same place. Very "L.A.". Reminds me of that John Favreau movie "Swingers".

One last thing. I'm sure people on the HTF are not young punks who would actually street race, but I always have to say this when speaking about street racing. - DO NOT DO IT. It is NOT REAL RACING. It is a pure "whose dick is bigger" contest that means NOTHING. But, it can have very deadly consequences for those around you. I used to engage in street racing all the time when I was young. I just thank god that I was able to grow out of this phase without killing or injuring some innocent motorist or pedestrian.

Glen

 

[Sean Conklin]

I agree with John, I am a musclecar enthusiast and for the most part the movie was pretty accurate, all I meant was that some of the terminology used MAY have been incorrect, but these kinds of cars DO exist in real life, I know I lived in So. California, I have raced against more than one of "ricerockets" with my Hot Rod Dodge Dart, I've won some I've lost some, but the point is they do exist, and they most certainly use NOS, they also congregate pretty much like the film depicted, police scanners, cars lined up, they speed in excess of 140 mph, they have scantily clad girls.
I am an old Detroit Iron guy, so I do not know much about Japanese engine terminology, but I have heard from more than 1 person who is into these japanese cars that some of the terminology is inaccurate, but again, who cares??
It's close, it looks real, feels real, certainly SOUNDS real. It's a film and I accept it as such.
In fact I LOVE it, it's fantastic, and it will play many times in my HT!!

 

[GlenH]

Oh, and John, PLEASE do not try to seek out one of these street races to hang out at. I won't doubt that it can be exciting, but they are usually VERY BORING affairs where people stand around for long long hours BSing and police coming by to break up the loitering and issue tickets to anyone they can catch. It is RARE that you will see any racing.

Besides, DO NOT SUPPORT STREET RACING. I guarantee that you would not find it so fascinating or exciting if one of these IDIOT STREET RACERS kills one of your loved ones or a friend. Take it from me. I know a street racer who killed a school teacher who was just minding her own business driving home to her family. He and the other street racer are both sitting in jail right now. The street racing scene is NOT something ANY reasonable or responsible person would want to be a part of in ANY WAY.

As the old public service commercial used to say, "A CAR IS NOT A TOY"

Glen