Fast & FuriousMovie Reviews

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 45 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 Iffy for 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 83
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    It offers an attractive getaway route from self-importance, snark, and chatty comedies about male bonding. Here, stick shifts do the talking. Read full review

  • 70
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    The reunion is fun and frantic, like the original on double nitro. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    Fast & Furious is the first film since the original to be smart about how far to stretch logic without sacrificing the desired macho swagger and revved-up emotions. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times |

    Fast & Furious is, in a very bizarre way, a thing of gasp-inducing artistry to watch, even if you're not a member of the NASCAR, gear-head, street-racing crowd. Read full review

  • 50
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    I can see why Fast and Furious might be a smash as audiences look for escape from a broken economy. All those wheelies and power slides are designed to obliterate thought, not provoke it. Talk about a movie for its time. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    The movie is ridiculous. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Nathan Lee

    Inoffensive if uninspired. Read full review

  • 38
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    I admire the craft involved, but the movie leaves me profoundly indifferent. After three earlier movies in the series, which have been transmuted into video games, why do we need a fourth one? Oh. I just answered my own question. Read full review

  • 38
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Feels about as fresh and lively as a piece of burnt rubber. Read full review

  • 20
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    A series that's provided a successful, moderately enjoyable ride up to now blows its tires, gasket and transmission on its way to flaming out in Fast & Furious. Read full review

View more reviews for Fast & Furious on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Better than the last two, but still pretty mindless action.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this action-packed fourth installment in the Fast and Furious series was heavily marketed to teens. There's plenty of violence, including explosions, shoot outs, fistfights, and lots of car chases -- which end in at least a few deaths (though most are implied rather than shown directly). There are only two love scenes (and the camera cuts before the act itself), but there's plenty of other risque stuff, including several shots of half-dressed women kissing each other and dancing provocatively. Language includes frequent use of words like "s--t," "bitch," and "p---y," as well as Spanish curse words. Characters drink and smoke, and drugs/the drug trade plays a central role in the plot.
  • Families can talk about the the fact that, except for two or three women, most of the movie's female characters are sexy decoration. What kind of message does that send to girls? Do you think the filmmakers care, or are they going after an entirely different audience?
  • What do you think of the idea that some people live by a "code" and others don't? Does following your own set of rules mean that it's OK to do illegal or other iffy things if you think you have a good reason? Which characters in the movie have a code, and which don't?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Although they engage in ongoing illegal activity and plenty of other iffy behavior, Dom and his loved ones are tight-knit and occasionally do the right thing. The government, particularly the FBI, is depicted as ineffective and caring more about how they're perceived than about stopping crime.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: Dom is a vigilante motivated by vengeance and grief -- but he helps bring a criminal to justice. On the positive side, the two female supporting characters are strong, and the cast is impressively culturally diverse.
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: Explosions, gun fights, bloody fistfights, fatal car chases, and a few disturbing deaths -- someone is purposely mowed down by a car, and someone else is murdered execution style.
  • sex false3 Sex: Although there's no nudity, bikini-clad women are shown throughout the film, and in several scenes half-dressed women are shown kissing each other. A man sucks on a woman's toes and encourages women to make out with each other. Two couples kiss passionately.
  • language false3 Language: Frequently used language includes "s--t," "p---y," "ass," "bulls---t," "goddamn," "bitch," one use of "f--k," and Spanish curse words like cojones and chinga.
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Automobile companies are well represented: Honda, Ford, Porsche, Nissan, Plymouth, and more. Also Corona beer and Castrol Motor Oil.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters drink cocktails, beer, and shots of hard liquor at several parties. Drugs are mentioned, offered, and shown wrapped up for delivery but never used. The Los Angeles-Mexican drug trade is a central plot point of the film. A few characters smoke cigarettes.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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