After “”The Fast and the Furious,”” the sequels slowly went downhill with “”Tokyo Drift”” hitting rock bottom. Naturally I, and so many others, were worried when word went around about a fourth “”Fast and Furious,”” but when it was reported that they were bringing back the original cast members, worry turned to anxiety. What new adventures could be discovered in the world of underground racing?

“”Fast and Furious”” opens with Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) hijacking another semi-truck. However, instead of using Honda Civics like in the original, they use Grand Nationals. Brian (Paul Walker) is back working for the FBI and is on the trail of one of the FBI’s most wanted heroin dealers: Campos (John Ortiz). After a series of unfortunate events (I’m not going to spoil it for anyone), Brian and Dom are forced to come back to Los Angeles to find Campos. Once again, Brian, and for the first time, Dom, must go undercover for the FBI. As Brian and Dom go further and further into the Campos’ underground racing/drug pushing world, they find that not everything is as it seems.

Rob Cohen directed the original “”The Fast and the Furious”” and this time it was Justin Lin’s turn to take over the directing chair. Lin does a great job of incorporating original elements from the first movie, like the camera moving through the car engine as it rockets off the start.

The racing scenes were really exciting. Lin seems to have gone back to “”2 Fast 2 Furious”” by having the circuit run through the city. However, a new feature that shows today’s technology is the use of GPS systems in the cars.

This movie featured a lot of exotic locations including South America and Mexico. I enjoyed that part because it’s a great change of scenery and it incorporates today’s issues of border control. This movie also featured a lot of muscle cars. Some of the highlights include a tricked out BMW M5, 1970 Camero and the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. One of the minor flaws of this movie is the infamous scene from the trailer where Dom drifts underneath the exploding semi-truck. Yes, I did think it was badass, but I also thought the CGI was a little too over the top. Diesel, Walker, Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster all contributed to help make this movie a fun ride for all ages.

Rating: ****