Fast & Furious started off the weekend in shocking fashion

Fast & Furious started off the weekend in shocking fashion, earning an astonishing $30.1 million at the box office on Friday. That sum is more than twice what most industry observers expected and it sets Vin Diesel's franchise flick on a pace to annihilate the record for the best April opening ever, Anger Management's $42.2 mil, among other achievements. By comparison, the highly anticipated Watchmen banked a smaller $25.1 mil on its first day. (Yes, the soudoo you hear right now is jaws dropping all around Hollywd.) The weekend's other big new movie, Adventureland, had a hard time getting its motor running, grossing just $2.2 mil on the first day of the frame. Friday's rankings are below, and please check back here tomorrow for a full weekend recap in the Box Office Report.

1. Fast & Furious -- $30.1 mil
2. Monsters vs. Aliens -- $8.9 mil
3. The Haunting in Connecticut -- $3.7 mil
4. I Love You, Man -- $2.7 mil
5. Knowing -- $2.7 mil
6. Adventureland -- $2.2 mil

Fast & Furiously Energetic

Dominic Toretto is back and though he may not be as readily iconic a character as say the Terminator or Neo it is good to see that shaven head behind the wheel of a souped-up car again.

The second of the three characters that Vin Diesel made famous a few years ago (Riddick from Pitch Black and Xander Cage from xXx being the other two) returns with the rest of crew from the first movie in this fourth go around for fast cars and testosterone-fuelled posturing entitled Fast & Furious.

Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) is still FBI, Dominic is still boosting contraband in high-risk situations and the ladies are called upon to do little more than growl and posture (Michelle Rodriguez as Letty) or pout and shed tears (Jordana Brewster as Mia) and things come to a head when a death brings the boys together, almost against their will.

O'Conner and Toretto's paths cross when the FBI's investigation into drug-running involving highly-skilled drivers in super fast cars intersects with Toretto's quest for revenge. With the men behind the wheels of mean machines and the energy levels pumped up to maximum, things are set up to be stylishly intense for most of the film's running time.
If you've ever seen even a part of one of the movies in the Fast/Furious series, you know that some talking happens between fast driving set-pieces designed to make you grip your seat arms in excitement and blow you back against multiplex upholstery. This latest edition does not skimp on the fast driving extravaganzas.

Beginning with the illegal appropriation of gasoline in the Dominican Republic, and leading through races in night-time traffic, across borders through a labyrinth of underground tunnels (twice) and using increasingly high-tech gadgetry to stay below police (and other law enforcement) radar, the juice is always wrung right out of every action sequence. Cars are smashed, blown up, driven into each other and there is so much metal-on-metal action that a car fetishist should be well and truly spent by the time the end credits roll on this bad boy.

Along the way, Diesel also gets to play 'car whisperer' while checking out the scene of a car crash that sends him on his quest for revenge and moments like that are handled in a manner suggesting that there might still be some freshness left in this nearly decade-old franchise.
Of the performances there is precious little material to comment upon when it comes to the performances of the leading ladies (if you can call them that); Liza Lapira (as FBI Agent Trinh) and Gal Gadot (as bad-girl-with-a-good-heart Gisele) have bigger speaking parts. Paul Walker seems to have gotten better with age and this version of his Brian O'Conner is the best we've seen in the series.

All said and done though, this is Vin Diesel's show (how cool a name is that for an actor in a film about motor vehicles?) and he frowns and growls his way through it with the aplomb that had led many people to believe that he would end up the successor to the action hero crowns shared by the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger.

The talky parts could have been shorter in this movie and there are still points during the action sequences where you don't know who is in front and who is giving chase. That said, this is definitely a return to the form of the original and returning director Justin Lin (he also directed the third installment) has delivered a film that could nicely set up a fifth film if this one makes enough money.

One thing is for certain though -- these movies are only really fun when Dominic and Brian do their thing together.

Fast and Furious meets L.A. Street Culture

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker may be the core of Fast & Furious but the team spirit of promoting the film is alive and kicking in L.A. How about a hand from Mr. Cartoon? Born and raised in L.A., Mister Cartoon began his career as a graffiti artist in the 1980s. This film-inspired billboard below just debuted last night in West Hollywood. In it you'll find the key actors, their cars and plot points of the film.

The Fast & the Furious is based in L.A. and Cartoon’s art embodies the true soul of L.A. street culture. Cartoon’s unique position within the art world helps bridge the gap between corporate America and L.A. streetculture; This team up with Universal Pictures is a perfect example. Mr. Cartoon was assisted on these billboard and murals by Revok and Toomer.

These works of art may have a short lifespan but they each took over 40 hours to complete, used 39 colors and and 48 cans of enamel spray paint.

Watch Red Carpet Arrivals for the World Premiere of FAST & FURIOUS

The Fast & The Furious movies are back! This time, most of the original cast seems to be in the new one! Universal Pictures invites you to join in on the excitement and be a part of the red carpet arrivals for the world premiere of FAST & FURIOUS! Universal will be streaming the celebrity filled red carpet arrivals LIVE from Universal City's Gibson Ampitheatre tomorrow, Thursday, March 12th, starting at 6:30pm PDT!

WATCH LIVE! YOU are invited to get an inside look as the FAST & FURIOUS cast and filmmakers make their arrivals on the red carpet via the live premiere webcast on the NEW widget! NEW MODEL. ORIGINAL PARTS... The original cast, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster reteam to bring you the ultimate chapter of the franchise built on speed- Fast & Furious!

Check out the webcast and embed the widget! Red Carpet arrivals will start at 6:30 PDT on Thursday, March 12th. Watch the countdown and gear up for the premiere at:

http://www.hollywoodpremieres.com/fastandfurious/widget.html



Many of the Fast & Furious stars and filmmakers will be attending the premiere, including:

FAST & FURIOUS director Justin Lin
Cast member/producer Vin Diesel
Cast members Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, John Ortiz, Laz Alonso and Sung Kang
Producers Neal H. Moritz and Michael Fottrell
Screenwriter Chris Morgan
Plus many more celebrity guests!

Fast and Furious

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are reuniting in Fast & Furious, the next chapter of the action-packed movie series due out June 2009. The new trailer just came out, so be sure to check it out here.