The Fast and Furious (2011)

If Fast and Furious was made 10 years later.

Directed by: Michael Bay

Plot
On a deserted highway, a heist crew driving three modified fourth generation Acura RSX assault a truck carrying electronic goods, steal its cargo, and escape into the night. The following day, a joint Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and FBI task force sends LAPD officer Brian O'Conner undercover to locate the crew. He begins his investigation at Toretto's Market and flirts with its owner Mia, sister of the infamous street racer Dominic Toretto, while Dominic sits in the back office reading a newspaper. Dominic's crew, Vince, Leon, Jesse, and his girlfriend Letty, arrives. Vince, who has a crush on Mia, starts a fight with Brian until Dominic intervenes.

That night, Brian brings a modified 2003 Mitsubishi Evolution VIII to an illegal street race, hoping to find a lead on the heist crew. Dominic arrives in his Mazda RX-8 and initiates a drag race between himself, Brian and two other drivers. Lacking funds, Brian is forced to wager his car. Dominic wins the race after Brian's car malfunctions, but the LAPD arrive before he an hand over his vehicle. Brian, in his car, helps Dominic escape, but they accidentally venture into the territory of Dominic's old racing rival, gang leader Johnny Tran and his cousin Lance Nguyen, who destroy Brian's vehicle. Dominic reiterates that Brian still owes him a "10 second car".

Brian brings a damaged 2005 Ford Mustang GT to Dominic's garage as a replacement. Dominic and his crew begin the long process of restoring the vehicle, and Brian starts dating Mia. He also begins investigating Tran, convinced that he is the mastermind behind the truck hijackings. While investigating one garage at night, Brian is discovered by Dominic and Vince. Brian convinces them that he is researching his opponents' vehicles for the upcoming desert Race Wars. Together, the trio investigate Tran's garage, discovering a large quantity of electronic goods.

Brian reports the discovery to his superiors and Tran and Lance are arrested. The electronics are proved to have been purchased legally, and Brian is forced to confront his suspicion that Dominic is the true mastermind. Brian is given 36 hours to find the heist crew, as the truckers are now arming themselves to defend against the hijackings. The following day, Dominic and Brian attend Race Wars. There, Jesse wagers his father's Nissan Skyline R33 against Tran in his Dodge Charger SRT-8, but flees with the car after he loses. Tran demands Dominic recover the vehicle.

That night, Brian witnesses Dominic and his crew leaving and realizes they are the hijackers. He reveals his true identity to Mia and convinces her to help him find the crew. Dominic, Letty, Vince, and Leon attack a semi-trailer truck, intending it to be their final heist. The armed driver shoots Vince and runs Letty off the road. Brian arrives with Mia and rescues Vince. He is forced to reveal his identity to call in emergency medical care to save Vince. Dominic, Mia and the rest of the crew leave before the authorities can arrive.

Some time later, Brian arrives at Dominic's house to apprehend him as he is getting his father's 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS out of the garage. He demands Brian leave, since he is not running, but is going to rescue Jesse who has no one else to look after him. Instead Jesse arrives at his house and pleads for protection. Tran and Lance ride by on motorbikes and shoot Jesse dead. Brian and Dominic give chase in their separate vehicles, finding and killing Tran and injuring Lance. Brian then pursues Dominic, with them both eventually acquiescing to a quarter-mile drag race. The pair barely cross a railroad before a train passes, which ends the race in a draw, but Dominic crashes his car into a truck. Instead of arresting him, Brian gives Dominic the keys to his own car, asserting that he still owes him a 10 second car from their first race. Dominic leaves in the Mustang GT as Brian walks away.

In the post-credits scene, Dominic is seen driving through Baja California, Mexico, in a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Development
Director Rob Cohen was inspired to make the film after reading a 1998 Vibe magazine article called "Racer X" about street racing in New York City and watching an actual illegal street race at night in Los Angeles. The film's original title was Redline before it was changed to The Fast and the Furious. Roger Corman licensed the title rights of his 1954 film The Fast and the Furious to Universal so that the title could be used on this project; both films were about racing. Writer David Ayer was brought into the project to help rework the script. Ayer changed it from the "mostly white and suburban story" set in New York to a diverse one set in Los Angeles.

Producer Neal H. Moritz, who had previously worked with Paul Walker on the film The Skulls (2000), gave the actor a script and offered him the role of Brian O'Conner. Eminem was offered the role, but turned it down to work in his own movie 8 Mile and Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale were also considered for the role. Originally, the studio told the producers they would green-light the film if they could get Timothy Olyphant to play the role of Dominic Toretto. Olyphant, however, who had starred in the previous year's car-themed blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds, declined the role. Moritz instead suggested Vin Diesel, who had to be convinced to take the role even though he had only played supporting roles up to that point. The role of Mia Toretto was originally written for Eliza Dushku, who turned down the role and Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jessica Biel, Kirsten Dunst and Natalie Portman auditioned for the role.

Filming
The film was shot in various locations within Los Angeles and parts of southern California, from July to October 2010. Key locations included Dodger Stadium (on the opening scene where Brian tests his Eclipse on the parking lot), Angelino Heights, Silver Lake and Echo Park (the neighborhoods around Toretto's home), as well as Little Saigon (where Tran destroys the Eclipse) and the San Bernardino International Airport (the venue for Race Wars, which attracted over 1,500 import car owners and enthusiasts). The entire last rig heist scene was filmed along Domenigoni Parkway on the southern side of San Jacinto/Hemet in the San Jacinto Valley near Diamond Valley Lake.

Prior to filming, both Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez did not have driver's licenses, so they took driving lessons during production. For the climactic race scene between Brian and Toretto, separate shots of both cars crossing the railroad and the train crossing the street were filmed, then composited together to give the illusion of the train narrowly missing the cars. A long steel rod was used as a ramp for Toretto's car to crash through the semi-truck and fly in mid-air.

An alternate ending titled "More than Furious" was filmed, in which Tanner drops Brian off at the Toretto home, where he encounters Mia packing, intending to move away. Brian reveals that he resigned from the LAPD, who let him go quietly, and that he wants another chance with her. When Mia tells him that it's not going to be that simple, Brian tells her that he's got time. This ending was released in the collection bundle DVD version.

During the filming of the movie, seventy-eight cars were wrecked both on and off-screen. Out of the seventy-eight cars, three cars were shown being destroyed in the film's trailer alone.