Fast & Furious (2009)

Fast & Furious takes the neon street racing of the first movie and drains it to the color of a parking garage. Everything is gray, brown or nighttime. The big street race runs on a GPS overlay that makes it look like a video game somebody else is playing, and the tunnel finale is so dark and digital you’ll wonder if your screen needs cleaning. Vin Diesel is grim, Paul Walker is earnest, and the revenge plot takes itself very seriously for a movie where cars race through tunnels under a mountain. The opening fuel tanker heist, though, is a legit great action scene, all swerving trucks and nerve, and nothing after it comes close. Gal Gadot shows up and immediately seems more interesting than the plot. Critics gave it 28%, but audiences handed it an A minus CinemaScore. A 4.3 because the bones of the later movies are here, buried under a whole lot of gloom. $64.79 says you pass a fuel tanker on the highway this month and give it way more room than usual.

What works: The opening fuel tanker heist is a terrific, inventive action scene, and Gal Gadot brings spark in a small role.

What doesn’t: The look is drab and murky, the GPS race and tunnel chase feel like video games, and the revenge story is joyless.

Who it’s for: Franchise completists who want to see where the family really comes back together.