Fast & Furious

Fast & Furious (alternatively known as The Fast and the Furious 4 or Fast & Furious 4) is a 2009 American action adventure film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the fourth installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise and stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, John Ortiz, and Laz Alonso. Fast & Furious follows Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Brian O'Conner (Walker) who are forced to work together to avenge the murder of Toretto's lover Letty Ortiz (Rodriguez) and apprehend drug lord Arturo Braga (Ortiz).

Fast & Furious marked the first film in the series since the original installment, The Fast and the Furious (2001), to feature the main cast. As a result, this spawned a shift within the series' chronological order, with developers setting Fast & Furious between the second and third installments, to account for their absences. Casting began in July 2007, after Universal Studios confirmed the returns of Diesel and Walker, while principal photography began in Los Angeles in February 2008, with the film being shot in California.

Fast & Furious was released in the United States on April 3, 2009. The film archieved financial success, setting box office records for its opening weekend and spring opening weekend gross. It quickly became the highest grossing film in the franchise, and eventually grossed over $363 million worldwide. The film was also the 17th highest-grossing film of 2009.

Despite its commercial success, Fast & Furious received mixed reviews, with some critics singling out the performances of Diesel and Walker. The film's soundtrack and production were praised. A sequel, Fast Five, was released in April 2011 to box office success, surpassing Fast & Furious as the highest-grossing film in the franchise.

Plot
Five years after escaping from the US, Dominic Toretto and his new crew, consisting of his girlfriend Letty, Tego Leo, Rico Santos, Cara and Han Seoul-Oh, are hijacking fuel tankers in the Dominican Republic. Dominic suspects that the police are on their trail, forcing the crew to disband and go their separate ways, with Han deciding to go to Tokyo. Realizing that he must leave, Dominic runs, leaving Letty behind to protect her from harm.

Three months later, Dominic is now residing in Panama City. He gets a call from his sister, Mia Toretto, who tells him that Letty has been murdered. Dominic heads back to Los Angeles to attend her funeral and examine the crash and finds traces of nitromethane on the ground. He visits the only car mechanic that sells nitromethane in LA and forces him into giving him the name David Park, the man who ordered the fuel, and informs him that the only car that uses nitromethane in the area is a green 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Brian O'Conner is trying to track down a Mexican drug lord, Arturo Braga. His search leads him to David Park, and he tracks him down using an illegal modification record on his car. Dominic arrives at Park's apartment first and hangs him out of the window by his ankles before Brian arrives. Brian saves Park and Park becomes the FBI's new informant. Park gets Brian into a street race. Brian selects a modified 2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 from the impound lot. Dominic races in his modified 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454. Gisele Yashar, the liaison for Braga, reveals that the winner will become the last driver on a team that traffics heroin between the Mexico–United States border. Dominic wins by bumping Brian's car while it is in nitro, making him lose control. Brian uses his power as an FBI agent to arrest another driver, Dwight Mueller, and takes his place on the team.

The team meets up with Braga's personal henchman, Fenix, and Dominic notices that Fenix drives the same Torino the mechanic described. They drive across the border using tunnels to avoid detection. Dominic confronts Fenix and learns that he himself killed Letty when she tried to escape him. A stand-off ensues, though not before Dominic creates a diversion by loosening his car with nitrous – sparking a vehicle explosion that destroys his car and several others, including Brian's. In the ensuing chaos, Dominic and Brian hijack a 1999 Hummer H1 with $60 million worth of heroin in it. Dominic and Brian drive back to LA and hide the heroin in a police impound lot, where Brian picks up a modified Subaru Impreza WRX STI Hatchback; they subsequently drive back to Dominic's house, where they reunite with Mia.

Dominic finds out Brian was the last person to contact Letty, which results in Dominic attacking Brian until Brian explains that Letty was working undercover - she was tracking down Braga in exchange for clearing Dominic's record. Brian tells his superiors that in exchange for Dominic's pardon, he will lure Braga into a trap, forcing him to show up to exchange money for the heroin. At the drop site, the man who claims to be "Braga" is revealed as a decoy, and "Campos" – the real Braga – escapes with Fenix and the pair flee to Mexico. In the ensuing chaos, Fenix nearly runs over Gisele, before Dom saves her.

Brian and Dominic travel to Mexico to catch Braga, with the help of Gisele, who gives them directions as a favor in return for Dom saving her life. Brian and Dom find him at a church and apprehend him. As Braga's henchmen try to rescue him, Brian and Dominic drive through the tunnels back to the United States. Brian crashes his car after taking fire from Braga's men. He is then injured after being T-boned by Fenix. Before Fenix can kill Brian, Dominic drives into and kills Fenix. As police and helicopters approach the crash site on the American side of the border, Brian tells Dominic to leave, but Dominic refuses – saying he is not running anymore. Despite Brian's request for clemency, the judge sentences Dominic to 25 years to life. Brian resigns from the FBI and Dominic boards a prison bus that will transport him to Lompoc penitentiary. As the bus drives down the road, Brian, Mia, Leo, and Santos arrive in their cars to intercept it.

Cast
The central cast is rounded out by Sung Kang as Han Seoul-Oh, Dominic's right-hand man, while Puerto Rican singers Tego Calderón and Don Omar feature as Leo and Santos respectively, members of the oil heist team. Shea Whigham plays Brian's snarky colleague Michael Stasiak, and Liza Lapira portrays Sophie Trinh, an FBI agent who works closely with Brian. Jack Conley features as Penning, Brian's boss, and Ron Yuan acts as David Park, a scout of street racers for Braga. Greg Cipes, Neil Brown Jr., and Brandon T. Jackson play Dwight Mueller, Malik Herzon, and Alex, respectively, the other members of Braga's street racing team.
 * Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto. A professional street racer, car hijacker, and fugitive.
 * Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner. An FBI agent, who previously aided Dominic in avoiding law enforcement, and was in a relationship with Mia Toretto.
 * Michelle Rodríguez as Letty Ortiz. Dominic's girlfriend, who dies in an automobile explosion caused by Fenix Calderon.
 * Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto. Dominic's younger sister and Brian's ex-girlfriend.
 * John Ortiz as Arturo Braga / Ramon Campos. A Mexican drug lord who recruits street racers to smuggle heroin across the U.S.-Mexico border.
 * Gal Gadot as Gisele Yashar. A liaison for Braga, who shows romantic interest in Dominic.
 * Laz Alonso as Fenix Calderon. Braga's right-hand man, who murders Letty.