Fast & Furious

It is the direct sequel to The Fast and the Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious as well as the fourth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. It stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster. In the film, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and FBI agent Brian O’Conner (Walker) are forced to work together to avenge the murder of Toretto’s lover Letty Ortiz (Rodriguez) and apprehend drug lord Arturo Braga (John Ortiz).

A fourth film was announced in July 2007, with the returns of Diesel, Walker, Rodriguez, and Brewster confirmed shortly thereafter. To account for the cast seeing absences from either of the previous two installments, the film was developed to place The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) as occurring beyond the events of Fast & Furious,

While the short film Los Bandoleros (2009) was produced and released. Principal photography began in February 2008 and concluded that July, with filming locations including Los Angeles and the Dominican Republic. Lin, Morgan, and composer Brian Tyler returned in their roles from Tokyo Drift. Fast & Furious is the first film to feature D-BOX motion. It was also the first film in the franchise to be produced by Diesel.

Fast & Furious premiered at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on March 12, 2009, and was released in the United States on April 3, by Universal Pictures. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics, with heavy criticism drawn to its screenplay and plot, but praise for reuniting the original cast and the action sequences.

It grossed over $360 million worldwide, exceeding expectations to become the then-highest-grossing film in the franchise. It also grossed $72.5 million worldwide during its opening weekend, which made it the highest-grossing worldwide spring weekend opening, until the release of Alice in Wonderland (2010). It was followed by Fast Five in 2011.

Dom suspects the police are on their trail, and leaves Letty behind to protect her from being caught. Months later, in Panama City, Dom gets a call from his sister Mia, who tells him Letty has been murdered. Dom heads to Los Angeles to attend her funeral and finds traces of nitromethane at the crash site.

He coerces the local mechanic into giving the name of the buyer, David Park, and is informed that the only car that uses nitromethane in the area is a green 1972 Ford Torino Sport. Meanwhile, FBI agent Brian O’Conner is trying to track down a Mexican drug lord, Arturo Braga, whose identity to the public is unknown; his search also leads him to Park.

Dom arrives at Park’s apartment and hangs him out of the window by his ankles before Brian arrives. Brian saves Park, who in turn becomes the FBI’s new informant and gets Brian into a street race. Brian selects a modified 2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 from the impound lot;

Dom also shows up, in his 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS. Ramon Campos, Braga’s second-in-command, and Gisele Yashar, Braga’s liaison, reveal that the winner will become the last driver on a team that traffics heroin between the Mexico–United States border.

Dom wins by bumping Brian’s car while 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 henchman, Fenix, and Dom notices that Fenix drives the same Torino the mechanic described.

They drive across the border using tunnels to avoid detection. Dom confronts Fenix and learns that he kills the drivers after their work is done, and that he killed Letty when she tried to escape him. A stand-off ensues; Dominic detonates his car with nitrous to distract Braga’s men, and Brian hijacks a 1999 Hummer H1 with $60 million worth of heroin in it.

Brian and Dom drive back to LA and hide the heroin in a police impound lot, where they pick up a modified 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI hatchback; they drive to Dom’s house and reunite with Mia. Dom attacks Brian when he learns he was the last person in contact with Letty; Brian explains Letty was working undercover, tracking 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 to Mexico. In the ensuing chaos, Fenix nearly runs over Gisele before Dom saves her. The failed trap results in Brian being taken off active duty.

With Gisele’s help, Brian and Dom travel to Mexico to catch Braga in the Subaru and Dom’s rebuilt 1970 Dodge Charger R/T, and apprehend him at a church. As Braga’s henchmen try to rescue him, Brian and Dom drive through the tunnels back to the United States. Brian is chased by Fenix ahead of the others until he is T-boned and pushed out of the tunnels.

Before Fenix can kill him, Dom drives out of the tunnels and into Fenix, killing him. As police and helicopters approach the crash site on the American side of the border, Brian tells Dom to leave, but Dom says he is tired of running. Despite Brian’s request for clemency, the judge sentences

Dom to 25 years to life without parole. Brian resigns from the FBI and Dom 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.