Credit for the success this movie might have will go to cinematographer Amir Mokri for his ability to make astounding shots that range from extreme close-ups to wildly animated car chases & crashes. His atmospheric shots of various on-location settings aren't bad, either. Also to Christian Wagner for taking what Amir had shot, then editing it so capably he makes everything from romantic moments to fights & vehicle action appear as if they were unbelievably real. The rest, as they sayÅ 
OK, let's give some credit to cast & plot, such as they are. The movie begins in the middle of a tanker heist - about as wild a way to begin an action flick as I can imagine, sustained for almost 10-minutes of breath-taking, hair-raising cars & tanker confrontations at full speed on a steep Mexican mountain road. From there (plot reported as not scripted, but credit given to screenwriter Chris Morgan) we hop around settings already familiar from earlier F&F movies - car junk yards, repair garages, street party scenes with the ubiquitous bumptious girls in outfits apparently made from tiny hankies with material left over, etc. Vin, with his head shaven, gorilla body, lips in a perpetual moue, is a highjacker, turned avenger when his best girl (Michelle Rodriguez) is murdered. Meanwhile we've got a free-wheeling FBI agent (Paul Walker) alternately tracking our anti-hero, balling Vin's sister, and playing footloose with the law. (Follow me?)

The two men join with a single purpose in mind - a purpose that's not quite clear (but might have something to do with revenge), nor is how these people get in & out of the USA as easily as rolling off a log. After plenty of tech car work, appreciation of females who are"20% angels, 80% devils", and suspicious eye exchanges to prove who among the ever present tough guys can do it best, they eventually wind up in a couple of exciting races to the finish, to make all the rest of the flick left behind in memory. Suffice it to say that the ending leaves the door wide open for another sequel.

The action, of course, is what it's is all about. The men are tough - boy, are they tough! And their women even tougher. The plot with all its convolutions and gaps is just enough to string together the astonishing action sequences. Director Justin Lin (with Diesel's help, to be sure) knows how to fill the screen with what audiences want from a flick like this - and he delivers, right to the end. It cries out to what people flock to get - zippy action, non-stop action & Vin Diesel kind of action - and on that basis it's perfectly made.