Yep.
Fast cars.
Yep.
Cool ripped dudes?
Yep.
Exotic, though financially impossible careers?
Yep.
Just one thing people miss about why the Fast and the Furious franchise was so successful.
Family.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and draw a couple lines.
The youth that are attracted to the FATF series are also of a generation now brought up by my completely worthless and dysfunctional generation, or the equally dysfunctional baby boomer generation who had children later in life. Whether late boomer or early x'er, they have something in common:
Divorce or absentee parents. i.e. -shitty parents.
Don't know if you've seen any of the FATF movies, but there aren't any parents. There are no parental figures. Matter of fact, every movie is a story of young adults having to make their way in life, and the only way they know how is through the underground or by illegal means.
Is "dad" around?
No.
Is "mom" around?
No.
Is there even a "wise uncle" that could pass as a father figure?
No.
It is 100% parentless youth that can only find refuge, surrogate family, and meaning in other equally abandoned metaphorical orphans.
Are the movies horrible?
Yes.
Will their car chases ever match "Bullitt?"
Hellz no.
But there's a reason there's a "Fast and Furious 7" and not a "Forrest Gump 2":
These kids wanted a fucking family. And if they can't get it in the real world, they'll live vicariously through the movies dreaming they might have the shot at putting together a surrogate one with a ragtag band of rejects and miscreants. They might have meaning, they might have belonging, and they might serve a purpose, even if it is illegal.
Of course, the series and acting is absolutely horrible for TFATF (no disrespect to Paul). But what is worse is what's driving kids to see such an otherwise horrible and pointless movie series.
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