LEWM: "THE FAST & THE FURIOUS SAGA" ESL LESSON

ARCENAL STUDIOS presents LEARNING ENGLISH WITH MOVIES: THE FAST & THE FURIOUS SAGA - a video lesson for ESL students who would like to improve their English skills by using MOVIES as the main topic.

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS SAGA

 

 

In today’s video we will explore the FAST AND THE FURIOUS films, also known as the FAST SAGA.

 

This movie franchise began with 2001’s THE FAST & THE FURIOUS.

 

It was directed by Rob Cohen, the director of such hits as “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story”, “Dragon heart”, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, among others.

 

The film starred Paul Walker, who had previously collaborated with Cohen, and Vin Diesel, who would later work with Cohen again on the film “XXX”.

 

The film was pitched as “Point Break” with car races and it was inspired by a magazine article about Illegal Street racing in Los Angeles.

 

Unfortunately, Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen didn’t return for the sequel, as a result, Tyrese Gibson was cast as Paul Walker’s co-star and John Singleton was hired to direct.

 

John Singleton had made a name for himself for critically acclaimed films such as BOYZ in the HOOD, Higher Learning and Poetic Justice.

 

2 FAST 2 FURIOUS was a modest success, and Paul Walker declined to return for the third installment.

 

The producers decided not only to REBOOT the franchise with a new cast and set the film in Tokyo, but also to focus more on the street culture of Japan.

 

Justin Lin, a talented young director, was brought in to direct.

 

Unfortunately, the film was a critical and commercial disappointment.

 

After a few unsuccessful films, Vin Diesel agreed to return to the franchise and reprise his role as Dominic Toretto with Paul Walker and most of the original cast of the first film.

 

Justin Lin returned to direct The fourth film, simply titled FAST & FURIOUS which completely reinvented the franchise, moving away from the car racing and focusing more on crime and action.

 

This new direction was fully realized on the Fifth film, titled FAST FIVE.

 

This film was a huge success with both critics and audiences and gave this franchise a whole new lease on life.

 

The film was a bona fide HEIST film with non-stop action and car chases.

 

Not only did Justin Lin return to direct, but he also added Dwayne THE ROCK Johnson to the cast.

 

Lin would return for the next film in the franchise, FAST & FURIOUS 6.

 

If the first film was pitched as POINT BREAK with car racing, the franchise could now be described as MISSION IMPOSSIBLE with CAR chases.

 

For the seventh film, titled FURIOUS 7, James Wan was brought in as director and Jason Statham, of TRANSPORTER fame, joined the cast as the main villain.

 

Although James Wan made his career directing horror films such as SAW, the Conjuring and Insidious, his transition to action director was so successful that he would later direct the superhero blockbuster “AQUAMAN”.

 

Tragically, Paul Walker died on November 30, 2013 at age 40 as a passenger in a single car crash.

 

Unable to complete the film, stunts doubles and CGI were used to complete his missing scenes in the film.

 

The loss of Paul Walker was a huge blow to everyone involved in the franchise and the film is dedicated to his memory.

 

The eighth film in the FAST SAGA is THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS, directed by F. Gary Graw, acclaimed director of THE ITALIAN JOB.

 

The film, which also cast Charlize Theron, as the main villain, became one of the most successful films in the franchise following Furious 7.

 

The unprecedented success of the franchise resulted in a 2019 SPIN-OFF film titled FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW, directed by David Leitch who had huge success with DEADPOOL 2 and JOHN WICK.

 

The film focused on the characters LUKE HOBBS, played by Dwayne The rock Johnson and DECKARD SHAW played by Jason Statham on an action packed mission to protect Shaw’s sister and retrieve a deadly virus.

 

The FAST SAGA was also developed as an animated show named FAST & FURIOUS SPY RACERS, focused on Tony Toretto, the younger cousin of Dominic Toretto.

 

The latest FAST & FURIOUS FILM and 9^th in the Fast SAGA is F9, also known as FAST & FURIOUS 9, which is scheduled for theatrical release in the summer of 2021.

 

Charlize Theron returns as the villain CIPHER and JOHN Cena joins the cast as Dominic Toretto’s long-lost brother, Jakob.

 

The film also marks the return to the franchise by director Justin Lin.

 

Although the Characters Hobbs and Shaw won’t appear in the film, they are scheduled to appear in a planned HOBBS & SHAW sequel.