High adrenaline, style, sound and an instinct to fly along white-striped black top is just a sliver of the passion found in the “Fast & the Furious”.

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) owns the streets of LA and will often slam up against rival street gangs to contain that power. Often the problems of the street aren’t solved with guns and bloodshed. In Toretto’s world, problems are solved when two men feel the surge of their nitrous-oxide powered chariot as they pull up to the white line. Man vs. man. Machine vs. Machine. In a life or death struggle for the power to live or die. Through that struggle honor is found, alliances are formed and conflict can be resolved. These are the rules of Toretto’s world.

An outsider named Brian (Paul Walker) is trying so hard to get into Toretto’s world. His frustration mounts when he first butts heads with Toretto and his cronies. Brian will do everything to get into the life he knows is powered with adrenaline. What Toretto doesn’t know when he finally brings Brian into his fold is that he is a cop investigating a series of high-speed truck hijackings. Where do Brian’s loyalties lie? And who is behind the hijackings?

“Fast & the Furious” is hands down one of the best films you will see this summer. You will lose your breath and get sucked into Toretto’s world. If you aren’t a car enthusiast this film is still for you. The reason is from the moment is opens you are hooked. It is that addicting.

What makes it such a gem to watch is how cleverly woven this film is. First off you have the carefully layered direction by veteran filmmaker Rob Cohen. Then you have the amazing editing which streamlines every scene. To top it all off you have the most amazing music and sound splicing I have ever seen. This film’s unsung hero is the way the music is placed in this film. It flows and becomes its own character through the whole film. If this film would have been scored by some old Hollywood geezer like John Williams it wouldn’t have been nearly as intense or brilliant. There is music for every emotion displayed here and it is amazing to see how it feeds each scene.

The performances of Paul Walker and Vin Diesel remind me of the old westerns. Their characters are reminiscent of those folk heroes of yesteryear. You die by the honor you hold dear to your soul. With these simple kinds of characters there really is no need for a solid story. The film’s weak point is that the story is nothing special and is like all other “cop-infiltration” films. I did however crack a smile when Ted Levine’s Sergeant asks Paul Walker’s character if he is going native. Subtly goes a long way in this film. But its that simple story’s execution that makes this film amazing. Who cares how thin the story is. We are there to see cars, conflict and hard bodies. And sometimes that is all you need to be a success. Some of the great westerns fed off subtly to move the story. Hidden beneath the flash and adrenaline in this film lies that pure western subtly.

This film makes “Driven” and “Gone in 60 Seconds” look like road-kill. Don’t drive to see this film, flip on the accelerator and speed into your local multiplex. The action ride of the summer has finally arrived.

(4 of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.