Lynn b. of our Hollywood Preview crew, went to a screening of a new action film. Here's the scoop on:

(WARNING: this film is rated PG-13 and has some pretty rough action. It's not for younger kids). Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is king of the L.A. street racers; young drivers and their crews who compete in and bet on drag races, always one inch ahead of the cops. Brian (Paul Walker) seems hooked on the car culture and anxious to fit in. He's got his own hot muscle machine and Dominic is impressed with his guts and car savvy. Brian is equally impressed with Mia (Jordana Brewster) Dominic's sister.

We learn that Brian is actually an undercover cop investigating a string of big rig hijackings. The cops and FBI suspect the racers and Dominic in particular. Brian has found a new "family" in Dominic, his crew and his sis and finds this hard to swallow. For a while, looks like rival racer Johnny Tran (Rick Yune) and is crew are the hijackers. When this doesn't pay off, Brian is given a deadline to prove the case and bring in Dominic. He finally must tell Mia he's a cop and, together, they head off to stop Dominic and his crew from pulling the hijack that will end their crime spree if not their lives.
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Put on your seatbelts! The real stars of this film are the cars! First Swordfish slammed at us with Travolta's hot cars and wild chase action. Now it's rebels with a cause and street race stunts. The Fast and the Furious is certainly fast and the car stunt action and pumping soundtrack by Limp Bizkit, Ja Rule and other Def Jam Records artists, keeps the adrenaline notched up.

The story presents a few lapses in logic, including one road race scene in which all the mayhem would end if the armed trucker would just stop already! It's hard to root for any of the characters since there are no real heroes in the film. Diesel is good-hearted but he's also a dangerous hijacker. Walker's cop would fit the bill except, when the chips are down, he doesn't do his job. Mia would be someone to back except when she has two guys interested in her she teases both and sets them against each other. Only Girlfight's Michelle Rodriguez as Letty, comes off as true and completely real. In smaller parts, Chad Lindberg as Jesse and Matt Schulze as Vince are also credible.

Diesel has a good chance at being the next Swartzenegger and with about the same level of acting skill. Walker can act but he's such pretty boy that it's hard to picture him fitting undercover into this rough world of Latino, African-American and Asian racers. He's so whitebread that he stands out like a sore thumb.

All in all, however, do we care? It's a rush to watch some fine machinery zooming down the streets at speeds at which we would all probably lose control or, certainly bag a pedestrian or get a ticket. And, at least once, near the end of the picture, when Diesel rolls out his dad's old spiffed up, humungously powerful V-8 Dodge Charger to get even with the guys who killed his friend, do we root for him? You bet!

Directed by:	Rob Cohen (The Skulls)
Screenplay by:	Gary Scott Thompson and Erik Bergquist and David Ayer from a story by Thompson
Starring:	Paul Walker as Brian O'Connor
	Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto
	Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto
	Michelle Rodriguez as Letty
	Chad Lindberg as Jesse
	Matt Schulze as Vince