FILM: Fast and the Furious 4

The first Fast and the Furious film ended with Paul Walker’s cop character letting Vin Deisel’s criminal character escape out of comradery as the police were approaching. The sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious had Walker paying for his actions as the feds kept him on a short leash. And the last installment, subtitled Tokyo Drift, had Diesel making an appearance at the end to pay homage to Han, a recently deceased friend of his, and giving the impression that his character was on the run, traveling all over the world. Now the latest entry into the saga will have Walker and Diesel teaming up again to go undercover for the feds and take down a heroine smuggler. And to keep the continuity going, Tokyo Drift's Han (Sung Kang) will also star, which is odd since he died in that movie. Some of the original cast, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, are returning as well.

Of course, the negative press going around is that the careers of the entire cast have, ironically, gone nowhere fast. Paul Walker's been stuck doing barely noticed films (The Death and Life of Bobby Z) or getting barely noticed in films (Flags of our Fathers). Vin Deisel was hot for a while in The Chronicles of Riddick, xXx, and even The Pacifier. It's been 2-3 years since he's done anything splashy and he's about to get back into the swing of things with the epic Babylon A.D. and a film he's producing and directing called Hannibal the Conqueror. Michelle Rodriguez has had a few supporting roles in Resident Evil, Blue Crush, S.W.A.T., and "Lost." But she hasn't had a breakout part that would get studios behind her for a leading role quite yet. However, she will be co-starring in Battle in Seattle and the James Cameron sure-to-be-blockbuster Avatar next year. Jordana Brewster started her career off in The Faculty alongside Elijah Wood before she appeared in the car-porn action movie. But since then she's been in cheesetastic films like The D.E.B.S., Annapolis, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. But if people rush the theaters for this fourth installment in the Furious saga, maybe her ABC pilot "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," where she plays the Angelina Jolie role, will get picked up.

The film is set to be released in Summer 2009.