There is a solid argument to be made that the Fast and Furious trailer from the 2009 film is one of the greatest teaser trailers of all time.
We here at After the Hype are unashamed FF fans. Well, 3 out of 4 of us are — looking at you Ryan! But I’d argue that without this teaser, there would be no franchise for us to be fans of.
I was living in Chicago in a lovely little apartment when this came out.
I had just gotten into this new band, Does It Offend You Yeah? Then I saw online that they had their music featured in the new Fast and Furious trailer so I decided to give it a shot. Up to that point, I had enjoyed the first, laughed at the second, and like the rest of the world, skipped the third… But the band is cool, so let’s give it a whirl…
W. T. FUCK?
I’m so ready to watch that movie!! I ran to my room mates room (Friend and guest of the show Graham) and made him watch it with me. We both agreed, whatever they were smoking when they made Tokyo Drifting to Sleep, they were done with. I couldn’t have been more pumped.
Now I’m going to watch it again, and beat-by-beat tell you what I’m feeling, as if it were the first time.
0:10 – Dominican Republic… DOMinican? Dom? Okay I’ll keep watching.
0:14 – How is a truck with that many tankers even capable of being driven? Seems like they are begging for an accident.
0:17 – Random girl jumps off a speeding car and onto the tankers, I’m interested.
0:30 – The start stealing the tankers. I notice there is still no music. This is such an awesome style choice. It keeps it tense, and has you guessing, what I am watching? Remember at the time people were NOT excited for this movie, and not a lot of people were expecting this trailer.
0:35 – Wait, is that Michelle Rodriguez?
0:38 – How the hell are they doing this???
0:43 – Oh Shit! The driver sees her!
0:46 – Shit is ramping up!
0:49 – Who is driving that car?
0:55 – Okay it’s definitely Michelle Rodriguez, and she’s about to fall off the trucks.
1:03 – She jumps back off the tankers and the dude driving catches her arm to keep her from falling off. SUURRRREEE (little did I know how crazy these would actually go…)
1:10 – BOOM! Well that didn’t go as planned.
1:15 – Vin Fucking Diesel! This is a new The Fast and the Furious! What???
1:18 – MUSIC KICKS IN “We are Rockstars” By Does It Offend You Yeah?
Pause real quick. 1:15 into a trailer and we have no music, lines, or celebrities. This was ballsy, and awesome. Okay hitting play again.
1:22 – “Just like old times…” Paul Walker! They got them all back???
1:27 – 1:35 All three stars get the spotlight for a second. And they all look like they are kicking ass and being awesome. Why does this look good??
1:36 – Jordana Brewster… who?
1:37 – Oh yeah, Dom had a sister that Paul Walker banged. Oh I guess they are still a thing? Don’t remember that from 2 Fast 2 Furious.
1:42 – “So you two know each other?” Are they just skipping the other 2 movies? I’m not complaining, they sucked.
1:47 – Good ole fashioned Vin Deisel laugh. Creepy…
1:49 – Love a good music cue. YEAH! Matched with a huge explosion? Awesome!
1:55 – Fast & Furious title card. Leaving the “Thes” out. Good call.
1:58 – New Model, Original Parts. Solid tagline.
2:00 – Finish with a shot of Dom in his car. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY.
That’s it!
Now did the quality of the movie match this trailer? No, not really. Far better than the previous two but still not quite as good as the first. Although, it did finally feel like the sequel we wanted after the first. Then the franchise really hit its stride with Fast Five. (that movie blew my tits off.) The other great thing is this movie made me go back and watch 2 and 3, and I’ve even grown a soft spot in my heart for both of them.
I LOVE the Fast and Furious franchise, very few things bring me as much joy as hearing a mumble growl of “family.” While I wait in the pure excitement I have for F8 of the Furious coming out this week, I urge you to go back, and enjoy these movies too! If you don’t have time for that, at least watch their kick ass trailers!!!
Bryan is the Host and Producer of After the Hype. He loves talking. About everything. But mostly Batman, Star Wars and Green Lantern.
He also lives in Los Angeles and works in TV Post Production