Summary
Laz Alonso has opened up about his time working onFast & Furious, the fourth installment in the franchise of the same name, making a subtle jab at later installments in his remembering. The 2009 action movie saw Alonso as Fenix Calderon, one of the trusted henchmen of Mexican drug lord Arturo Braga. HisFast & Furiousvillainwas also responsible for the supposed death of Dom’s girlfriend Letty, making the confrontation between the pair an important part of the film’s climax. Fenix died when Dom hit in a tunnel during one of the final action sequences.
Speaking withWIREDalongside his co-stars from Prime Video’sThe Boys, Alonso reflected on his time working onFast & Furious, while offering a subtle jab at the newer movies.
Starting at 4:57,the actor explained how he enjoyed his time working on the fourth installment, specifically because of the grounded nature of its story compared to later installments. Check out what Alonso had to say below:
I can probably say that I was in one of the originalFast and Furious[movies] before they went into space, or cars turning into submarines. We were very grounded in the one that we did, and I’m very proud of the work that we did together.
Why The Fast & Furious Series Didn’t Stay Grounded In Reality
Alonso’s role in the racing franchise included realistic stakes with only a few over-the-top moments to sell the action of the series.This is a far cry from what the series became starting withFast Five, which included many action sequences that couldn’t happen in real life, such as a jump hundreds of feet into a river and dragging a giant bank vault through a city. This only increased as the series went on, withFast & Furious' car stuntsbecoming even more ridiculous - such as going into space - with every new installment.
This lack of being grounded in reality appears to be how the Fast Saga is going to close out as well, with theend ofFast Xindicating even more high-octane action sequences as Dom fights Dante Reyes one last time. While the action scenes of the latest entry weren’t as wild as going into space, which happened inF9, they still reflected plenty of unrealistic scenarios its main characters shouldn’t have survived. However, that’s also what makes the later entries fun, as it’s become a staple of the franchise for each new one to get more over-the-top.
While Alonso’s role was still a key part of the franchise,Fast & Furiousended up going in a very different direction, making it extremely unique in terms of ongoing action series. While this caused a loss for the realistic elements of the series, its lack of being grounded doesn’t detract from the wild nature of its setpieces. WithFast & Furious 11around the corner, there’s bound to be even more action-packed elements going forward.
TheFast & Furiousfranchise might be going back to less over-the-top storytelling, although it’s unclear when that might be.
Fast & Furious
Cast
Fast & Furious is the fourth installment in the franchise, reuniting original stars Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto and Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz. The film takes place five years after the events of the first film and follows Brian O’Conner, played by Paul Walker, who is now an FBI agent tasked with taking down a heroin importer.
