I just rewatched and reviewed The Fast and the Furious. I’m not watching 2 Fast 2 Furious as my next movie in my rewatch of the Fast and Furious movies, however, because next on the chronological list is the Turbo-Charged Prelude short film.

I never knew about this short before I did my research for the best order to watch the F&F films. Apparently it was included on special edition home versions of the first film, and also in some theatrical presentations of the second film.

It’s only 6 minutes long, has hardly any speaking (if any actually), and basically acts as a segway to explain what Brian got up to after the first film and how he ended up on the East Coast.

The title screen has the following text: “Paul Walker returns in this electrifying short film that continues the action of The Fast and the Furious and takes you to the sizzling streets of Miami where 2 Fast 2 Furious begins.”

I probably shouldn’t link to it on YouTube but just search for Turbo-Charged Prelude and you’ll find it. Here are my notes whilst watching it for the first time.

  • It starts off like a weird music video with some dodgy music and Brian looking in the mirror and seeing old clips from the first movie in the mirror
  • We cut to a police station and see confirmation that Brian has left the police and is on the run. They’re handing out wanted posters with his face on it
  • In yet another homage to Point Break (in my opinion anyway) they choose to show the cops that are breaking into Brian’s house dressed in the same rain coats and cap covers that the Australian cops do at the end of Point Break
  • I loved the Indiana Jones style map that appears as he drives across America from L.A. to Miami
  • Where did he get his first car from? He gave his car to Dom and then fled from the police. I’m curious to know where he got the wheels
  • We learn that he is basically driving across America winning money in street races. I’d kind of want to see a whole movie about that
  • His wanted picture is in the paper and TV. Some girl then spots him in a roadside diner. He doesn’t even wear a cap or anything to try to hide. He just has a worse haircut than in the first movie but I think that’s just a bad fashion choice rather than a disguise
  • There’s a great zoom in to the wanted pick in the newspaper he’s reading where they add a whoosh sound effect. Very reminiscent of the sound effects when Brian, Dom and Jesse turn their heads towards the end of the first film. Love it
  • He loses his new car as the cops pick it up. Screwed. But… luckily his good looks help him out as the pretty girl gives him a lift into a whole other state.
  • He buys a new car cheap and somehow manages to do it up himself to become a street race winner. Didn’t know he had those skills
  • He also learns how to shake with his left hand
  • He obviously has no idea where he wants to go because he only chooses between Miami and New York when he hits that junction in the freeway. Talk about living live on the edge
  • He spots some souped up cars in Miami (belonging to characters Slap Jack and Orange Julius, who we meet in 2 Fast 2 Furious), he smiles, and then it says “2 Be Continued”

To be honest this short does a fairly good job in telling us what happened, but they must have had a really small budget for it. They couldn’t even afford to record proper audio of people speaking. Or maybe there was a writer’s strike!

I will attempt my normal scoring and review section now…

Main characters
Brian
Girl

Most memorable scene
One bit that is genuinely cool is when he gets a couple of bikers riding alongside him and they egg him on to race them. He gives a cool little nod, they slap their mirror visors down shut, and then they end up getting caught for speeding by the police. Nicely done, Brian.

Best stunt
I’m going to give it to the camera zoom in on the wanted poster. Incredible camera work.

Quote of the movie
There is no speaking.

Score – 2/10

Not really sure how to score this. I guess it could have been worse, so I shouldn’t give it a 1.

Ranking
The Fast and the Furious – 8.5/10
Turbo-Charged Prelude – 2/10