DStv Celebrates ‘The Fast and Furious’

It all started 16 years ago. What many thought was just an exciting street racing film turned out to be the premise for a legendary film franchise.

For those who love films, there’s no one who doesn’t know the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise – it’s a car lover’s movie wet dream. But even for the non-petrol heads, the films are so action-packed and dramatic, they can accommodate any audience.

The first seven movies tell an interesting story of trust, loyalty, friendship, family and love – just with a little more bullets flying around and tyres burning. The release of ‘The Fate of the Furious’ is set for 14 April, and judging from the trailers, the story is set for some unexpected twists. To catch up on all you missed since 2001, MultiChoice and DStv is launching a pop-up channel, catering specifically to the ‘Fast and Furious’ films.

“Buckle up fast, because all the mean supercar machines of the world’s most adrenaline-fuelled film franchise are bolting down the road at breakneck speed! From Saturday, 1 April to Sunday, 9 April, M-Net and MultiChoice are putting pedal to the medal with a special

M-Net Movies ‘Fast and Furious’ pop-up channel (DStv channel 109) featuring all seven of the high-octane movies built on non-stop action, heart-stopping stunts, heart-pumping chases and superstar casts,” a press statement read.

MultiChoice mentioned the pop-up channel is a special treat for premium customers shortly before the premiere of ‘Fast 8’ or ‘The Fate of the Furious’. The channel will also be streamed on DStv Now and all seven films will be available on the M-Net Movies Collection on Catch Up Plus, which can be accessed via the DStv wi-fi connector.

“We promised to bring viewers unmissable curated movie themed channels in 2017 and are excited to rev it up after the massive success of pop-ups such as the recent ‘James Bond’ extravaganza and M-Net Inspire,” MultiChoice Namibia’s GM, Roger Gertze said. “The M-Net Movies’ ‘Fast and Furious’ pop-up has been timed to feed into the frenzy around the latest edition in the franchise and also coincides with exciting changes on the M-Net channels. April is indeed going to be a super-sized month on the M-Net front,” he added.

For those who suffer from a bit of memory loss, here are the first seven films in the franchise in short:

Directed by Rob Cohen, starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster, this film started it all back in 2001. Brian O’Conner (Walker) is an undercover cop on a dangerous mission: He must capture Dominic Toretto (Diesel), an elusive street racer and truck hijacker on a mission to steal electronic equipment worth millions of dollars. While O’Connor is well focused on his task, friendship starts to brew and cupids arrow also hits, making his mission quite a bit more complicated.

Starring Walker again, this film does without the three other main actors of the first film. However, it introduces two characters who will play an integral part in the rest of the series. Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges and Tyrese Gibson make their furious debuts in this film, which didn’t receive as much attention as the first. Many claim it to be the poorest in the series. However, the story ties together the bigger picture.

Five years after the first film, the story is taken all the way to Tokyo. Directed by Justin Lin, this film stars Lucas Black, Zachery Ty Bryan and Shad Moss, however it’s Sung Kang, who plays the character Han, who is integral to the movie.

“In the series timeline, ‘Tokyo Drift’ slots in between the sixth and seventh movies. An American teenager who causes an accident during an illegal street race is sent to live with his father in Japan to avoid a prison sentence. In Tokyo he learns an exhilarating style of street racing: Wilder and much more dangerous than the Los Angeles variety,” MultiChoice explained.

This film brings back the duo of Walker and Diesel and slowly sets up the storylines for the rest of the films to come.

The FBI has recruited Brian O’Conner for a second stint as law enforcer, mainly for his in-depth understanding of the underworld. He teams up with Dominic Toretto to infiltrate and destroy a ruthless drug ring.

“The fifth instalment, regarded by some critics as the best, steered the ‘Fast and Furiou’s film franchise in a new, more lucrative direction, with fewer car races and more expansive action scenes that drew in a wider audience. It has become one of the most successful action series of all time,” MultiChoice said. With his eye set on freedom, Toretto has a plan for a huge cash heist in Rio which sees the crew come together, as well as the introduction of Dwayne Johnson as Detective Hobbs.

“The first film in the series that moves away from the underground racing scene became a monster hit for the ‘Fast and Furious’ film franchise, raking in a massive $788,7 million, while also performing superbly at the box office,” MultiChoice said.

“Dominic is on a mission to halt a band of mercenaries with havoc on their minds when he is confronted by a more dangerous enemy: His own dark side. The trigger is the sudden reappearance of a former girlfriend who was presumed to be dead,” they added.

With the entire crew in this movie, it would be the last time they were together as Walker passed away in an unrelated car accident during the filming of the movie. This time, the crew face an entirely new enemy, and a very dangerous one at that, in the form of Jason Statham.

Toretto and his team have gone back home to America, determined to live normal lives free of crime. But the events of the past catch up with them as an old enemy’s brother schemes to send them all to the grave.

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