A big convoy truck, supposedly with $1.4M of gasoline, rolls down a highway lined by dry, rocky hills. A lovely (if thoroughly unbelieveable) hijacking sequence follows. But what caught my eye was the tag: "Location: Dominican Republic." Huh?
Fast & Furious
The almost dialogue-free sequence on the trailer in front of the ho-hum Quantum of Solace was for next year's Fast & Furious, the fourth in the boys-and-their-cars series. (The hijacking is shot nicely, which is more than I can say for the action sequences in the Bond flick.)
The IMDB description only mentions Mexico, which makes sense for a movie based on land travel. So did the setting change? Was it that Diesel, a born-again Dominican (though he has not officially ever addressed whether he has any blood ties to the island), is following through on his promise to his favorite president that he would help raise the DR's profile in the film industry?
I can get into action movies (I was, after all at a Bond flick), but I'm not a big fan of this particular type. Nonetheless, I know that the F&F series has very deliberately aimed for the brown-boy demo and I think it's pretty cool to see the DR as a credible setting (as opposed to the background shots in the Miami Vice remake and the various cinematic impersonations of Cuba the DR is usually used for).
And as a bonus, the cast also has Dominican halfie Michelle Rodriguez (who is always better when she speaks little and kicks ass) and Tego Calderón in a supporting role. Hmmm.
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