Michelle Rodriguez Felt the ‘Fast and Furious’ Franchise Was Stuck in the ’90s
Actor Michelle Rodriguez has always been outspoken regarding her experiences in Vin Diesel’s Fast and Furious franchise. She once felt that the series really hadn’t moved on from a specific time period, but this played a part in its massive success.
Michelle Rodriguez felt ‘Fast and Furious’ didn’t move on from the ’90s
Rodriguez believed one of the reasons Vin Diesel’s Fast and Furious franchise endured for so long was due to its themes. Before it grew to be an extravagant blockbuster, the series started off as a story about street racing. The film focused a lot of attention on street life and the urban environments many might’ve been familiar with. Despite the franchise’s evolution, Rodriguez felt this core theme remained consistent throughout the sequels.
“Letty’s a strong woman,” Rodriguez said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “She’s a kid who grew up with a socio-economic background that makes you a little bit rough around the edges, I guess. I knew girls like Letty growing up. They’re attracted and loyal to guys like Dominic Toretto because it’s the only way to survive in a place that gets violent — Chicago, New York, Los Angeles. When people are poor, there’s a lot of crime and when there’s lots of crime, you have to watch your back.”
She felt the movies’ presentation was very reminiscent of the culture in a previous decade, which added to its mainstream appeal.
“It gets physical and that’s why it seems like we’ve been stuck in the ’90s for the last [however] many years that we’ve been doing the franchise, because of the macho bravado involved, but that truly is the voice of the urban ghetto,” she said.
Michelle Rodriguez’ 1 criticism of the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise
Although proud of the franchise, Rodriguez confided that she wished Fast and Furious grew in certain areas. The actor thought the movies could’ve done better with its representation of female characters in action films. With Hollywood making some progress in that regard, she hoped to see her own franchise follow suit.
“I was hoping that at some point we’d evolve out of that vibe,” she said. “We made some money — kind of like the rapper who starts reading books and next thing you know, you don’t have to worry about survival anymore, so you stop being so physical and start becoming more intelligent — but it seems that just as we start growing up as individuals, you have countries around the world who are still stuck in that mindset.”
She felt this resulted in the Fast’s franchise growing international success as well.
“So, that’s why it’s perpetuated and so successful around the world. You got a place like China that just discovered the enjoyment of movies, of action movies — not Chinese action movies, but international ones — and they’re starting to get a good taste for that vibe and I don’t blame them,” she said. “The grand majority of the population is boys and as they discover what they want in the global markets, they start to realize that that 1990s vibe is resonating with them, and it resonates with people in South America and in Africa.”
Michelle Rodriguez found out she was returning after watching ‘Fast 5’
Rodriguez, and many fans, were under the impression that they saw the last of her character in the 2009 feature Fast & Furious. But its 2011 sequel Fast Five hinted that her character may return in some capacity. This was news to Rodriguez, who wasn’t told about any plans for her to reprise her role at the time. She found out about her impending comeback watching Fast Five with the rest of the audience.
“Nobody told me,” Rodriguez told Insider. “Nobody gave me a call. Nobody said anything. I watch a tag ending that says, ‘Do you believe in ghosts?””
The first thing Rodriguez did after seeing the movie was contact Diesel.
“I immediately grabbed my phone. I’m in Paris. I’m like, ‘Oh, hell no,'” Rodriguez said. “I find out by going to the movies, Vin?”
