It doesn't take a very astute cinéaste to see that Rob Cohen's 2001 car chase flick, "The Fast and the Furious," is an open lift of Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 heist movie "Point Break." Both films are about a sexy young FBI agent — Paul Walker in "Fast" and Keanu Reeves in "Break" — tasked with infiltrating a specialized gang of ultra-cool heisters equipped with a unique form of transport. In "Fast," the gang is made of high-octane street racers who love their cars as much as their families. In "Break," the gang is made up of laid-back surfers. Both gangs are headed by resolute and charismatic leaders who see their heisting habits as both noble and punk rock. In "Fast," it's Vin Diesel. In "Break," it's Patrick Swayze. The comparisons are myriad.

The first "Fast" film was a mere mid-budget

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