Everyone has those movies that really stick with you over the years for many different reasons. The Fast and the Furious is one of those films for me. From seeing the film on opening day to watching the DVD in my garage with my buddies, this film has stayed with throughout my life. In Welcome to the Family: The Explosive Story Behind Fast & Furious, the Blockbusters that Supercharged the World, Barry Hertz dives deep into why these films have lasted so long and what makes them so special in the first place.
What do Miami drug traffickers, bloodthirsty Yakuza warriors, Corona-soaked backyard BBQs, Dame Helen Mirren, and a duct-taped 1984 Pontiac Fiero-turned-rocket-fueled spaceship have in common? They are all essential elements of the ever-expanding, logic- and laws-of-physics-defying Fast & Furious universe: the most entertaining, outlandish, and secretly genius Hollywood creation that everyone has taken for granted – until now.
Through an escalating series of high-risk maneuvers – from synapse-stretching stunts to timeline-bending narratives to explosive PR wars between the biggest, baddest, baldest egos in showbiz – the Fast family (and it is a family above all else) has redefined the art and commerce of popcorn moviemaking. And the gang did it all while staring down the kind of monumental, soul-rattling challenges – the death of a star, the upheaval of an industry – that would have crushed the speed and spirit of any other filmmaking team.
An unauthorized journey into the makings of a cinematic saga unlike any other, Welcome to the Family exposes the stranger-than-fan-fiction journey of the franchise from the ground up. Through rigorous behind-the-scenes reporting and incisive cultural commentary, writer Barry Hertz’s ride-or-die epic details every single twist and turn of Fast & Furious drama, a quarter mile at a time. By the end, you will believe a car can fly.
I have seen many movies in the theaters over the years, but there are few I vividly remember attending the theater to watch. One of those few is The Fast and The Furious. It was the summer of my Freshman year at Bangor High School and nothing was going to stop me from sitting direct center to watch Vin Diesel and Paul Walker take to the streets in their modified cars.
Hertz brings to light some of the amazing behind-the-scenes moments from how the first film was made to how it grew to become Universal’s biggest franchise ever and the eighth highest-grossing film series of all time, with a combined gross of over $7 billion. With hundreds of interviews, Hertz breaks down the creation of each film in the 11-film series including The Fast and The Furious, Hobbs & Shaw, and the latest installment Fast X.
What surprised me the most is how much of an impact these films have had on the industry over the years, especially how they have been the butt end of a joke here and there and they started as a simple street racing film. The cultural, cinematic, and visual effects were groundbreaking at times to an extent I never imagined. While not a single actor has been in all of the films, the cast they have built over the years is incredible, while still trying to keep the original group together. However, the diversity of race, gender, and age has been a catalyst to the films success in the box office for 25 years.
When I first decided to read Welcome to the Family, I was coming from a spot of the impact the film had on my high school years and how it would be fun to reminisce about those times. However, what I got out of this book was so much more. The Fast and the Furious Saga is so much bigger than its blockbuster numbers and the drama that can sometimes surround it, but its a series that has stood the test of time and found a way to capture audiences over many years. Hertz did his homework and it shows in this book.
Welcome to the Family by Barry Hertz is an incredible deep dive into the world of The Fast and the Furious. The author sheds light on behind-the-scenes development of these films, their cultural and cinematic impact on the world of film as well as how they have been able to create over 10 films that have grossed north of $7 billion. Hertz not only brought me back to my high school years, but reinvigorated my love for this franchise as a whole.
Welcome to the Family: The Explosive Story Behind Fast & Furious, the Blockbusters that Supercharged the World is available at bookstores everywhere from Grand Central Publishing. The audiobook, narrated by the author, is available via Libro.fm!
