action film analysis

My Action Film Analysis                                 Jehpal Jhita

Fast & Furious

Fast & Furious is an action film starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. The film revolves around the world of illegal street racing. Fast and Furious does follow Tzetevan Todorov’s theory, which suggests that each film has a beginning, middle and an end, otherwise known as an equilibrium where there is a state of harmony,  disequilibrium where the harmony is disrupted and conflict is created,  and a new equilibrium where evil is defeated and harmony exits once more. At the beginning of the film, there is equilibrium. It begins with Vin Diesels gang doing what they do on a regular basis: hijack oil trucks and life is good.  However, shortly thereafter, disequilibrium shortly comes into play, where Vin Diesels girlfriend, Letty, is killed. This throws Vin Diesel into a rage and sends him on a hunt for the killer. He then teams up with an old foe and a friend, who just so happens to be FBI. However, in the end, new equilibrium is restored as Vin Diesel and Paul Walker both catch the criminal that they are after. Vladimir Propp also introduced a theory where he suggested that every film has certain characters playing certain roles. These roles include:

Villian- creates complication in the narration
The Donor- Gives the hero something that will help in the resolution
The Helper- helps the hero in restoring the resolution
Princess- saved by the hero
Dispatcher- Sends the hero on a task
Hero- Central protagonist, saves the day and restores equilibrium
False Hero- rare character that appears to be good but is evil

If Fast & Furious was constructed using Vladimir Propps theory of media, the villain would be known as Arturo Braga. However nobody knows the correct identity of Arturo Braga, not even the police. The Donor could be a person who has information on Braga. This allows Vin Diesel to find out how to get to Braga. The helper would be Paul Walker as he works in tandem with Vin Disel to get the villain, but it is Vin Diesels story that is the main storyline as he is the central protagonist. However, there is no Princess. The dispatcher could be a mechanic who works on the car that Bragas helper drives. The hero of the film is either Vin Diesel or Paul Walker because despite Vin Diesel being the central protagonist, they both end up catching Braga in the end. However, there is a twist in the film when it comes to the false hero. As nobody knows who Braga is at the beginning, the only way to get to Braga is to win a race organised by Bragas representative. At the time, he seems like a friendly face who just works for a drugs baron. He seems to be a hero in disguise as he is leading the central protagonist straight to the villain. However, the twist is that bragas representative is Braga himself. Therefore, he could be construed as the False Hero.