Random reasons why Dominic Toretto Is Worst Part Of 'Fast And Furious' (11 items)

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  (#11) His Brand Loyalty Is Asinine

  When Brian saves Dom from getting picked up by the cops in The Fast and the Furious, Dom returns the favor by inviting him into his home and offering him a beer. "You can have any brew you want, as long as it’s a Corona," he says. It’s a charming moment, and a play on Henry Ford’s tongue-in-cheek phrase that men could have any color of Model T they wanted, "so long as it is black."

  In the first FF, this exchange means nothing apart from the fact that Dom has a preference for the Mexican beer. However, as the series progresses, this preference mutates into a full-blown refusal to drink literally any other beer. When Mr. Nobody offers Dom a pint of what is undoubtedly world-class Belgian ale in Furious 7, Dom stares at him with blank-faced condescension. "I'm more of a Corona man myself," he says.

  Mr. Nobody has bent over backwards to offer Dom protection, equipment, and unlimited access to government funds, and Dom can’t even muster a polite, "No, thank you."

  In fact, Dom’s reaction is so predictably childish that Mr. Nobody has already procured a bucket of Corona in advance. That’s not charming - it’s asinine.
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  (#10) 2 Fast 2 Furious

  • Film

  Dominic Toretto is nowhere to be found in 2 Fast 2 Furious, which is arguably the series' most fun installment.

  Coincidence? Unlikely.
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  (#8) His Emotions Disappear In The Later Films

  In the early 2000s, Vin Diesel appeared in three films that would define him for the rest of his career: Pitch Black (2000), The Fast and the Furious (2001), and xXx (2002). Riddick, Dominic Toretto, and Xander Cage are basically the same character: outlaws who abide by a personal code and will not hesitate to deliver a meaty curb stomp to those that cross them. Yet what separates Toretto from the other two is a surprisingly emotional performance in the original Fast & Furious.

  In 2001, Diesel’s star was on the rise, and he played Dom with the fiery spirit of a young, hungry actor. Dom’s ambition, joy, rage, and even fear are worn right on his cut-off sleeve. At the end of the film, Dom’s voice breaks when he tells Brian he has to find Jesse. After nearly getting Vince offed, he’s terrified of what will happen to the most vulnerable member of his crew - and even more terrified of what he will do in retaliation. As ever, Dom battles with the two halves of his personality: the cool, calculating outlaw, and the reckless, raging rider.

  After refusing to return for an FF sequel and agreeing to the mildest of cameos in FF3, Diesel officially returned to the franchise with Fast & Furious, but by that point all nuance to the character was gone. Diesel was at a very different stage of his career, and the Dom in FF4 is almost a completely different person: laconic, emotionless, and dull. While this can be explained by saying the character is dealing with the apparent passing of his lover, Dom’s stoicism only intensifies in later films - well past the point that Letty returns to the franchise.

  For the latter half of the Fast & Furious series, Dom is a caricature of toughness with little to no indication that he has any interior life at all. Maybe Diesel stopped caring, or maybe Dom's been constipated since 2009.
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  (#4) There Is No Earthly Way He Could Beat Shaw In A Fight

  Let’s break down the combat stats of Deckard Shaw and Dominic Toretto:

  • Deckard Shaw: Member of the British military since age 20, major in the Special Air Service, recipient of the Victoria Cross Award, UK Special Forces assassin. In Mr. Nobody’s words, the man is a “legitimate English badass.”
  • Dominic Toretto: Races cars real good, lifts weights.

  At the end of Furious 7, Dom and Shaw engage in a head-to-head fight. As they run at each other, the film slows down and the music swells in a dramatic chorus. It’s very pretty, but even for the franchise, it’s absurd.

  The Fast & Furious movies take place in a universe where most problems can be solved by driving faster and furiouser. That’s why Dom can ramp his car off a collapsing parking garage and hook a bag of grenades on a helicopter. That follows his universe’s rules. But winning a hand-to-hand fight against a trained assassin? No.
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  (#3) He Lets Brian Go On A Ridiculously Dangerous Mission, Then Says It Doesn't Matter

  The entire plot of Fast & Furious hinges on Dom’s belief that his girlfriend Letty exploded. Understandably, he and the rest of the gang are shocked to discover Letty is alive in Fast & Furious 6. 

  Because Letty was working undercover for Brian when she allegedly perished, he feels responsible for her fate. To learn why she’s still alive and aiding the bad guys, he plans a solo mission to sneak into a United States correctional facility and interrogate Arturo Braga, the big bad of FF4. 

  It should be noted that, at this point in the series, Brian and the rest of the crew are internationally wanted criminals. They are not only evading the authorities, but also a highly dangerous band of mercenaries led by Owen Shaw. However, Brian is so verklempt that he’s willing to risk everything to fly halfway around the world, infiltrate a maximum security facility, confront a Mexican cartel leader, and somehow do it all in reverse.

  Dom’s advice? “Be careful.”

  When all is said and done and Brian is back in London, he goes to Dom to tell him what he's learned. Dom ’s response? “Whatever you found out, that’s for you.”

  No, Dom. It was for you, you ungrateful schmuck.
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  (#2) He Doesn't Care About #JusticeForHan

  In The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the passing of Han is a surprisingly trenchant commentary on the dangers of street racing. As it’s presented in the film, Han’s demise is not due to the careful plotting of the yakuza but an ordinary traffic accident. This was later retconned in Fast & Furious 6 to be the result of the careful plotting of Deckard Shaw, who seeks revenge on Dom for wounding (though not slaying) his brother.

  This revelation sets Furious 7 in motion, and it sets up Shaw as a dangerous adversary for the crew to face. However, in just one installment, Shaw shifts from diabolical villain to bosom buddy, as he agrees to save Dom’s baby in exchange for squashing their beef.

  Sure, Dom can be expected to play every card he has to save his child, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that Shaw ended his friend in cold blood. One of the many shortcomings of The Fate of the Furious is that this plot point is left completely unaddressed. He may have saved Dom’s son, but Shaw has no business attending his barbecue and standing in the presence of Han’s surviving friends.

  As the leader of his crew, Dom had an obligation to tell Shaw the two were, at best, on even terms. Apparently, Dom's baby brain made him forget all the years he and Han ran jobs south of the border.

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