Los Bandoleros, Vin Diesel’s only work as a director in the Fast and Furious franchise, is a lightweight 20-minute short that’s often unjustly misclassified as a supplemental and unimportant entry in the series. In fact, it’s a charming and refreshingly low-key short that gives some narrative background to characters and plot points that carry from Fast and Furious onward into future films. Chronologically-speaking, it’s the first canonical appearance of Tego Leo (Tego Calderon) and Rico Santos (Don Omar), as well as Han Lue (Sung Kang).

Los Bandoleros is unfortunately too often forgotten, and considering its official release exists solely on the Fast & Furious Blu-ray release back in 2009, it’s fair to say that the film is rarely treated like a legitimate entry in the franchise. Fans of the Fast movies owe it to themselves to watch Los Bandoleros, though, as they’ll find plenty to enjoy in these lean and clean 20 minutes that feel like a much-needed respite among the ceaseless action of the 10 feature-length Fast flicks.

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Where Does ‘Los Bandoleros’ Fit in the ‘Fast’ Saga?

Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez in a car in the short, Los Bandoleros.

Los Bandoleros is meant to bridge the narrative gap between 2 Fast 2 Furious and Fast & Furious (keep in mind, the third film of the franchise, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, actually takes place between the sixth and seventh films and doesn’t narratively happen until long after the fourth). With Tokyo Drift occurring much later in the series, chronologically speaking, newcomers are likely to be confused about which order to watch the Fast & Furious movies in. Los Bandoleros should absolutely be included in a binge, just after 2 Fast 2 Furious and before Fast & Furious.

When Los Bandoleros opens up, we find Dom (Vin Diesel) taking refuge from the law in the Dominican Republic, tuning up cars and serving as a Godfather figure to a local family’s children. He’d escaped to Mexico at the end of 2 Fast 2 Furious and apparently continued eastward out to the Dominican Republic, where he befriended Leo and Santos and brought them into his ever-growing family.

In setting up the fourth film in the series, Diesel’s short gives context to the events that start out Fast & Furious with a bang. That explosive gas tanker heist that leads to the family being temporarily disbanded is given a purpose in Los Bandoleros. As it turns out, Dom plays the role of a modern Robin Hood by attempting to combat an economic crisis in the DR by stealing the gasoline (and increasingly sparse commodity) to give to Rico’s aunt Rubia (Adria Carrasco).

The sudden appearance of Han is also explained here in the short: through some expositional dialogue, it’s revealed that Han met Dom back in Mexico. Apparently the two became quick friends, with Dom considering him part of his family. His appearance in the trim 20 minutes is brief, but it also helps tie his character into the saga more efficiently.

Most importantly, though, Los Bandoleros serves as a reunion between Dom and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) after the two had been split up at the end of the second film. Appearing out of nowhere after seeking Dom down for the past however many months, Letty is quick to remind Dom that she’s “20% angel, 80% devil”, and the two rekindle their passionate romance as if it had never been put on hold.

Vin Diesel’s Directorial Work In ‘Los Bandoleros’ Is Full of Charm and Style

Michelle Rodriguez and Vin Diesel in the short, Los Bandoleros.

Watching Los Bandoleros, it’s difficult to see why Diesel wasn’t given more opportunities behind the camera throughout the saga. It’s apparent that the man has an inherent knack for style. The camerawork in his short feels confidently stylistic. The shots move about with rapid editing and fluid movements that utilize their genuinely beautiful compositions to make for one of the best photographed entries in the saga.

Shot on grainy, saturated 35mm film stock has the look of a mid-budget independent drama. And in a lot of ways it feels like one, too, with the gargantuan stunt sequence and elaborate street racing scenes being replaced with something more restrained: there’s ambiance, building blocks of plot, dialogue, and romance. Dominican landscapes serve as flush and beautiful backdrops for the last third of the film, and in a way it feels like a living, moving postcard sent to fans of the franchise.

That Diesel also wrote the 20 or so pages of Los Bandoleros’ script further proves him to be the heart of the franchise. He’s clearly got a complete understanding of these characters and their motivations. Ten feature-lengths films in at this point, it’s assured that he’s only got a better idea of who they are by now, too.

Critics of Los Bandoleros are likely to malign its lack of action. But that’s exactly what makes the short stand out as an important entry in the series. The Fast saga has been known for its transformation from a street racing drama into a preposterously extravagant action franchise in which rockets can be strapped to cars and propelled into goddamm space. Sure, at a certain point with films like here the old phrase runs true: the bigger, the better. But the bigger that these flicks get, the more crucial calm, subtle moments become.

That’s why Los Bandoleros is such a treat: it’s much more content with cracking open a beer, do some scheming, and walk the beautiful Dominican beaches with the love of your life.

Los Bandoleros Isn’t the Only Time Diesel’s Worked as A Director

Vin-diesel-strays
Image via First Look International 

Before he was an accomplished movie star, Diesel actually cut his teeth as a writer and director during the mid ‘90s. He churned out an insightful meditation on the struggles of multiracial actor titled Multi-Facial in ’95, which led to his being discovered by Steven Spielberg and consequently cast in Saving Private Ryan.

Diesel also wrote, directed, and starred in his first feature-length film titled Strays in 1997. Its themes of criminals searching for meaning and the complexities and simplicities of masculine camaraderie coincidentally mirrors that of the Fast saga. Shot on 16mm with a low budget, Strays shows the promise Diesel had from the start. It may be an imperfect, inconsistent drama, but it’s also genuinely pretty good, the type of confident independent drama whose desire to actually say something helps propel it into being something memorable.

Los Bandoleros feels like an opportunity for Diesel to return to his roots, shooting an aesthetically bold piece of drama that gives him the opportunity to show his chops behind the camera. It’s only a shame, though, that we’ve yet to see any more of his directorial work. The general success of Strays at the Sundance Film Festival showed that Diesel had the ability and confidence to craft a film from the ground up, and Los Bandoleros shows his skill in adding an interjection to an already established (and highly lucrative) franchise. So maybe one day, after Dom and his family retire from their crime, their thieving, their increasingly absurd car stunts, Diesel can return to the director’s chair. Or, hey, maybe he could even try his hand at a Fast flick someday. If nothing else, it’d surely be intriguing.

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