Four variations in eight years of this velocity-obsessed, paper-thin saga is hardly defensible on creative terms. Even Vin Diesel's character seems incredulous: "How long have we been doing this?" he asks seemingly rhetorically. Perhaps the answer is: Too long.

Fast Furious is Hollywood high concept at full tilt. Filmmakers must not care that the dialogue is sluggish and the performances are leaden. It's all about high-octane racing, souped-up cars and perilous stunts.

Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) returns as a buttoned-down FBI agent and racing enthusiast. His old nemesis, Dom Toretto (Diesel) is a fugitive busting out of his wife-beater muscle shirts. Fueled by a desire for justice, they coordinate to take down an evil drug lord (John Ortiz).

The movie opens with an enormous petroleum truck zipping improbably along mountainous curves, and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) dangling from it. "Hold on to something tight," Dom screams. Why bother writing dialogue at all? With the exception of inadvertent comedy and a funny line about hybrid cars, the movie is humorless.

In between bursts of speed, we are treated to scenes of vehicular sprucing and idle jabber about good guys vs. bad guys and the fine line between them. Bevies of babes loll seductively, sporting the tiniest of outfits. A multi-car blast through a hidden tunnel in the Mexican desert offers some excitement.

A romance reignites between the best-looking members of the cast: Walker and Jordana Brewster, who plays Dom's sister, Mia. But just when things get hot, the camera modestly cuts away to the setting sun. Now they show restraint?

The old cast is back, and not much has changed. Where the last effort — 2006's The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift — was set in Japan and featured a supporting cast of Asian toughs and thugs, this is set in California and Central America and features a supporting cast of Latino toughs and thugs. Diesel struts around, glowering menacingly, Walker looks blankly cute, Brewster approximates sweet concern, and Rodriguez dangles.

In an effort to cut even faster to the chase, the makers of The Fast and the Furious franchise decided to eliminate definite articles. This only serves to reinforce the obvious: There's really nothing too swift about Fast Furious.