Sad news today: As you may have heard, Paul Walker was killed this past Saturday in an awful car crash in Santa Clarita, CA. Details are still forthcoming, but what we do know so far is that Paul and his friend Roger Rodas, a pro racer, were riding in a red Porsche GT at about 3:30 pm when the car flew off the road. It slammed into a tree and burst into flames; despite the best efforts of the many who arrived at the crash site with fire extinguishers to attempt to rescue the pair, both Paul and Roger perished in the blaze.
At a mere 40 years old, Paul still had loads left to do; the fact that he passed away so soon is nothing short of tragic. There’s been an enormous outpouring of support for from Hollywood for him and his family, a charge led by his The Fast and the Furious co-stars, Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson:
Brother, I will miss you very much. Heaven has gained a new angel. Rest in peace xxx
— Vin Diesel (@REAL_VinDiesel) December 1, 2013
All my strength, love & faith to the Walker family during this heartbreaking time. We find our strength.. in his light. Love you brother.
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) December 1, 2013
Like a lot of folks who were teens in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, I remember Paul most clearly as being a fixture of the flicks my friends and I used to go to at our local cinema on Saturday afternoons. Were they always good movies? No—we had no idea, for example, that when The Fast and the Furious came out in 200, it would go on to become the massively successful franchise that it is—but they were always fun, and they’re the source of a lot of good memories. So this week, I’m going back and re-watching all of my favorites, starting with these five.
RIP, Paul. You’ll be missed.
