On April 3, ‘Fast & Furious’ will premiere in theaters, and unlike the other sequels to the 2001 film “The Fast and The Furious,” the fourth film in the series features the original cast.

The ever-menacing Vin Diesel returns as Dominic Toretto, alongside Paul Walker as the undercover cop, Brian O’Conner, who let a known felon escape. Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster also return as Letty and Mia, respectively.

“The Fast and The Furious” was an amazing movie, don’t get me wrong. The plot was undeniably intense and the frequent plot twists kept audiences hooked. All members of the cast provided an excellent performance.

Not defying the tradition of sequels being horrible, 2003’s “2 Fast 2 Furious” and 2006’s “The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift,” were more or less a waste of time. Walker was the only member of the original cast who returned for the very disappointing sequel.

By the third film, there was no sign of the former cast, because they were replaced with an entirely new one, including Bow Wow,, that centered on an out-of-place highschooler in Japan.

OK, “Fast & Furious” features a returning cast of amazing actors, but will it impress its die-hard fans?

The cars still look pretty sweet, and there is obviously racing involved, but will it be enough? Will this film take back the image of “The Fast and the Furious” as a movie that completely dominates the genre?

Vin Diesel apparently doesn’t think so.

According to “The New York Post,” Diesel called in sick to a press junket for the film but later decided to show up … four hours late. Does the actor know something we don’t know?

Is this film going to be so bad that even Big Vin himself —— star of flops such as “The Chronicles of Riddick” and “Babylon A.D.” ­­­—— has decided not to associate himself with it?

“Fast & Furious” will be a disappointment as with any other film that has become a modern day classic; the sequels just tend to upset. All in all, this new film in the series has plenty of potential, but it has to stand up against a lot of criticism as it’s been eight long years since the original came out.

The film will not have an easy task trying to impress its harshest critics. Only time will tell if the foursome of Diesel, Walker, Rodriguez and Brewster are still fast … and furious.