It's
alright if you're looking at the title and thinking: "There can't possibly be any way the sixth movie in a series is good." Well…for fans and veterans of the Fast &
Furious franchise this film delivers exactly what the audience wants: more
adrenaline fueled car stunts and more outrageous action.
"Listen, I appreciate the book, but you know I can't read...right?"
STORY:
Dominic
Toretto (Vin Diesel) is living the life of a millionaire with a beautiful
Spanish girlfriend named Elena (Elsa Pataky).
He's decided that nothing will bring him back into the world of
stealing, murder, and reckless nitrous driving—except maybe a picture of his
not-so-dead, manly ex-girlfriend. When
Dom realizes there could be a chance Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is alive, he
instantly sacrifices sex with his beautiful blonde and decides to get his merry
band of misfits back together to help Hobbs (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) stop
another crew of evil drivers. Can Shaw
(Luke Evans), the leader the evil driving team, steal enough military grade
hardware to create a powerful bomb? Not
if Toretto's crew has anything to say about it.
Exotic cars, bikini asses, tanks, chick fights, harpoons, and 90 mile an
hour mid-air catches ensue.
"Plus free buffalo wings for a year..."
"With sauce on the side."
"...with the sauce on the side. That's the deal Hobbs, take it or leave it."
THOUGHTS:
The
Fast & Furious franchise has been around so long, it's become a magical
beast that cannot be stopped or killed by anyone. But is that a terrible thing? Not to its fans. This film delivers on every note they're
looking for and provides even more. But
probably the best part of the movie is its use of humor. When you have a series of movies stick around
long enough, they tend to become aware of themselves, relying on more humor
than drama, and F&F6 is better for it.
THE CAST:
Vin
Diesel and the late Paul Walker exceed the acting quota for the film, leaving
the rest of the cast to just enjoy being in front of a camera. Dwayne Johnson, aside from making Diesel look
like a puny pimple, adds sarcasm, extreme size, and great facial
expressions. As if there wasn't enough
testosterone already, Michelle Rodriguez is thrown back into the mix, just to
fight the series newcomer Gina Carano (Riley) and beef up female brooding. Carano, who could kick just about anybody's
ass in real life, plays out more like a smiling wooden pole, fortunately she's
used sparingly and her dialogue and scenes utilize her strengths. And then there's the rest of the gang that
fit into their characters perfectly, mainly using funny one-liners to progress
the over-the-top plot.
"All I'm trying to say is your testosterone might be making me, and the rest of the guys look bad."
SIXTH TIME’S A
CHARM?
So
why return? Why give the Fast &
Furious franchise anymore of your hard earned free-time and money? One word: action. You may think these movies have outstayed
their welcome, but somehow those silly writers in Hollywood figured out a way
to make the conflicts still fascinating.
Besides the ridiculous driving stunts and car chases with added flair,
the fight scenes have stepped up to a new level that hadn't existed
before.
If
you've ever wanted to watch two girls kick each other's asses, brutally, then
look no further. Carano and Rodriguez go
head to head in a subway scene that just borders impolite. Hair ripping, elbow punching, joint locks,
and throwing each other into hard objects like brick walls and cement
staircases is only a few of the things you'll be privy too. Tyrese Gibson (Roman) and Sung Kang (Han)
also have their fill during the same subway scene with a martial artist. Basically, the two of them get their asses
beat, packaged, and delivered right back to them. But the humor that's dropped along the way is
priceless. (Speaking of Gibson, he and
Ludacris have some of the best back and forth sarcastic remarks the film has to
offer.) Also, the Rock gets to fight a man-monster with a size almost matching his abnormality, and Vin Diesel gets to make a perfect Rodriguez touchdown catch. A Tank makes an appearance to swallow on-coming traffic and cargo planes get taken down by harpoons and fast cars.
"Grrrr...rhawww!"
"Um, Miss Rodriguez, let's try that again, but maybe this time with a little less growling?"
"But how's the plot?" You mean aside from the crazy premise of
extreme drivers being able to take down a military convoy? It's not that bad. Is it Oscar worthy? No.
But for the franchise, it tugs on all the right strings to keep the fans
yearning for more. Love story segments
are sprinkled in between the action and humor, and each character's storyline
progresses just enough to push the plot into the next movie. "Wait...there's
going to be another one?" But of course!
"I'm here to swallow your head. Om nom nom nom."
"Can you please stop that? It's getting old."
WHERE DOES THE
SEVENTH MOVIE GO FROM HERE?
Into
the depths of the sea, where car chases appear stagnant and Hobbs finally finds
love with a mermaid; or perhaps into the sky, where Vin Diesel will meet an
aging, but lovable Tom Cruise reprising his role as Maverick. And now the whole team (plus Cruise) has to
stop a missile headed for Metropolis, because Superman is nowhere to be
found. What? It could happen. Towards the end of F&F6, you won't know
exactly where the series is headed, but you'll see who they added to the
roster this time around. And really, in
Hollywood, he's the only guy after the credits role that'll make you say,
"Makes sense."
UPDATE: due to the
tragic loss of Paul Walker, the filming of the seventh movie is currently on
hiatus.
"Gina, like this. How do you expect a career in movies if you can't walk with attitude?"
CONCLUSION:
As
long as the Fast & Furious franchise keeps upping the stakes, people will
continue to return. The sixth
installment adds witty dialogue, a few fresh faces, and a bigger Dwayne 'The
Rock' Johnson. What else can you ask
for? Fast & Furious 6 shows that a
tiny bit of acting here, a little dab of humor there, with a sprinkle of fast
exotic cars on top—BAM—creates a whole new movie. Will this installment bring new viewers to
the series? Maybe. Maybe not.
But it sure does a fantastic job of keeping the old ones.
3.5 out of 5 stars (minus a star and a half for being repeated six times)
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