Fast and Furious 6

12, 2013, Directed by Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez

Let’s face it - a new fast and furious film is either going to get your motor running or turn your engine off. For those edging towards the latter, let it be made clear that every film in the series is probably everything you'd expect it to be; mindless action intercut with clichéd characters spurting ridiculous dialogue in between the revving of engines and shooting of guns. But, as the people in the former's camp would tell you, the action - mindless may it be - is usually well-crafted heart-racing material; the characters - clichéd may they be – are, for all intents and purposes, much-loved additions to the action; whilst the dialogue - ridiculous may it be – is... ridiuclous, amped up to ninety. 

With the cast returning in 2009’s disappointing Fast and Furious, the franchise seemed destined to grind to a tumultuous halt. That was before 2011’s Fast Five – with newly added Dwayne Johnson – revitalised the series by delivering the best thrills of the series thus far, not to mention a film many considered a superior action flick. And so we have Fast and Furious 6, the next ‘episode’ of Vin Diesel’s street-racing posse. Living the high life in Brazil following their financial coup at the end of Fast Five, all seems well in paradise until Hobbs (Johnson) shows up picking up where that tantalising post-credits scene left off; Michelle Rodriguez’s presumed-dead Letty is alive, amnesia-ridden and rooting for the wrong villainous team under the guide of Luke Evans’ brooding big bad, Owen Shaw. Yep, his slimy, yet refreshingly English, villain wishes to enact something as forgettable as other villains before him have done in ways that pave the way for ensuing car-nage. Don't roll those eyes just yet.

The series is officially on a different page to what it was when we first met Toretto (a heroic Vin Diesel) back in ’01; the initial trilogy was all about full-speed ahead action – the pulsating street races in exotic locations more than enough to make a sizable dent at the box office. But the past three films (under the protection of Justin Lin, directing since 2006's Tokyo Drift) has transitioned the series to character-driven ensemble. First-timers beware - Fast and Furious 6 feels like a soap opera on steroids.

Fortunately, the sixth outing has built on the set-pieces. Here, we have mayhem in the form of vehicles dangling from Russian cargo planes, a grenade-shooting tank and 'flip' cars - think racing cars designed to cause motor accidents. Lin has a real knack for both capturing this action so strategically and intercutting it with fulfilling character moments; although nothing quite reaches the heights of Fast Five's bank vault chase, Lin's standout is an extended sequence involving a tank which contains a zany payoff that will undoubtedly stir appplause in cinema screens.   

Back are the favourites: Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce, Sung Kang’s Han, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges’ Tej and, of course, Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty, more than living up to her fellow female counterparts (most prominently of which is MMA superstar Gina Carrano of Haywire fame – the two brutually lock fists on the London underground in a scene that would break up many a commute.) And so, with most of the film’s action grounded in London, which means we have to deal with a few inevitable missteps – namely Mr Stereotype in the form of uppity policemen and a camp car salesman, not to mention a cameo from bloody Rita Ora. But it’s still neat to see familiar locations falling prey to the driving skills of Diesel and Ridriguez, even if you can’t help but wonder when the streets of central London have ever been that empty.

The film boasts little originality (save for Vin Diesel’s delivery of a flying headbutt), nothing particularly fresh in the way of technical filmmaking and Chris Morgan’s script is going to earn no acclaim. But what Lin hands to the audience is well-thought out vehicular action, supplying the fans with everything they desire in the form of hilarious character interaction, entertaining sub-plots and treats galore - not to mention an exhilarating part-and-parcel post-credits sequence that teases in a big way.

In a time where cinema is bogged down by the need to put on glasses to achieve maximum visual potential, it’s a real pleasure to announce that Fast and Furious 6 is pure and simple good ole-fashioned two-dimensional fun.   

…and for a franchise that could have gone the way of the junkyard long ago, that’s not bad going.

3.5/5

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Fast Five

12, 2011, Directed by Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Tyrese Gibson

Picking up immediately where Fast and Furious left off, it’s clear that Justin Lin has evolved this franchise into becoming two things: one - an out-and-out action romp that respects its characters as much as cars, and two - something to get excited about. With Paul Walker’s O’Conner and Jordana Brewster’s Mia hot on the pursuit of the prison van escorting Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto to lock-up, they free him and head to Rio de Janeiro as fugitives where they set to planning a heist to steal $100,000 from a corrupt businessman. An obstacle arrives in the form of a dropped Rock as Dwayne Johnson stars as Luke Hobbs, a boulder of a US agent who has his sights squarely aimed at Toretto. Spewing laugh-out-loud lines with tongue-in-cheek tact, Johnson is an insanely-welcome addition to the ever-growing cast, which sees the return of series favourite’s Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges), Han (Sung Kang) and Giselle (Gal Gadot), all whom lend a hand to earn a cut of the money.

Perhaps overlong, this can be forgiven for providing audiences with a scene that could vie for the series' best; a car-chase on a speeding highway  which features a car dragging along a destructive bank vault behind it, knocking out buildings and pursuing cars in the process. The decision to evolve the street-racing to high-octane car chase sequences amidst a heist is one that pays off.

And a post-credit sequence involving a few unexpected familiar faces fixes the wheels in motion for what's to come. A fifth film in a series has no right to be this fun.

3.5/5

 

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