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Paul Walker and Vin Diesel are back in “Fast & Furious 6” the latest chapter in the hugely popular “Fast & Furious” series. This time out the renegade crew is enticed from their comfortable and no-extradition lifestyles with the promise of full pardons by Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). Hobbs is willing to meet the team’s high demands due to the international threat posed by a team of drivers who are headed by a former military specialist named Owen Shaw (Luke Evans).
A rough first encounter and pursuit through London not only proves just how dangerous and skilled Shaw and his crew are, but brings Dominic (Vin Diesel), face to face with Letty (Michelle Rodriquez), who was thought to have been killed years ago. Battling conflicting emotions with finding Letty not only alive but also on the team he’s trying to bring down, Dominic must get the crew into shape to discover where Shaw will strike next. Thankfully Brian( Paul Walker) is able to use his skills from his law enforcement days in order to get a much needed lead despite the peril it costs him to do so. In a race against time, the crew must risk it all to thwart Shaw who is the most skilled and dangerous foe they have encountered to date. What follows is an action-packed, adrenaline-fueled all out romp that is a solid action film.
The movie requires you to take great leaps of logic and faith even for a film of this type and while it does not work as well as the previous two entries, Director Justin Lin knows his audience and delivers what they want. There is plenty of racing and action and the film does use plenty of actual stunts rather than CGI and the Fast & Furious crew throw themselves into the highly physical roles. The cast works well with one another and seem to be having a good time being back with one another, which is a good thing as the jaw-dropping after credits scene promises that the series still has enough gas in the tank to thrill audiences.
3.5 stars out of 5.
Second Review by Christopher Daniels
For those of you with a love of fast cars and hot women, or maybe the other way around, you’ll get your fill of both with Furious Six. This action-packed, high-octane, turbo-boost of a ride will leave you amazed.
Furious Six, as the title implies, is the latest film in the Fast and Furious franchise. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and the rest of the crew are back alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who reprises his role from the previous film.
I had high hopes for this movie, and I am happy to say it delivers — assuming you’re looking for fast-paced action and a large-budget, big screen spectacle.
While this film felt longer than its predecessor, it still held a note of finality, as though it might be the last one in the franchise. The stunts were much bigger, but halfway through, they started to become entirely unrealistic. This film is unapologetically over-the-top, and doesn’t worry at all about being believable. The last scene, which I shall not spoil for you, involves an airplane and a runway that couldn’t possibly be any shorter than about 10 miles. Since no airport runway in existence is that long, the scene detracts from the mystique of the believability of previous films.
Furious Six’s director seems to have been tasked with making the film bigger and better than all the previous entries. However, the different ways he went about doing so in an absurd and often unbelievable fashion gave the film many moments where the entire audience in my theater erupted in laughter — at points where laughter was not expected or anticipated. Even I found myself laughing.
This film’s dialog also contains many cheesy lines. Fast and Furious 1 through 5 did not have nearly as many. They kept it to a minimum — no more than one or two — but Furious Six had a dozen or more. It leads me to believe that the filmmakers’ effort wasn’t put into the script, but focused instead toward the action Thus, I give the movie a rather low score on the writing. That said, the comedy was done well; it was paced appropriately, and it interlaced nicely with the more serious moments.
As regards the action, I can only say (and must admit): Furious Six was definitely top-notch. However, the film was so fast-paced, and the scenes change so rapidly, (by design, I expect) that it was hard to keep up. It was very similar to the first 10 minutes of James Bond: Quantum of Solace. There’s so much going on, it’s hard for the eyes and brain to process and understand what is happening
All in all, the acting is respectable, the cars are fantastic, and the action is unbelievable (literally, incapable of inducing belief), but it’s still worth seeing, especially if you’re fond of the franchise. You won’t be disappointed
4 out 5 stars
Edited by: Jeff Boehm
