Fast & Furious 6 - "You've got the best crew in the world standing right in front of you, give them a reason to stay."
Our globe trotting team are back this time to take down a European criminal known as Owen Shaw, Luke Evans nails the villain, his mannerisms and tone of voice are perfectly suited to a sinister individual. This film exceeds where 5 lacked a little even though Fast 5 was extremely entertaining. Fast 6 is more focused on a villain that the crew faces as opposed to being a heist movie like Fast 5. It creates an interesting dynamic between a notorious heist crew and the law enforcement agencies that need their help. A sweet bromance starts brewing between Hobbs and Dom which is quite comedic they have some terrific banter a lot of great back and forth dialogue. Fast 6 was advertised as Michelle Rodriguez's return to the Fast & Furious franchise which was supposed to be a selling point I suppose but I didn't really care, her character is emotionless and shallow, she's really just an insignificant love interested for Vin Diesel. But alas she returns with amnesia which is why she doesn't recognize any of the original crew. In a small way it creates a little bit of drama for Dom as he tries to rescue her from the clutches of Owen Shaw but her character ark is predictable.
The action is why people see these films and there is plenty to feast on. Director Justin Lin throws in some street racing as homage to the earlier films but it's mostly Crew V. Crew. London is the films setting and the cinematography is gorgeous, many familiar buildings and landmarks are used to help make it relatable to the audience. The acting on behalf of the cast is serviceable and Director Justin Lin plays to their strengths, so comedic banter is prevalent and the dramatic scenes are glancing and rare. There are some wonderful additions to the cast such as Gina Carano from "Haywire", she was hired specifically for her mixed martial arts skills, she's not a good actress so she has very little line work but she does throw down with the best of them. The most interesting addition to the cast was Johannes Taslim aka Jah from "The Raid: Redemption". Again hired for his martial arts skills, he has a fantastic hand to hand combat scene in the tubes of London's underground train network, his English isn't terrific so he's basically a glorified stuntman but a damn good one.
The most breath taking action sequence albeit ridiculous I've seen all year is left for last, you've seen it in the trailer as the Russian cargo plane attempts to take off from a London airport and the crew have to stop it, the runway must be 50 kilometers because it is a long damn scene, the choreography and blocking of this action set piece must have taken weeks of rehearsal as it shifts from a speeding convoy to multiple hand to hand combat scenes in the plane. It's truly a sight to see. The whole film is physics defying fun, don't take it too seriously and just enjoy the ride. It did feel a little long in the middle as they try to flesh out some character development between Dom and Letty which could have been left on the cutting room floor but other than that it's a near perfect summer blockbuster. Can't wait for Fast 7, it's definitely in capable hands. 4.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment