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| Courtesy of Universal |
If
you’d told me in 2001 that The Fast and the Furious – a decent but
forgettable Point Break ripoff – would spawn five sequels on its way to
becoming one of the most entertaining franchises in recent memory, I would’ve
said you were insane. But that was before director Justin Lin and screenwriter
Chris Morgan became the series’ caretakers.
Their
work reuniting the core cast in 2009’s Fast & Furious and weaving the
previous entries together into some sort of macho soap opera with 2011’s Fast
Five has made hanging out with these characters more fun than it has any right
to be. Their winning streak continues with Fast & Furious 6, which wisely
sticks to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy.
When
we last left the team, Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker) and the rest of
their crew (including Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang and
Gal Gadot) took down a drug kingpin, made off with $100 million and earned the
grudging respect of dogged federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock”
Johnson). Now, Hobbs needs their help in taking down a ruthless criminal (Luke
Evans) determined to steal dangerous military technology.
What
gets the team’s attention is the rogue outfit’s second-in-command: Letty
(Michelle Rodriguez), Dom’s former love who was seemingly killed in the fourth
film. Determined to figure out what happened to her, the team agrees to take
down the bad guys if Hobbs will grant all of them full pardons so they can
return to the United States.
Everything
that made Fast Five such a blast continues to produce winning results in Fast & Furious 6. The camaraderie among the actors remains amusing and –
best of all – the action sequences are still mind-boggling thanks to Lin’s
insistence on using practical effects whenever possible. There are still a few
cartoonish CGI shots, but nowhere near as many as your typical summer
blockbuster.
Thanks
to Morgan’s ability to introduce even the most ridiculous plot developments with
a straight face, many viewers have developed an unexpected emotional connection
to the characters. That includes Johnson, a relative newcomer to the series. He’s
so darn charismatic that he immediately engenders the same goodwill as cast
members who’ve been around since the beginning. Evans, on the other hand, makes
a lackluster villain. Viewers don’t really learn that much about him. He’s
simply the bad guy who can hurt Letty, so he needs to be stopped.
One
of the coolest things about Fast & Furious 6 is the insane mid-credits
sequence, which lays the groundwork for what could be a phenomenal sequel. The
audience in my screening lost their ever-loving minds, so don’t leave when you
think the movie’s over. Let’s just say that a lackluster villain shouldn’t be
an issue next time around.
Fast & Furious 6 is rated
PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action and mayhem throughout, some
sexuality and language.
Grade:
B+
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