Fast and Furious franchise, after enduring a resilient 14 years of ups and downs, is now the Universal's crown jewel and mega success hit that earns the studio billions. The street racing-turn-heist flick evolves throughout the years, making it rare good examples of how amplification and genre transformation are even possible while the series still anchoring around the familiar faces. Director Justin Lin has been working tirelessly for the franchise, rejuvenating the series at number three and gave a new paint job that goes global up to a new scale. The last job in Rio de Janeiro turns out to be the series best entry ever in the franchise. Continuing the same formula while giving the team more brains and muscles, Fast 6 takes it to the next level and remains to perform what best for the genre.
Genre: Action/Adventure
Classification: 18
Release Date: 23 May 2013
Running Time: 130 minutes
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Director: Justin Lin
Screenplay: Chris Morgan
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Tyrese Gibson, Gal Gadot, Ludacris, Jordana Brewster, Luke Evans
Plot: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of all-stars as the global blockbuster franchise built on speed races to its next continent in Fast & Furious 6. Reuniting for their most high-stakes adventure yet, fan favorites Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Elsa Pataky are joined by badass series newcomers Luke Evans and Gina Carano. Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian's (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin's empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete. Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again. Building on the worldwide blockbuster success of Fast Five and taking the action, stunts and narrative to even greater heights, Fast & Furious 6 sees director Justin Lin back behind the camera for the fourth time. He is supported by longtime producers Neal H. Moritz and Vin Diesel, who welcome producer Clayton Townsend back to the series.
In Fast 6, Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) approaches Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) for help when a crew of highly trained racers and mercenary take down a Russian military convoy, stealing billion dollar worth of satellite component. Things get complicated for Dom when he learnt that his ex-lover Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is still alive and is working for the crew. Dom assembles his team including best friend Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Han (Sung Kang), Gisele (Gal Gadot) and Tej (Ludacris), in a dangerous mission to stop Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his crew for the next heist in London. As a family, Dom and his team vow to bring Letty home and to finish their job in exchange for the freedom they long dreamed for.
Fast 6 works similarly to Fast 5 in various angles. While the plot consists of larger scale and different faces of villain, it retains the story structure in Fast 5 which involves three main acts across London and Lusitania. Even when the movie draws enough elements from other familiar heist dramas, Fast 6 is still able to punch some of their own signature and style around. The plot is as neat as the predecessor by incorporating more crucial back stories and deep ties all over. Of course, this is the movie that retains its own identity playing around the characters we already familiar with and teasing their family bond with great one-liner, humor and workable moment.
Roman's jab, brainy talk about muscle cars and ridiculous plan A still dominate the headline. Even a dedicated small scene gives the sense of revisiting the roots of the franchise - street racing. But besides having a great storyline and characters we do care for, the movie also works because of its action. As if John McClane can deliver badass actions in Die Hard 5, Dom and his team do the same job much better, more energetic, more consistent and more engaging. Actions are well-executed even if it means any scientific and realistic theories are put on-hold. The only problem for Fast 6 is that the pacing is a little slow somewhere in the middle of the second act.
Clearly, Fast 6 does the job it meant to do - a crowd-pleasing high octane action packed summer blockbuster that delivers decent story, amazing scenes and serviceable laughter. While it does not reach the height of excitement of the engaging finale at Rio de Janeiro, Fast 6 ranks among the best in the series. It cements the franchise as a standard for pop culture that works across the borders.
Classification: 18
Release Date: 23 May 2013
Running Time: 130 minutes
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Director: Justin Lin
Screenplay: Chris Morgan
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Tyrese Gibson, Gal Gadot, Ludacris, Jordana Brewster, Luke Evans
Plot: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of all-stars as the global blockbuster franchise built on speed races to its next continent in Fast & Furious 6. Reuniting for their most high-stakes adventure yet, fan favorites Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Elsa Pataky are joined by badass series newcomers Luke Evans and Gina Carano. Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian's (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin's empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete. Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again. Building on the worldwide blockbuster success of Fast Five and taking the action, stunts and narrative to even greater heights, Fast & Furious 6 sees director Justin Lin back behind the camera for the fourth time. He is supported by longtime producers Neal H. Moritz and Vin Diesel, who welcome producer Clayton Townsend back to the series.
Fast 6 works similarly to Fast 5 in various angles. While the plot consists of larger scale and different faces of villain, it retains the story structure in Fast 5 which involves three main acts across London and Lusitania. Even when the movie draws enough elements from other familiar heist dramas, Fast 6 is still able to punch some of their own signature and style around. The plot is as neat as the predecessor by incorporating more crucial back stories and deep ties all over. Of course, this is the movie that retains its own identity playing around the characters we already familiar with and teasing their family bond with great one-liner, humor and workable moment.
Roman's jab, brainy talk about muscle cars and ridiculous plan A still dominate the headline. Even a dedicated small scene gives the sense of revisiting the roots of the franchise - street racing. But besides having a great storyline and characters we do care for, the movie also works because of its action. As if John McClane can deliver badass actions in Die Hard 5, Dom and his team do the same job much better, more energetic, more consistent and more engaging. Actions are well-executed even if it means any scientific and realistic theories are put on-hold. The only problem for Fast 6 is that the pacing is a little slow somewhere in the middle of the second act.
Clearly, Fast 6 does the job it meant to do - a crowd-pleasing high octane action packed summer blockbuster that delivers decent story, amazing scenes and serviceable laughter. While it does not reach the height of excitement of the engaging finale at Rio de Janeiro, Fast 6 ranks among the best in the series. It cements the franchise as a standard for pop culture that works across the borders.
MY RATING:
Story: 4.0
Casts: 4.0
Cinematography: 5.0
Effects: 4.5
GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 16.3/20.0
