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Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez
Directed by Justin Lin
Guilty Pleasure is a ridiculous term when you get right down to it. Essentially it means you are apologizing for liking something you like. Why? Because someone else thinks they are a more enlightened being simply because they cannot appreciate the appeal of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker causing destruction like a 4 year-old with a Tonka Truck? If you like the Fast and Furious series, own it! There is no shame in loving this ridiculousness.
Yes, we’re now on Part 6. Remember when Tokyo Drift almost killed this franchise? And someone had the genius to bring Diesel back, create a new dynamic and BAM! – A newer, even bigger franchise was born. The plot here once again starts with Diesel as Dom. Hobbs (Johnson) has brought news to his door that Letty (Rodriguez), thought dead in the 4th film, has resurfaced and, coincidentally, has taken up with the slickest criminal in…the WORLD! Yes, it is almost a Bond plot.
So Dom partners back up with Brian (Walker) and brings back most of the crew from Fast Five (as well as Jordana Brewster as Mia and Elsa Pataky as Elena, though mostly as glorified cameos). Tyrese, Ludacris, Sung Kang and Gal Gadot are here and the theme of the film becomes quite simply – Family. Help Dom get Letty back to their family, THEN take Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his enterprise down. Hobbs is joined this time by MMA fighter Gina Carano as his co-cop in ass-kicking, which she handles just fine.
Once again, the criminal is after a chip. Once again, they somehow use cars to get everything done with little regard to civilians or any particular city’s financial infrastructure…this is Fast and Furious! It’s in the name! You know walking in that the plot will be infused with the imagination of a 3rd grader, and the action has no chance of logistic possibility. This is the real world, welded to the back of a superhero film.
Vin Diesel, in his gravely-voiced and slow-line reading way, commands this franchise and leads it like he owns it…because he does. Whether you like Diesel’s delivery or not, he commands the screen and this series has proven he is the true star of it. Seeing he and Rodriguez (playing herself, as usual) back together shows that, for this franchise, they are a perfect match.
Keanu still doesn’t have to watch his back on Oscar night for Walker, as his acting is as wooden as ever. Somehow you like his character, but out of all of the others? He is the one I care least about.
Dwayne Johnson proves once again that as a supporting player, he knows how to take charge and make a movie move faster. Putting he and Diesel together has been a masterstroke for this franchise and this time you will see the two fight alongside each other in the closing set-piece, which has to set a new bar for most muscles strained and flexed in a single scene.
The rest of the cast gets supporting coverage as this cast is HUGE. Ludacris and Tyrese provide the laughs, Gadot and Kang a little action romance and Evans brings his A-game as a villain you actually enjoy seeing face off with Diesel.
The one weak link, acting wise, is Carano. You can tell the filmmakers had little confidence in her ability as her lines are always a few words and very short. That said, when it comes to action, her fight scenes with Rodriguez are better than most ‘bro’ fights and even gave Diesel and Johnson a run for their money for who kicks more ass in this flick. The BEST thing I took walking away from this movie was how much I appreciated them taking a ‘chick’ fight and making it just as vicious as everyone else’s and keeping Hollywood’s typical blatant sexism out of this one. These two beat the piss out of each other, and this gets a ‘Bravo’ from me.
The action? Oh, it’s fantastic. And absolutely ridiculous. We have a tank on the freeway, which somehow can move faster than most foreign sports cars, and the ending set-piece manages to take place on the longest runway in the history of runways. My estimate is it lasts roughly 47 miles. Even still, this series is not about logistic possibilities. It’s about taking it to 11, and Furious 6 does just that once again. If you enjoyed the direction of Fast Five, you are in good hands here.
Director Justin Lin reinvented this franchise and this was his last film in it. Even if Part 7 crashes and burns with a new director, this film provides a great closing to these last 3 films and to see a franchise successfully reinvent itself as this one has is nothing short of impressive. So, check your brain at the door and prepare to have fun. (And stay a couple minutes after the credits to get a peek at what awaits in the next film)
If $10 is the full price of admission, Fast & Furious 6 is worth $8.
Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider Podcast