Fast Five reignited this series, Fast & Furious 6 has taken it even further.

Rating: 9/10 (29 August 2013)

The Fast & Furious series has seen some good times and not so good times. The series has been up and down since The Fast and the Furious released in 2001, and seems to have finally decided on a permanent name for the series. When 2011's Fast Five ushered in a new vision of the franchise, brought huge success and now Fast & Furious 6 has driven that success to heights I never thought I'd see in this series.
This series is really supposed to be about two things: fast cars and furious action (pun absolutely intended) and this movie provides both on a large scale. Though some of the action scenes are a bit unrealistic and clichéd, they are intense and exciting enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. High speed highway chases, big time shootouts, and some excellent hand-to-hand combat are all in full effect here and make for some very entertaining action sequences. A little more on the fisticuffs, they really were quite exciting and very well choreographed. The build up to the eventual showdown between two female characters and two juggernauts is fun and the clashes are great. The cars and other vehicles in the movie are fast paced and never leave a dull moment where something is dragged out (except for the end of the movie). So again, some of the action scenes are clichéd and predictable, but are overall a joy to watch.
Now the plot and the villain. The story again revolves around Dominic Toretto and his crew who accept one last job to ensure their freedom. Things go awry, and the crew is forced into a much larger conflict than originally expected. The story takes some unexpected turns and keeps you interested for the vast majority, but at times was a little too rushed and got confusing. It wasn't the best story in an action movie I've ever seen, but it wasn't the worst either. The movie's romantic sub plot involving Dominic and Letty was good. It never made you bored and added to the emotional side a little bit. The villain, Owen Shaw, is a good antagonist. At first, he doesn't seem to pose a huge threat and is sometimes boring to get into, but eventually really shows his dark side making up for his lack of character development in the early parts of the film.
The cast is great. Vin Disel (Toretto), Paul Walker (Brain O'Conner), Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs), and Luke Evans (Shaw) among many other do a great job of bringing the movie to life. Some of the supporting cast such as Tyrese Gibson and Ludicrous bring a solid slate of humor to keep the film fresh while Michelle Rodriguez (Letty) and Gina Carano (Riley) provide strong female roles that aren't often seen in action films. A shout out as well to director Justin Lin, who has taken an almost dead series after Tokyo Drift and reinvented it into the fast-paced action- heavy movies we again know.
I love this series. The Fast and the Furious was a highly entertaining film while the next two movies were weak. Fast & Furious in 2009 was a step up and then again, Fast Five was a new and improved direction for the series which spanned F&F6 and the already announced Fast & Furious 7 slated for a July 2014 release. This movie may at times suffer from minor cases of clichés (and the longest runway in film history), but the top heavy action sequences, highlighted by terrific fight scenes and fast paced vehicular mayhem, plentiful and entertaining humor, great cast and acceptable story more than make up for those corny parts.
The Fast & Furious series (which is hopefully the name they're sticking to), is back on the map and at top form. An end credits scene connects the dots between Tokyo Drift and the since announced Fast & Furious 7, so stick around to build up even more hype for next summer's big blockbuster.
8.5/10 (my score is rounded to 9 on the website's rating)