Pure entertainment. Faster and Furiouser

Rating: 8/10 (24 May 2013)

¨You don't turn your back on family, even when they do.¨
Fast and Furious 6 and The Hangover Part 3 were both released today in what looks to be a tight box office race for the Memorial Day weekend. If you would have asked me a couple of years ago which film I would prefer to see, I would have definitely chosen to go see The Hangover Part 3 because I loved the first movie and thought it was a great comedy; I also enjoyed The Fast and The Furious film but wasn't too pleased with the following three sequels. Then in 2011 when both Fast Five and The Hangover Part 2 came out, things completely changed for me. I was hooked with The Fast and Furious franchise while part two of The Hangover was a major letdown. That is why this weekend I decided to go for Fast and Furious 6 without a doubt, and I wasn't disappointed. This might not be as good as the last film (which I think is the best in the franchise), but it lived up to expectations and was highly entertaining. This is Justin Lin's fourth time in the director's chair in this franchise and he seems to have had a great effect on these movies converting them into entertaining thrillers with some great action scenes. Screenwriter, Chris Morgan, is also back for the fourth time and he has managed to actually put some brains to these fast car races and create better characters. He's developed these characters very well and made them interesting, and has also done a decent job at creating some memorable villains. The film is fast paced, has several thrills, great car chases, and some decent character development. Of course there are several flaws as well: unbelievable and laughable scenes involving guys jumping off moving vehicles and landing safely all the time, and some very predictable moments and foreseeable twists. I still had a fun time with this film and laughed more than I thought I would.
If you thought that Toretto (Vin Diesel) and O'Conner (Paul Walker) were retired after their latest heist in Rio, then you were wrong because Detective Hobbs (Dwayne ¨The Rock¨ Johnson) has an interesting proposition for them. He is pursuing some dangerous criminal mercenary drivers led by Shaw (Luke Evans) who have been creating chaos all over Europe. In order to stop them, Hobbs knows that he will need the help of Toretto. Hobbs discovers that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Toretto's former love interest, is alive and working for Shaw, and therefore convinces Toretto to help him. The rest of his crew decides to come out of retirement as well and try to bring Letty back home with them. In exchange, Hobbs promises these men full pardon, and they accept without hesitation because they are tired of running and not being able to return home. Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Chris ¨Ludicrous¨ Bridges), Han (Sung Kang), and Gisele (Gal Gadot) are all back in order to help Toretto and O'Conner to stop the ruthless criminals pursuing them from London to Spain, but Shaw and his men seem to be always a step ahead of them.
This sixth film in the franchise seems to tie some loose ends from the third and fourth installment in a very thrilling and entertaining way. The franchise has really picked up and it seems to have a lot of life left in it. It even ends with a cliffhanger, so it is certain that the seventh film will be coming out soon as well. Most everyone in the franchise is back again (only missing Tego Calderon and Don Omar) and the interaction between these characters is very entertaining. Ludicrous and Tyrese pretty much steal all the laughs in the scenes they are together in, while Gadot and Kang bring in the romantic touch. Toretto and O'Conner have put aside their differences from the first films and their bond is pretty strong now as they are family. Despite some of the insane and absurd action scenes, this film stands above most other action films thanks to a strong performance from the cast. This film is really a lot of fun as long as you don't think too hard of all the physical impossibilities of what they are achieving. The franchise just continues to grow faster and faster, and it works really well for a summer blockbuster movie. Fans won't be disappointed, it is a very satisfying film.
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