Super fun but very OTT

Rating: 7/10 (6 July 2013)

Fast and Furious 6
*** (out of 4)
130 mins/ 12
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Tyrese Gibson, Ludicrous, Gal Gadot
Director: Justin Lin
Plot: After discovering Letty is still alive, Dom and Brian help Hobbs take down the criminal she is now working for.
JJ's Verdict: The Fast and Furious franchise has come a long way since the first instalment back in 2001. That film was all about cars and racing and its first three sequels followed suit. That all changed with Fast Five in 2011, which was more of a heist film and involved more action and less racing to attract a larger audience. This was welcomed back then, but with Fast and Furious 6, director Justin Lin has made the action bigger; but not necessarily better. Earlier this year, I said A Good Day to Die Hard had over the top action but this film is over the over the top. It is however, unlike that Die Hard, stylish and enjoyable. And although the actual concept of Vin Diesel jumping in the air and while still in the air, head-butting a man twice the size of him, is cool, you can't help thinking it is completely unnecessary and ridiculous. The action scenes themselves had such good editing and precision that it was hard to concentrate on them and it certainly hurt my eyes.
The plot itself is a bad one. The idea to resurrect Letty considering she had a funeral and burial in Fast and Furious 4 is totally absurd. It does however not distract too much from Luke Evans' villain Shaw. His character is certainly the most memorable of all previous Fast and Furious bad guys and the Welshman plays it sinister and cold , bringing a fresh air to the scene as the film's only new principal character. Paul Walker's acting has come a long way and along with Diesel, shows off great emotional acting skills which have previously (although attempted particularly by Walker) failed to impress. Tyrese Gibson gets some very funny lines in this one and his chemistry with Ludicrous is nothing short of both brilliant and hilarious. Dwayne Johnson is once again robbed of his hard man status as baby oil and 'Captain America' jokes are made at him constantly.
Not only is the action unrealistic here, but the setting itself. Set partly in London, the film depicts London as a street-racing city with races taking place straight through the centre of it. I can assure you that no street racing anywhere near this scale takes place in London and although I don't mind them smashing it to pieces, I wish they could put some realism into it. Another realism point is that if 200 people were watching 3 policemen being beaten up by a criminal, would one of them help them? Apparently not.
Fast and Furious 6, although terribly unrealistic, even for an action film, is lots of fun and certainly enjoyable. And to add to the excitement, it gives us a brilliant hint to what Fast and Furious 7 will be like on its release in just over a year.