Finally feelings took over the muscles

Rating: 6/10 (30 December 2013)

We all know up to now Fast & Furious has been one of the most successful movie franchises. I remember the time when I watched the first part of Fast & Furious. I really fell in love with this movie! I loved every single detail about it: story line, actors (that was when I knew about Vin Diesel and Paul Walker and got addicted to them), cars, but mostly car races. Then there was the second part of Fast & Furious that was not less interesting and exciting. I thought there wouldn't be any continuation, but deep inside hoped for that. And then, some years later, Universal Pictures announced the release of Fast & Furious 3, then 4, and 5. I was anxious to see those parts and loved them. But, frankly speaking, already starting with Fast & Furious 4 I was getting bored. There were less and less new things in the movie and it looked like this franchise started to be exhausted. With the release of the 5th part, honestly, I hoped it would be the end. But, as you know, this year we saw Fast & Furious 6.
I admit, I expected too much from this part. I believed the director and producer would add some new things, new intrigues, but in reality everything was the same, just like in previous series. Here the story repeats again: in order to get freedom and clear his crew's criminal records Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) has to cooperate with the agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to help him to take down a criminal organization led by Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and in which Dom's presumed-dead ex-girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is involved. Of course, there are fights with superman deeds (for example, when Dom saves Letty from falling out of the track), a bit of car races, shoot-outs, some humor scenes. Everything is just like in previous parts. But at the same time there are some attempts, unexpected though, to insert into the story line moral and human notions, such as love, feeling, freedom, betrayal, friendship. I can't say it worked. For me it looked a bit awkward. Imagine the scene where the fight is at its highest point and suddenly a jockstrap declares his love to the girl (the moment when Dom is talking to Letty when he finally meets her). And there are lots of such scenes. What I am trying to say is that for many people Fast & Furious is an action movie where people are not only used, but they require action, a lot of action. And now the director in order to prolong the existence of this franchise tries to turn it in some kind of soap opera by adding all this moral and emotional elements that don't match at all even with the characters. When you expect tough races and fights, but instead you get gentleness and tears – this is a bit confusing and disappointing and even boring.
Well, my general opinion is that Fast & Furious has exhausted. It doesn't have anything new to suggest to its audience. Now, this movie is not about the cars and action, but about the morality. So, if you want to see a film full of fights and intrigues, you'd better chose something different. And I don't think the 7th part will be different, don't have any expectations from it. But we will see