Ridiculous, but very entertaining

Rating: 8/10 (24 May 2013)

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his fast car crew scored enough from a heist in Brazil in episode 5 to retire (but outside the USA, where they are all wanted). Then Interpol supercop Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) talks them into helping him catch someone who has a fast car crew who may be even better than Dom's, in order to prevent a maguffin which is worth billions to terrorists from falling into the wrong hands. The hook here is that Dom's missus Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who died in an earlier episode, appears not to be dead after all.
Once upon a time there was a movie about the street car racing sub-culture in Los Angeles - notwithstanding the appeal of fast cars (which don't really appeal to me), one would have expected this to be something with limited appeal. Yet here we are with the 6th in the series.
And, while no-one expects it to rank high in the Oscar nomination stakes, it is still an entertaining movie. It has no pretensions to be anything other than a spectacular, action-adventure romp.
This is why it can get away with several high-speed car chases on London streets which are, in places, strangely devoid of traffic, not to mention a lengthy sequence involving a cargo plane trying to take off on a runway which is at least 5 miles long (do the maths). Oh, and - best of all - the most preposterous and exhilarating rescue since Arnie hauled Jamie Lee Curtis out of a limo in True Lies. I nearly cheered.
Roll on episode 7!