Unrestrained blockbuster fun

Rating: 8/10 (16 March 2014)

I haven't watched the first four so this is my first F&F movie. I really like action movies and this did look pretty fun, so I decided just to start at the good bit. I have often heard people describe these movies as guilty pleasures but they shouldn't be. There is nothing embarrassing about liking this film or the sixth instalment. These are sleek, supreme, well executed thrill machines which know they're ridiculous and OTT and don't care at all. Ironically, that improves everything. By the sound of it, the others were just about car races, but this one is about Dominic Toretto and his hugely likable crew robbing a bank in Brazil. Dwayne Johnson in a career best performance is the agent who comes to Brazil to stop them. As one would expect, this couldn't care less about those who aren't action fans, and the length of 131 minutes is a bit much. The film does go on a bit, but it compensates with its nutty, jaw dropping, ballistic finale in which a safe is towed through the streets of Brazil.
Dwayne Johnson is excellent, and his character easily overshadows Vin Diesel's deeply boring protagonist. The film contains the best 'One use of strong language' in a 12 ever, and the script is surprisingly good. It's humorous and genuinely fun, and the characters are all likable. Justin Lin, despite his evident lack of physics knowledge, shows himself to be a thoroughly able action director. Some set pieces work better than others (for example a car race in the middle of the film is well done while a train set piece is just a bit much) but the film nails the right tone throughout. It's got plenty of humour and never takes itself too seriously. This is just pure fun. No sentimentality. No cringe inducing love stories. Barely any exposition. Just pure, endless fun. This is the ultimate popcorn flick and is actually a bit different from other movies of its type as its set pieces are so OTT they are pretty much unforgettable. So yes it rudely ignores all of those who aren't already fans and yes it's too long and yes it suffers from the boring action hero problem that plagued the Bourne and Mission Impossible films, but who cares? It's fun. Sometimes that's all we need. Get some popcorn. Sit back. Enjoy. You'll be glad you did.
8/10