Fast and Furious 6 (2013) review

It’s truly amazing how far the ‘Fast and the Furious’ series has come ever since it was just a simple street-racing franchise back when it began in 2001. I’ll admit that for a long time, I was never really a big fan of the series, mainly because I thought it was… just that; a franchise that was more focused on the street races than actual story. Looking back, that was clearly the case with the first two films in this series. However, it feels like this series has been on a better run since director Justin Lin took over the franchise in 2006. While ‘Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’ and 2009’s ‘Fast and Furious’ were still focused on the street races, they do benefit from better direction and the latter also benefits from the return of the original cast. Then, there came ‘Fast Five’, the first film in the series to abandon the street racing theme, with the end result being more of a heist film. So now, this series has reached its sixth installment; quite a feat for any franchise that has not done a reboot after all of this time. ‘Fast and Furious 6’ is not really a heist film like its predecessor but that doesn’t stop it from being an exhilarating action film from beginning to end.

After successfully stealing $100 million from a crime boss in Rio, professional criminal Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his team, including ex-cop Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Dominic’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) have since spent their time ‘in retirement’. But, all that changes when Dom is approached by DSS Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), the same agent who chased after them in Rio, to help him take down a group of criminals led by former British Special Forces solider Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). Dom ultimately ends up helping when he learns that one of the members of Shaw’s crew is his ex-girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who was thought to have been killed in ‘Fast and Furious’. Dom gathers up his team to help Hobbs in taking down Shaw in exchange for full pardons for the whole team. More importantly, Dom looks to get Letty back in order to make their family whole again.

Don’t go into this movie expecting some major Oscar contender, because you won’t find it here. But that’s the whole point of the movie. ‘Fast and Furious 6’ is a film that doesn’t try to be something it isn’t. It’s just a straight-forward action film that is extremely entertaining. Lin is a director that knows how to direct some impressive action sequences, as this movie once again proves. Sure, there are still some moments that completely defy all logic and physics, but when considering what has happened in this franchise before (remember the safe being dragged around the streets of Rio in the last film?), it’s not really that big of a surprise. The plot is fairly simple, and the reintroduction of Letty into the franchise is a bit of a cop-out after the events of ‘Fast and Furious’, but again, that’s not what this series is all about. It’s about the fast cars and the high-octane action sequences. It’s just that since Lin took over, the movies have gotten much better at doing just that.

But that doesn’t mean the writing is devoid of substance. For one thing, one of the key themes that have been a part of the series since the beginning, the importance of family, is still present here. This is mainly thanks in part due to the cast. Yes, these characters are supposed to be criminals but they’re there for each other (to quote Vin Diesel in the film, ‘You don’t turn your back on family, even when they do”). Here, it’s shown in contrast with Owen Shaw, who doesn’t really react much when a member of his team gets killed and in Shaw’s mind, the code of family makes Dom and his team ‘predictable’. The acting may not be ‘Oscar’ material, but in terms of action movies go, it works for this movie. The cast just works well together, leading to some really funny dialogue (namely from Tyrese Gibson as Roman Bridges). The new additions to the cast are also pretty good as well; namely Gina Carano as Riley, a member of Hobbs’ team who has some really awesome fights with Michelle Rodriguez, showing off her fighting skills from all those years in MMA.

‘Fast and Furious 6’ won’t be winning any Oscars, but really, who goes into these movies expecting a great story anyway? This film knows what it is and it doesn’t try to be something that it’s not. It succeeds at being what it wants to be; an entertaining action film with impressive action scenes, even if they do defy all logic and physics. Sure, the plot is fairly simple but after six films, that is something that you just expect to see in these movies. It’s amazing how far this series has come, and it’s mainly been thanks to Justin Lin, who has breathed new life into this franchise. The last three movies (this included) have easily stood out as the best in the series. Also, be sure to stay a while after the credits for a post-credits scene that sets up the next film. Sadly, Lin won’t be back to direct the next one but the character (more importantly, the actor playing him) that they introduce certainly has me excited for what’s to come in ‘Fast and Furious 7’.

Rating: 4/5