The movie picks up where the franchise left off. As a small nod, to
Brian (Paul Walker) asking Dom (Vin Diesel) for a heads up race
one-on-one to settle who is the fastest between the two of them. If
you’re a fan of the characters, you’re already in the theatre watching
at this point. Maybe you’re rooting for Brian or maybe you’re rooting
for Dom to win. Or maybe you’re just rooting for the tuner versus muscle
car. Or maybe you don’t care and you’re just along for the ride.
But
that’s what these movies are and have become, little in-notes and nods
to the previous film and maybe the film before that. Or even the film
before that. We’re along for the ride and in this case Brian and Dom are
rushing to the hospital, as Mia (Jordana Brewster) is about to give
birth (another storyline being tied up from 2011’s Fast Five). Meanwhile
halfway across the globe we’re being re-introduced to Agent Hobbs
(Dwayne Johnson) who is now partnered up with Riley (Gina Carano) as
they track down international criminal Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his
own crew of associates which somehow includes a resurrected Letty
(Michelle Rodriguez). Which is a nod to the after credits scene from
Fast Five, where everyone in your audience let out a collective ‘what
the...’.
And that’s how the storyline ties itself together, as Letty
supposedly died in Fast & Furious (2009). It’s simple reasoning and
enough to drive the entire crew to be there for one another on
principle. And there is a familial beauty to it – it’s a relatable
notion. Not that going globetrotting with fast cars is the norm. But
there is a sheer brilliance to the relevancy, which Chris Morgan
(writer) and Justin Lin (director) have been working on character wise
since 2006′s The Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift (which is, ahem, now
canon). And again, it’s probably the singular reason why you are
watching this movie. You love the characters.
Vin Diesel put it best when they were planning Fast Five, “they
wanted to do the characters justice.” Except when they put pen to paper
the overarching storyline was so big they divided everything into
sequels, because it was just so much. But it’s a care to characters
rarely seen in films. Especially when a franchise becomes storied. I
think it’s something even the Harry Potter franchise failed at, as there
was a/are missing detail(s), in my opinion, that could’ve wrapped up
the characters there better. Even Twilight did it better (I thought).
And it’s something we’re also witnessing with Marvel and their on-going
universe. At the end, a part of it becomes one part nostalgia and maybe
another part source material. So in all the ways I compare and contrast
those movies, I’m looking simply at why people keep going to see
sequels. You’ve grown to like (in no particular order) Dom, Brian,
Roman, Han, Tej, Gisele, Mia, Letty, etc every character that has been
introduced into this franchise. They’re fun to watch. It’s a level of
consistency and simplicity and oddly still in a movie about fast cars.
It stays to its roots, isn’t without it’s conveniences but doesn’t shy
away from them.
It’s pretty amazing to see how far these movies have come along since
The Fast & The Furious came out in 2001. I mean really, it’s been
over a decade and we’re now at our sixth installment. And again, really
the thought of stretching out fast cars, cool characters, stereotypical
action, into seven films – it’s downright absurd. I’ll be the first to
acknowledge that. It’s a strange attraction these films have created.
But that’s the point. Absurdity, insanity and any other associated
adjective can be attributed to the Fast & Furious franchise. Because
simply this franchise as a whole is the very definition of a guilty
pleasure. I know it is for me, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. It’s
almost to a point of bias and that’s what makes writing this review so
fun.
But that right there is the entertainment of it. In the simplest
ways, we’re watching a soap opera, with romanticized action and
characterization. The ideology of ‘having everything you want, but it
not being enough’, ‘some place to call home’, ‘friendship’, ‘loyalty’,
and ‘family’. All of that is relatable. When a film leaves you wanting
more, I think a movie has done its job and that’s what Furious 6 did.
And just when you think the gas hadn’t been pushed hard enough, this
film still has its mid-credits scene where this time, your audience will
let out a collective “holy...”.
Because I ate first at the table, I’ll say the grace “thank you for
summer movies, popcorn, matinees, and above all else, thank god for fast
cars.” Okay that might’ve been a little corny, but whatever.
Personally for me, I loved the movie. It had hot cars, hot girls and great action. I give it an 8/10.
Jack Wu
Super Car Blog Australia
Source: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/fast-and-furious-6-08.jpg
http://bucksandcorn.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/fast-furious-6-thank-you-god-for-fast.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKi5XoeTN0k
