Fast and Furious 6
Jun. 6th, 2013 10:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calzephyrI know I'm behind on things when it takes me TWO WEEKS to write about a movie I have been anticipating for some time! I like the series not just because of Vin Diesel's awesome bod, but because it's one of the few action movie franchises that gives audiences what they want. And does it 120% with so much respect for the fans, story and characters. I can't remember the last time I gushed so much about anything, and it can't be blamed on Nyquil. Let me just say - AMAZEBALLS!
The plot is easily recognizable as standard, and follows the "write like Michael Moorcock" school of action writing. It would be easy to judge the movie from the trailer and surmising that it was written by a bunch of twelve year olds, but that is not the case! Sure, there are plenty of cliches that seem ridiculous, yet natural. It's easy to picture the story meeting - "What if the other gang was, like, the opposite of Dom's?" "We couldn't use this tank scene in the other movies, let's use it now." "Same with the flaming airplane!" And somewhere between all these crazy stunts and the impossible they deliver a breathtaking and believable performance. The only time that dipped was during the plane scene - they tried to pack so much action into this sequence that it seemed as if the runway lasted forever :-D
One of the motivating factors for Dom in this movie is that his old girlfriend, Letty, didn't die as she appeared to at the end of 4. This could have been turned into such a predictable plot line - the damsel in distress AND amnesiac - but it's just one of the ways they sidestep tropes and cheesiness. While Letty is technically rescued by Dom - he catches her as she flies off a bridge - it's not the entire focus of the movie. I thought this was very respectful to Letty's tough as nails character. Earlier, Dom catches her attention by street racing with her. Afterwards, he tosses out a few memories to see if she remembers him, she still ends up leaving. Heck, she even shoots Dom in the shoulder in their first encounter. It's true that audiences usually want more of the same when it comes to tropes, but 6 just makes them better by not going down the predictable path. It's a delightful experience when Letty comes to realize that chief baddie Owen Shaw treats her like an object and that she doesn't have a future with his gang.
It's true that there are two catfights in the movie, but they never come off as gratuitous. In the first one, Gisele fights Letty, and in the second one, Mia takes on Riley. Riley is played by Gina Carano, who is an actual MMA fighter. In an earlier scene she literally squeezes information out of a baddie. Letty ends up killing Riley. Even when the baddies kidnap Mia, this is quickly resolved (I can't remember exactly how) but in no time she's swinging a pipe at them. The ladies can take care of themselves, and their cars.
Much has also been made about the multi-ethnic cast, which I noticed in 6 more than the other movies - but again, this is done in a very natural way that it doesn't feel contrived (in fact, I would say it feels very Canadian!). And the Rock - what a ham! He is just what the series needed - and his obliviousness as Hobbs is just priceless.
Lastly, when it comes to the human cast, I appreciate the honesty that the writers went with. Letty's return means that Elena can no longer be Dom's girlfriend. When Hobbs and Elena show up at the end, some of the characters declare "Awkward!" because it is. Still, this thread gets wrapped up nicely and in a satisfying way.
And then there are the cars. Oh, it's so ridiculous. The movie will use any excuse to get someone into an awesome car. Or chase cars. Or blow up cars. The cars get their own screen time and close ups as silent actors, and I think Letty's Jensen Interceptor - British on the outside, all American muscle on the inside - gets the most screen time. Man, what a sweet ride, and so suitable to Letty's confused personality.
Lastly lastly, one of the reasons that the series gets such a big thumbs up from me is its attention to continuity. While the third movie was a stinker, 4, 5 and 6 are written in such a way that they are prequels to 3. Other series would either have ignored Han's death, but no, the FF writers found a way to circle back besides including characters from the previous movies. Unfortunately this dooms Gisele's character, but hey, if they can bring back Letty, maybe there's room for a former Mossad agent :-)
Lastly, lastly, lastly, the movie is simply FUN, something Hollywood kind of forgot IMHO.
Usually we don't see movies on opening weekends because they are too crazy, and even the 4:20 showing was packed. There was such a buzz and excitement in the crowd, and I was a little worried that it would be full of talky jerks, but everyone behaved. At the end there was a huge reveal for 7, and the whole audience went "OOOH!". Ooooh! It is going to be awesome.
The plot is easily recognizable as standard, and follows the "write like Michael Moorcock" school of action writing. It would be easy to judge the movie from the trailer and surmising that it was written by a bunch of twelve year olds, but that is not the case! Sure, there are plenty of cliches that seem ridiculous, yet natural. It's easy to picture the story meeting - "What if the other gang was, like, the opposite of Dom's?" "We couldn't use this tank scene in the other movies, let's use it now." "Same with the flaming airplane!" And somewhere between all these crazy stunts and the impossible they deliver a breathtaking and believable performance. The only time that dipped was during the plane scene - they tried to pack so much action into this sequence that it seemed as if the runway lasted forever :-D
One of the motivating factors for Dom in this movie is that his old girlfriend, Letty, didn't die as she appeared to at the end of 4. This could have been turned into such a predictable plot line - the damsel in distress AND amnesiac - but it's just one of the ways they sidestep tropes and cheesiness. While Letty is technically rescued by Dom - he catches her as she flies off a bridge - it's not the entire focus of the movie. I thought this was very respectful to Letty's tough as nails character. Earlier, Dom catches her attention by street racing with her. Afterwards, he tosses out a few memories to see if she remembers him, she still ends up leaving. Heck, she even shoots Dom in the shoulder in their first encounter. It's true that audiences usually want more of the same when it comes to tropes, but 6 just makes them better by not going down the predictable path. It's a delightful experience when Letty comes to realize that chief baddie Owen Shaw treats her like an object and that she doesn't have a future with his gang.
It's true that there are two catfights in the movie, but they never come off as gratuitous. In the first one, Gisele fights Letty, and in the second one, Mia takes on Riley. Riley is played by Gina Carano, who is an actual MMA fighter. In an earlier scene she literally squeezes information out of a baddie. Letty ends up killing Riley. Even when the baddies kidnap Mia, this is quickly resolved (I can't remember exactly how) but in no time she's swinging a pipe at them. The ladies can take care of themselves, and their cars.
Much has also been made about the multi-ethnic cast, which I noticed in 6 more than the other movies - but again, this is done in a very natural way that it doesn't feel contrived (in fact, I would say it feels very Canadian!). And the Rock - what a ham! He is just what the series needed - and his obliviousness as Hobbs is just priceless.
Lastly, when it comes to the human cast, I appreciate the honesty that the writers went with. Letty's return means that Elena can no longer be Dom's girlfriend. When Hobbs and Elena show up at the end, some of the characters declare "Awkward!" because it is. Still, this thread gets wrapped up nicely and in a satisfying way.
And then there are the cars. Oh, it's so ridiculous. The movie will use any excuse to get someone into an awesome car. Or chase cars. Or blow up cars. The cars get their own screen time and close ups as silent actors, and I think Letty's Jensen Interceptor - British on the outside, all American muscle on the inside - gets the most screen time. Man, what a sweet ride, and so suitable to Letty's confused personality.
Lastly lastly, one of the reasons that the series gets such a big thumbs up from me is its attention to continuity. While the third movie was a stinker, 4, 5 and 6 are written in such a way that they are prequels to 3. Other series would either have ignored Han's death, but no, the FF writers found a way to circle back besides including characters from the previous movies. Unfortunately this dooms Gisele's character, but hey, if they can bring back Letty, maybe there's room for a former Mossad agent :-)
Lastly, lastly, lastly, the movie is simply FUN, something Hollywood kind of forgot IMHO.
Usually we don't see movies on opening weekends because they are too crazy, and even the 4:20 showing was packed. There was such a buzz and excitement in the crowd, and I was a little worried that it would be full of talky jerks, but everyone behaved. At the end there was a huge reveal for 7, and the whole audience went "OOOH!". Ooooh! It is going to be awesome.
