Being a huge fan of the Fast
& Furious franchise, my decision to watch part 6 was a no-brainer. Over
the years I've heard many self-proclaimed movie pundits make pompous comments about
this series being dead, but the reality is very different. Starting just where
the fifth installment ended, Hobbs reaches out to Dom, requesting that he
reassemble his team to help capture an ex-military officer Shaw, and his crew
of mercenary drivers, one of which being Letty; back in the flesh.
When the franchise started out, it clearly was all about the
cars. Throw into the mix, the aftermarket upgrades, the hot women, and the
tussle with law enforcement, and there you had it, Fast & The Furious. With the years and every passing
installment, the series has slowly made a shift into the straight forward
action movie space. While the cars are still around, there is always a sinister
bad guy to outsmart. While this new formula does indeed work well, ensuring
fairly high audience appeal levels, the car purists will have to be prepared to
give up some. For one, the illegal street racing at night was not as awe
inspiring or gripping as I remember it to be. Car enthusiast whining aside, the
plot is interesting, the return of Letty is realistic, the action sequences are
fun, and the overall package lives up to the Fast & Furious legacy. The custom made rides of Shaw’s crew
seem invincible, and the tank is a welcome inclusion to the vehicle list of the
franchise. Perhaps my single largest gripe is the stunt sequence in the closing
moments of the action sequence on the bridge. Dom’s heroics cross the fine line
of plausible extremes, and that for me was disappointing, as the series has
managed to keep it breathtaking yet real for so very long. That said, Fast & Furious fans and action movie
lovers will enjoy part 6, and like me will already be looking forward to 7.
If you thought Vin Diesel was great as Dominic Toretto and that
the franchise had its hero, I think they decided to up the ante and make Dwayne
Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock, part of the team. With Hobbs on-board the already
impressive team becomes larger than life and unstoppable; the characters law
enforcement background being an added bonus. Going a step further, this
installment sees the addition of Riley, played by Gina Cerano of MMA fame.
Though I’m yet to check her out in Haywire,
her performance here is credible and tough as nails. Welcome back Letty, played
by Michelle Rodriguez, who does a fab job of her base character from the first
movie, with limited to no recollection of anything else. With the remainder of
the usual crew, it’s not surprising that they've moved up their game from drug
lord antagonists to military Special Forces.
It should come as no surprise that I couldn't wait to catch
this one on DVD. I watched it in the theater but in a less than state of the
art multiplex. Video was good, picture being clear but not necessarily crystal.
Sound was just about average, as the setup felt more old school, synonymous to
a Dolby 5.1 home theater Though we were seated ideally, in the middle and
closer to the back, the positional sound seemed to originate in a less than
seamless manner from specific speakers, with front to back transition seeming less
smooth than desirable. After being spoiled with Dolby Atmos, this was a bit of a
letdown, but only from a theater presentation setup perspective.
My Recommendation: Watch It (Round 6... It's time to take on the Tanks)
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