Characters who should return for Fast 10 and 11

With Fast & Furious 10 and 11 on the horizon and end the series, we'll expect the likes of Dom (Vin Diesel), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Mia (Jordana Brewster), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Han (Sung Kang), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Sean (Lucas Black) to return, but there are several characters who I would like to see return to the series.

Leon (played by Johnny Strong)

We haven't seen this guy since the first movie, and aside from Letty, he is last remaining member of Dom's original team as Jesse and Vince were killed off in previous films. Also Johnny Strong hasn't done any film work in a while and is reluctant to return, but lets hope Vin will pull some strings to get him back in.

Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes)

The last time we saw that character was in 2011's "Fast Five" and Eva Mendes seems to have given up taking movie roles, however Vin Diesel  has hinted that the character could return in the future.

Neela (Nathalie Kelley)

"F9" sees the return of "Tokyo Drift" characters Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), Twinkie (Bow Wow) and Earl (Jason Tobin), but absent is Neela, the girlfriend of Sean Boswell. If Sean's role is get expanded beyond "F9" I could not see a reason for them not to bring Neela back.

Leo and Santos (Tego Calderon and Don Omar)

While Santos is confirmed to be in "F9" there seems to be no sign of Leo, but the two are characters are expected to appear in flashbacks with the former played by Ozuna and the latter played by Cered

Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson)

Everyone's favourite law man is skipping out on "F9", but a return is very possible as both Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson seem to have patched things up between them, also Tyrese seemed to have ended his beef with Johnson was well so all is good and hopefully we'll get Johnson vs Cena.

Owen Shaw (Luke Evans)

The last time we saw Owen was when he was helping is older brother Deckard Shaw rescue Dom infant son from Cipher and he did not make an appearance in "Hobbs & Shaw" and likely won't appear in "F9". Owen's story is far from finished as he has to deal with Cipher, who had originally hired him and left him for dead.

Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham)

Another character missing out on the fun in "F9" is Deckard Shaw, but seems like there is a plan in place for the character as he has some unfinished business with the now resurrected Han.

Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood)

Seems like Mr. Nobody's protégé is nowhere to be seem in "F9", but the character's interaction to the family is too good ignore.

Jakob Toretto (John Cena)

 

"F9" sees the introduction of Dom's long-forgotten brother Jakob played by John Cena, so the chances of him returning are very likely.

Gisele Yashar (Gal Gadot)

This is a an undecided one as I would like to see Gisele return and I think she should stay dead. Bit if Owen Shaw can survive the fall, why can't Gisele.

Brian O'Conner

The passing of Paul Walker hit Fast & Furious fans hard, precisely because these movies’ themes of family resonate so strongly. James Wan’s Furious 7 gave Brian and Paul Walker the goodbye he deserves without being distasteful, so it’d be wise to leave Brian behind for good.

But, however macabre it may be, constantly improving VFX technology means no actor stays out of work forever. While it’d take some tasteful-as-hell writing gymnastics for Brian to return, it’s not an impossible task, and both of Walker’s brothers have even revealed that the character may return in the future.

Look out for my review of "F9" on June 25th

Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) Review

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Vanessa Kirby, Idris Elba, Helen Mirren, Eiza Gonzalez, Roman Reigns, Cliff Curtis, Eddie Marsan.

Director David Leitch's "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw" stars Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) as DSS Agent Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham as 'reformed' bad guy Deckard Shaw from the "Fast & Furious" franchise. Hence, the expansive convoluted title. "Hobbs and Shaw" is a lot of fun, and miraculously stupid.

In the film's nearly incomprehensible story: MI-6 Operative Hattie Shaw, played by Vanessa Kirby, retrieves the deadly CT-17 virus on her mission. Powerful cyborg Brixton, played by Idris Elba, thwarts the operation seeking to obtain the virus, too. To keep the virus from Brixton, Hattie injects the CT-17 capsule into herself. Yeah, really.
Brixton, who rides this high-tech motorcycle, is super strong, bullet proof, and skilled in martial arts. Eteon Corporation created Brixton, who shares a past with Shaw. Basically, he's invincible. Yet somehow, Hattie uses her smarts to leverage her escape.
Eteon's cloaked Leader wants to create a new world order, by first erasing the 'weaker' elements of the human race.
Now it's up to Hobbs and Shaw to work together to retrieve the virus, before it goes active, and again save the world. As Hobbs reminds Shaw, "... which for the record, will be my fourth time." Hattie (Vanessa) is Shaw's little sister. Consequently, Hobbs finds the smart, beautiful, strong, kick ass Hattie attractive. According to Shaw, Hobbs ain't getting with his little Sis. No way. The screenwriter's obvious narrative tension is hilarious.

The sheer upside of "Hobbs and Shaw" is its amazing cast. Johnson is great in the role. Dude is ripped, funny, and raises an eye brow better than Mr. Spock. Well, almost. Jason Statham is a BMF. In one scene Jason fights 4 dudes in close quarters. He gets hit from different angles, yet he's just thrashing the hell out of those guys with punches, kicks and joint locks. Vanessa Kirby, who also starred in "Mission: Impossible - Fallout", is the total bad ass as Hattie. She displays solid martial arts skills. Ironically, that propels the narrative when her Hattie battles Hobbs. Hobs distinguishes that she fought to escape, not to kill. Vanessa also has an ironic sense of humor. Idris Elba commands absolute cool as villainous, mostly machine Brixton. As he says, "I'm Black Superman".

You get appearances by both Cliff Curtis and Roman Reigns as Hobbs' brothers, Curtis gets to do a good bit and has a good scene with Johnson's Hobbs, Reigns doesn't have any lines and is just there, but his involvement in the climax wasn't too bad and I wouldn't mind seeing him in future Fast & Furious movies if the writers come up with a smart way to include him. You also get cameos by Ryan Reynolds Rob Delaney as two CIA agents, the former, who Hobbs had worked with in the past and Kevin Hart as an Air Marshall. Reynolds' banter which Johnson was the most fun out of all the cameos, but Hart's was just a last-minute arrangement for him to his comedic talent, don't hate the guy though but he wasn't needed and felt that we could have gotten an appearance from either Kurt Russell's Mr. Nobody or Scott Eastwood's Little Nobody since they had worked with both Hobbs & Shaw in past Fast movies. Also the absence of Luke Evans' Owen Shaw is a strange one, but hopefully the character returns in future instalments.

Director David Leitch's art is electrifying cinematic action. In "Hobbs and Shaw" he gets to work with Jason Statham, who I think is an elite martial artist, and the absolute best in the movie game today. Their collaboration is often breathtaking.

Dwayne and Jason have palpable natural screen chemistry. No small feat given their individual undeniable charisma. Their trash talk is hysterical. Hobbs says of Shaw's voice: It's like dragging his privates "over shattered glass..." Well, Hobbs actually used another word for privates, among other things. Just saying.

The miraculously stupid occurs near the end, with the fight with Samoan tribal weapons, and the tow truck and helicopter. WTF? It's in the movie trailer, too, however, while I enjoy the sequence, it was must an excuse to make the movie over two hours long.

That being all said, "Hobbs and Shaw" is not a perfect movie but it was fun to watch and I hope those two characters get to return to the main Fast & Furious series in the near future.

Rating: 7.5/10

Actors who should join the Fast & Furious franchise

 My Wishlist of actors I would like to see join the Fast & Furious franchise

Keanu Reeves

It's very well known that Dwayne Johnson and the franchise producers tried to get him to appear in "Hobbs & Shaw" as the Eteon director, however things didn't work out as he was busy with "John Wick". However this does not rule out Keanu for the future as we could see him in "Fast 10" or any future sequel or spinoff in that role. It would be great to see Johnny Utah bump into the Fast gang as the first movie was basically a "Point Break" knock-off. 

Chris Hemsworth

Even though his wife Elsa Pataky had appeared in four movies of the franchise, Hemsworth would be perfect for this franchise and would one of these guys who I could see pairing up with Vin Diesel. I could see him playing a relative of Brian O'Conner, whether it is either a brother or cousin. He could even bring an even larger fanbase to the series and spark bigger interest in fans. 

Karl Urban

Billy "The Butcher" himself can pull off any role. He has worked with both Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel and has also worked with director Justin Lin on "Star Trek: Beyond". If they can't Keanu as the villain in future films, then Urban would be a great option.

Jason Momoa

Dwayne Johnson has stated that he wanted Momoa to appear as one of Hobbs' brothers in "Hobbs & Shaw", but the actor was unable to commit so instead both Cliff Curtis and Roman Reigns (Johnson's real-life cousin) filled these role, but I would not want to rule him out in future instalments.

Margot Robbie

She would be perfect for this franchise. Do I need to go any further.

Denzel Washington

Years ago, Denzel was said to have turned down the role of Mr. Nobody in "Furious 7" and Kurt Russell was cast instead. However, It's not too late for him to join, even longtime cast member Tyrese Gibson, who is good friends with the 66-year old Oscar winner would love to see him appear.

Liam Neeson

We need him to join the franchise, he even has a real-life history with Helen Mirren who plays the Shaw matriarch and he could fit the role of the Shaw patriarch perfectly.

The Fate of the Furious (2017) Review

 

Director: F. Gary Gray

Cast: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodrigez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Scott Eastwood, Kurt Russell, Charlize Theron, Elsa Pataky, Kristofer Hivju

As we all thought that the seventh film would end the series, but as a very flamboyant mustached man once said, “the show must go on”. I didn’t know how they were going to continue without Paul Walker, but what I learned that before his passing Walker wanted three more Fast movies to happen after the seventh so Universal and Vin got his blessing. The series had transitioned to being a spy-esque franchise with the introduction of Kurt Russell’s character Mr. Nobody. James Wan decided not to return to direct as he found the production of “Furious 7” difficult and had all-ready signed on to direct DC’s “Aquaman”, so F. Gary Gray, who is best known for his work on “The Italian Job” remake and “Straight Outta Compton” was brought on board and I have to say is that I was not disappointed by this.

The film starts off with Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) on their long-awaited Honeymoon in Cuba, they waited eight years for this. They then witness Dom’s cousin Fernando getting into trouble for owing money to a loan shark named Raldo, however Dom decides to race Raldo through the streets of Havana, Dom manages to beat Raldo, who then earns his respect. Following the events, Dom is confronted by a mysterious woman named Cipher (Charlize Theron), who forces Dom to betray his team and work for her. Afterwards Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) recruit Dom and his team Letty, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) to recover an EMP device in Berlin. During the getaway Dom goes rogue, forcing Hobbs off the road and stealing the device. Hobbs is then arrested and is locked up in the same security prison in which he helped imprison Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). Both Hobbs and Deckard escape the prison are recruited by Mr. Nobody and his junior associate Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) to help the rest of the team find Dom. It’s revealed that Cipher was the one who recruited both Owen, Deckard’s brother to steal the nightshade device after Deckard declined and Jakande to steal the God’s Eye. The team then track Dom and Cipher before they both attack the base and steal the God’s Eye. The team then decide to track Dom down with help from Little Nobody and Deckard and bring him home.

The story does work for the film, in fact it does feel like the newest season of a favorite TV series where the previous bad guys are good and the good guys have gone bad. Yes this does sound almost negative but we all knew the stories could maintain the levels from the previous outings. The darker tone comes through in places but joke do seem to miss at times.

While I enjoy Diesel as Dom, I felt that Diesel did lack some of the range for the motivation behind his character, he just looked sulky for the most part and continues to show he hasn’t been improving on the levels of both Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. I guess it was all because his beef with Johnson.

Despite his beef with Diesel, Johnson still manages to deliver a great performance as Hobbs. I liked his banter with Statham who looks to be enjoying himself in every scene he is in. Rodriguez gives the best performance in the franchise to date. Both Tyrese and Ludacris deliver good banter between one another, I liked Theron’s villain a lot better then past villains, just pure evil.

Scott Eastwood does a good job as the new addition to the team but he wouldn’t be my first choice to be a new member of the family, but I say fans feel that he will always get compared to Paul Walker. Its shame that he is not seen anywhere in “F9” but lets hope he’ll return in the 10^th and 11^th installments.

Helen Mirren has a great small, but memorable appearance as Deckard and Owens mother and look forward seeing more from her.

While I liked the character in “Furious 7”, Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey is the biggest disappointment when it comes to character but all we see that she is a passenger who does same as Tej. Good thing that Rodriguez came out and said that the franchise needs to give female characters more to do.

Lastly I was disappointed that Lucas Black didn’t make an appearance, thought he would join the team in this one. But Black said that he was unable to film scenes because his show NCIS: New Orleans, but good thing he’s back for part 9

The action sequences were fun in this, and I’m glad it’s back to practical work, while I liked the CG in the last movie I pretty much prefer practical all the way. If I had to choose a favorite it’s the finale in the snow with the military vehicles and the submarine. The locations, Cuba, New York and Iceland are fine and used creatively for the action, nothing there comes off bad.

Overall, this was not as good as Fast 5, 6, or 7, but still enjoyable to watch and when it comes to mindless action you can’t go wrong here.

Rating: 8/10

Furious 7 (2015) Review

Director: James Wan

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham, Nathalie Emmanuel, Djimon Hounsou, Lucas Black, Elsa Pataky, Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey.

After the release of the sixth movie, Universal wanted to release the film in 2014 due to the franchises status as a “bankable asset” and Lin decided not to return to direct and in his place was James Wan. However, on November 30^th, 2013, when the movie was in the middle of production, Paul Walker was killed in a car accident, causing the rest of filming to be halted and the film pushed back to 2015. Once filming resumed Paul’s brother Caleb and Cody were hired to complete the remaining scenes that Paul intended to film, with the use of CGI/motion-capture performance. Once the movie was released, the film received positive reviews and made over a billion at the box-office.

Like the last two Fast movies, this one was enjoyable and it paid tribute to Paul well, and this was the first movie in the series to take place after Tokyo Drift, because in the film, Dom (Vin Diesel) and the team – Brian (Paul Walker), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) are forced to come back together when they learn that Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the brother of the now comatose Owen was the one who murdered Han in Tokyo and is now out for them. The team are then recruited by a government agent Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell), recommended by Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), now hospital bound to help him track down a surveillance device known as “God’s Eye” with the help of a hacker named Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) before Somalian warlord Mose Jakande (Djimon Hounsou) gets to it first. From start to finish the never drags and each sequence does not disappoint, I know that they had CGI instead of practical effects, but this time the use of CGI is actually good mainly because the stunts and sequences performed are very death defying like cars flying in the air to a bus sliding to the end of a cliff and barley escaping, it’s insane.

The performances, if not all, do not disappoint, Diesel is at the heart of the movie, but maybe not as good as the last movie due to Walker’s passing but at least he was still passionate about it.

Paul Walker was able to give a solid performance before his untimely demise, but with Caleb and Cody taking over the second half of production, they were able to fulfill what Paul started and the CGI enhancements used was incredible.

Michelle Rodriguez gave a much stronger performance as Letty, progressing her character arc and being able to be a full team player.

Both Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson give good energy to their characters and their bickering does not get old.

It was nice to see Lucas Black return as Sean from “Tokyo Drift”, but he only appears in one scene and they could have used him a lot more in this, but I understand why he did not have a big part.

Dwayne Johnson had some good moments and I enjoyed his fight scene with Jason Statham and his involvement at the end when shooting down the helicopter with a Gatling gun, but shame that he had a smaller part compared to previous installments.

I enjoyed Statham in this, he is a favourite actor of mine, but he doesn’t appear as much as expected and shows up when there is an action scene, he not as good of a villain as Owen in six, but he is a welcome addition to the series.

Kurt Russell was also a welcome addition and had some fun moments with Diesel. He plays his part with such cool and enthusiasm.

Tony Jaa also makes an appearance in this and has two cool fights scenes with Walker.

Then there’s Ronda Rousey and all I have to say was, what was she doing there, she was forgettable.

Overall, Furious 7 was a great, emotional and memorable installment that pays tribute to Walker well and brings his character arc full circle.

Rating: 8/10

Fast & Furious 6 (2013) Review

Director: Justin Lin

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Luke Evans, Gina Carano, Elsa Pataky, John Ortiz, Joe Taslim

While most franchises lose their steam with each succeeding sequel, the Fast and the Furious franchise is that rare exception where its later films breathe in new life into the series. Once a franchise about car racing, "Fast Five" took an unexpected turn as a bank heist thriller in the vein of Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's 11," a welcomed change as seen by its huge box office earnings and critical success. Now, "Fast & Furious 6" is neither about car racing nor bank heists, but rather a terrorist threat with obvious inspirations from "The Dark Knight." Like "Fast Five," the results are immensely satisfying and undeniably entertaining.

In this instalment, Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker) and the rest of the team are living normal lives, until Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) approaches Dom about his team helping him track down former SAS spec ops soldier Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), Dom initially declines, until Hobbs shows him a picture of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who is alive and working with Shaw, Dom accepts the job and reassembles his crew – Brian, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Han (Sung Kang) and Gisele (Gal Gadot). The team meet in London and Hobbs promises the teams full-pardons if he gets them close to Letty and they get him Shaw.

The key to the franchise's upward turn in quality is due to director Justin Lin. He is a skilled action director, and many filmmakers can learn a few things or two from him: The action sequences are impressive, engaging, comprehensible, and well-shot, with practical effects to boot. There is a sense of danger, verve, and life in these scenes rarely found in other films, despite how over-the-top and ridiculous they may be; and yes, they often drift into gratify-defying territory. While I usually don't react out loudly when watching a film, this film had me gasping, jaw dropping, laughing, and applauding, sometimes all at once.

Another ingredient to the film's success is the chemistry between the cast members. We have grown to love these characters over the course of the series that one cannot help but cheer on for them. Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris have such a terrific rapport with each other that they provide some of the film's biggest laughs and memorable one-liners. Paul Walker also gives a great performance in this film as Brian, even when reflecting on what happened when Letty was believed to be dead in the fourth movie, I also enjoyed the scene where he meets with Braga in prison. Additionally, Luke Evans is definitely a step-up above the previous film's antagonist, and Gina Carano provides some great ass-kicking moments, although not much performance-wise. On another note, I want to mention how refreshing it is to see minority actors fill these roles. Certainly, the film's use of a diverse ensemble cast should be commended. As for the story, it's nothing special, but I dare you not to act surprised when several plot twists are revealed; I did so more than I would like to admit.

If there's one thing to learn about this franchise, it's that some change can be a good thing. While the later sequels do focus away from the car racing, they still featured cars, which helped retain old fans while bringing in new ones.

Rating: 9/10

Fast Five (2011) Review

Director: Justin Lin

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Dwayne Johnson, Elsa Pataky, Joaquim De Almeida, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Michael Irby

After the release of the fourth movie which was financially successful, a fifth movie was guaranteed with Lin back at the helm, but the plan was to take things into a new direction by turning the series into heist movies and bring back past characters in addition to Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster). This film really did revitalize the franchise and is by far the best Fast and Furious yet by being knowingly ridiculous and over the top. The film starts off where the last movie left off with Brian and Mia breaking Dom out the prison bus, and then go on the run from authorities. Then we cut to Brian and Mia in Rio deJanero where they meet Vince (Matt Schulze) from the first movie. They along with Dom try to pull off a train heist, but things go wrong when one of Dom’s associates kills three DEA agents and double crosses them. The US government then sends DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and his team to track down Brian, Dom and Mia and arrest them. Dom and Brian then decide to go after Hernan Reyes (Joaquim De Almeida, a crime lord and the man who set them up, by assembling a new crew consisting of returning character Han (Sung Kang), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris), Gisele (Gal Gadot), Leo (Tego Calderon) and Santos (Don Omar).

The returning cast from across the previous four films are all great and have fantastic chemistry with one another. The core theme of family is stronger than ever. Also Dwayne Johnson is a great addition to the franchise and his role as DSS agent Luke Hobbs, represents him in his ultimate form, he is at maximum intensity at all moments and has great one liners and his fight with Diesel did not disappoint. Another great thing about this movie is adding more practical action sequences and chase scenes including when they are hauling the vault through the streets of Rio, a lot better than the use of CGI. If I had one negative about movie is that I thought Reyes, the movie’s villain was forgettable and didn’t do much except sitting down or standing around.

Overall nothing stands in the films way as the writers completely shirk their job letting the cast loose through a labyrinth of explosive fun. All that matters is that "Fast Five" is the epitome of a Hollywood money-maker. It is entertainment.

Rating: 9/10

Fast & Furious (2009) review

 

Director: Justin Lin

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Gal Gadot, John Ortiz, Laz Aonso, Sung Kang, Don Omar, Tego Calderon, Shea Whigham, Neil Brown Jr.

After the negative reception of “Tokyo Drift”, the producers decided to bring back Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster for a fourth movie titled “Fast & Furious” with Lin back in the director’s chair. So how does it live up?

So the movie starts off taking place before the events of “Tokyo Drift” taking place five years after the first movie, we see Dominic Toretto and his new team now consisting of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Han (Sung Kang), which was nice to see back, and new characters Leo and Santos (played by Tego Calderon and Don Omar) pulling off a heist to steal fuel tankers in the Dominican Republic, it ends up being a success but then authorities learn about this, so the crew splits and Dom leaves Letty. Sometime later, Brian O’Conner is now an FBI agent, who is back in L.A. now investigating drug lord Arturo Braga (John Ortiz) and is given a name David Park. Meanwhile Mia (Jordana Brewster) calls Dom, informing him that Letty had been murdered. When Dom returns to L.A., he decides to find Letty’s killer and reluctantly team up with Brian in stopping Braga. This film tries to be like a Michael Mann thriller, really dark, moody and serious and everyone is upset over Letty’s death, but the style and tone don’t fit well with this franchise at all. Also the climax all CGI with cars and the tunnels, no one cares.

There is some good though, but Diesel and Walker did fine and played their parts well knowing that franchise needed some saving. Michelle Rodriguez did a good job with what she was given, but the rest movie, she’s dead, Jordana Brewster was better than she was in the first. As I mentioned it was nice to see Han back in his brief appearance, a pre-Wonder Woman Gal Gadot does a decent job as Gisele. You also get an appearance from Shea Whigham as Brian’s snarky partner and it’s a treat to see him there, then there’s an appearance from “The Boys” Marvin himself Laz Alonzo as Fenix who is a cool threat to Diesel’s Dom.

Over this is my least favorite of the series, nice to see the old cast back, but the story is lacking and the sequences are just bad with the use of CGI.

Rating: 4/10

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) Review

 

Director: Justin Lin

Cast: Lucas Black, Sung Kang, Bow Wow, Nathalie Kelley, Brian Tee, Sonny Chiba, Jason Tobin

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) which is in my opinion I think is a solid good action sequel, a very bashed and hated in the series. Which I don't think this movie is bad. I always loved this movie, I think it is a good movie, but in the series is not the worst one, I think it was a different solid, good sequel in the series and I love it for an action film. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a fun movie to watch: it accomplishes what it set out to do and that's provide the most realistic yet gravity-defying racing sequences, backed with the eye-catching background of the electrifying, neon Tokyo. Plot-wise it suffers a bit and the acting isn't top-notch, otherwise the loud music, import cars, cityscape Tokyo, and Japanese pop culture more than make up for the flaws of the film that you'll watch it again and again. This will is directed by Justin Lin who go on to direct the 4^th, 5^th,6^th and soon-to-be 9^th, 10^th and 11^th installments. This does not feature any of the main established Fast & Furious characters and feature a different cast in the form of Lucas Black, Shad Moss aka Bow Wow, Sung Kang, who would play an integral role later on the series, Nathalie Kelley, Brian Tee, Jason Tobin, Brian Goodman and Sonny Chiba.

The plot revolves around an American teenager, Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), he gets the final strike from the U.S. authorities for street racing and is forced to move to Tokyo, Japan to live with his dad (Brian Goodman). There he makes fast friends with Twinkie (Bow Wow), who introduces him to the world of drifting. There he meets Neela (Nathalie Kelley), but he annoys her boyfriend Takashi (Brian Tee), the “Drift King” of Tokyo who challenges Sean. One of Takashi’s associates Han Lue (Sung Kang) gives his Nissan Silvia, in which he demolishes and loses the race to Takashi humiliating himself in front of everyone. But Han gives him a second chance and teaches him in which he gradually improves upon. What I like about this plot is that the races are an improvement because the cars have to turn and aren’t CGI all the time but are practical which is way cooler. Also in the first two movies, characters like Brian, Dom and Roman were highly-skilled drivers, but Sean does not know how to drift which is why he sucks at first, but he has to learn and there are training montages where he gets better, this a basically a high-school sports movie-combined with a martial arts movie.

I know people were not fans of Lucas Black as Sean, but I liked his character because he had flaws in which he overcomes throughout the movie. I didn’t mind Bow Wow in this, Nathalie Kelley lights up the screen and I would welcome her back to the franchise after 9, even if she doesn’t appear in 9. Sung Kang stole the movie as Han and it was a shame they killed him off in this one, but at least we got back in the next three movies which were prequels to this one and can’t wait to see him again in 9. But keep in mind, this is not Han’s first appearance, because Lin’s first film “Better Luck Tomorrow”, which is meant to a really good indie movie about Asian-American teenagers in California and the movie, Han is this really cool supporting character so when Lin signed on to make “Tokyo Drift”, he just brought the same character played by the same actor over to that.

 Takashi was a bit of an asshole and deserved a comeuppance and then there’s Sonny Chiba as Takashi’s uncle and head of the Yakuza which is the winning recipe to his movie.

Lastly, Vin Diesel makes a cameo appearance as Dominic Toretto which was a great surprise.

Overall, I personally like “Tokyo Drift”, I know people put it as there least favourite but to me, it is a great movie and I’m glad the series kept going after this one.

Rating: 8/10

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Review

 

Director: John Singleton

Cast: Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Cole Hauser, Eva Mendes, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, James Remar, Thom Barry, Devon Aoki, Michael Ealy, Amuary Nolasco, Jin Au-Yueng

What made the first "The Fast and the Furious" movie attracted fans besides the bad ass cars and competition on the streets was Vin Diesel's appearance as Dominic Toretto, a hotshot race driver who makes his money racing others in the streets; he was a rising star on the fame after doing such flicks such as "Saving Private Ryan", "The Iron Giant" and later doing "XXX".

At the end of the first movie, Dom flees away to Mexico where he wouldn't be in this sequel.
No matter, the series continues on.
"2 Fast 2 Furious" has Paul Walker reprising his role as Brian O'Conner, the one time agent who betrayed the enforcement agency by letting Dominic get away, is now a fugitive and being in race competitions every night to make money. After being captured by the police, Brian is given a choice in either going to jail or helped the people he once work for in taking down a drug cartel dealer (Cole Hauser). Brian agrees under one condition that he gets his childhood friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) involved since he's into cars and knows his ways around tough people. They're also given an ally, the sexy Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) who's not only an undercover agent but also posing as the enemy's mistress. Time will tell when all will be revealed.

Walker plays his cards well with this one,  the chemistry between Walker and Tyrese makes the movie. They bicker and argue constantly, exactly like childhood friends forced apart by misunderstandings and bad situations would do. Yet you never doubt their connection, their shared history. And that's simply good writing, as well as acting. I enjoyed Cole Hauser as the villain Verone, liked him better than Johnny Tran in the first movie. This was also a nice introduction to Tej played by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges who would go on and play a larger role in the series later on. Eva Mendes as Fuentes was fun to watch in this as well and I enjoyed her banter both Brian and Roman, wished they used her more later on the series. Then there’s James Remar as Customs Agent Markham, who could have been written better and would have been written better as a villain. In the original script he was originally going to be revealed as a traitor working with Verone, and I think this would have worked better.

"2 Fast 2 Furious" is directed by the late John Singleton (R.I.P.) of Boyz in the Hood fame where he manages to bring the same energy and high expectations of the first movie. There's more cars, more chase sequences, more babes and more cameos this time around with a high octane pace.

Overall, it's good awl ridiculous fun.

Rating: 7.5/10

 

The Fast and the Furious (2001) review

Director: Rob Cohen

Cast: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Matt Schulze, Chad Lindberg, Johnny Strong, Rick Yune, Ted Levine, Ja Rule, Noel Gugliemi

With the upcoming ninth instalment set to hit screens on June 25th, I will be reviewing all nine Fast movies (yes, even the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw). So let's get started.

“The Fast and the Furious” was released back in 2001, directed by Rob Cohan and stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Matt Schulze, Chad Lindberg, Rick Yune and Johnny Strong with an appearance from rapper Ja Rule. The is basically “Point Break” with cars where you have similar premise but with street racing criminals stealing merchandise from trucks instead of surfer criminals dressing up as the ex-Presidents who rob banks. Walker is in the Keanu Reeves role as an undercover cop infiltrating the gang and earning their respects, and Diesel is the Patrick Swayze character, but the only difference is that he does not get killed at the end. 

Paul Walker plays Brian O'Conner, a hot shot police officer, who goes undercover as a car junkie Brian Spilner to see if a local street racer/mechanic by the name of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diseal) has anything to do with hijacking a bunch of cargo from DVD's, TV's, entertainment sets, and so forth while at the same time falling head over heels for Dominic's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster). Brian comes so close while at the same time gaining trust to Dom before he could threaten blow his cover.

The film is quite a brainless piece of entertainment, its story is predictable, it follows an undercover cop who starts to sympathize with his targets, and the characters are written spontaneously to fit the demands of the plot. You gotta love the opening dialogue: "I like the tuna here," "Nobody likes the tuna here!" and both the chemistry between Diesel and Walker was good. I know some people considered Walker as a terrible actor, but he is not, this film shows that he was passionate about the role and was probably the only actor to pull it off. I know Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Eminem were offered the role but I can’t see any of them in that role, maybe Wahlberg, but that’s about it.

Michelle Rodriguez isn’t given much to do but she does a good job of what she’s given. Jordana Brewster was okay, maybe it was because she was so young at the time, her character isn’t the best but you can’t dislike her.
But, that isn't why we watch the film. The Fast and the Furious does have some great car racing scenes and the director Rob Cohen can shoot the cars and make them look great. What is most appealing is the physicality of the stunts and the racing; there's no CGI tomfoolery here, and there is a simplicity about the film that makes it worth watching. You don't need to suspend your disbelief, the plot doesn't shovel many excuses for racing into your face. Its not a perfect film but it’s entertaining, even the last 15 minutes were enjoyable.

Rating: 7/10