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