Fast And Furious 6 Review
The very much awaited and set up Fast and Furious 6 rolls into cinemas with very much the same kind of fun that the fifth film towed with it. Only this time it isn’t in a giant safe down the streets of Rio.
No this time the bulk of the action is relocated to the streets of London. DEA Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) is tracking a particularly dangerous heist expert by the name of Shaw (Luke Evans) and his team. He decides that the best way to catch the team is by grabbing Dominic Toretto (Vin Deisel) and his team. The clincher is that Dominic’s former beau, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is working as part of the gang – despite being thought to be dead.
Yes – despite hiding out with their big winnings from the last film, the team are brought back together to work the case in order to get back their missing family member, and perhaps get pardons thrown in for good measure.
Anyone familiar with the series will know it took a massive upturn in the fifth instalment. The budget, scope and focus of the series went more towards the action than ever before, and the ensemble cast were all brought together to feature cast members from all previous instalments.
Looking to pull of the same trick this time round, the majority of the cast are back, the jokes are doubled, the action made bigger, and the fun pretty much stays constant throughout.
To say that subtlety goes out the window is an understatement, but that is hardly what fans are interested in. Yes there are some real corkers when it comes to the jokes, but there are also so real flat attempts at bonding as well. Especially between the guys who have earned respect to and from each other. But again, isn’t that part of the fun too?
What works particularly well is the cast themselves. Chris Morgan has thought long and hard about giving everyone old and new something to do and it’s impressive just how much the action is divided up between the support players. The only real casualty is Jordana Brewster is left out of the majority of the plot due to being a mother this time round (Which to be fair makes sense).
As well as taking its cue from the end credits scene from Fast Five, Morgan has also made some important ties to the fourth film in the series which fans will spot with a couple more returning cast members.
You want fast cars, tanks, bulky planes and just about every member of the cast flying through the air at some point then this is the big dumb action fun you will be seeking. And stay in your seat when you think the credits are starting at the end… You won’t want to miss the set up to Fast and Furious 7 (or will it just be Furious 7?) which ties into an important scene from the third film in the series. As for the pleasure of 6? Have a great guilty time!
Steven Hurst