FAST & FURIOUS 6 | Spoiler Free Review

The Fast and Furious 5 aka Fast 5 was a much needed installment in the Fast and Furious Franchise. An installment that not only introduced a heavyweight properly fitted with broad shoulders to carry the weight of the franchise, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, but one that successfully changed the course of the film onto the fast lane that is the heist genre. And that’s where this recent installment finds itself…

Fast 5 ended with Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) giving Dom (Vin Diesel) and his crew a head start in getting away due to them helping him out, but as much as he is a man of honor, he is also a man bound to his duty.  He promised he would come for them, and with the post-credit scene at the end of Fast 5, he had every reason to come after Dom and his crew, but for different reason; seeking help.  There’s a high-tech, efficient and ruthless crew with military background pulling heists with fast cars in the vein of Dom and his crew, and Hobbs needs a crew with the same expertise, and that’s where our guys come in.

Cliche twist yes, i mean let’s think out loud the way the producers probably did when thinking this sequel up;

Exec 1: “Look, we need a reason to keep The Rock involved, and a reason to have the crew get back together after stealing enough money to not need to steal again in Fast 5…”
Exec 2: “How about we just leave the franchise at that???”
Exec 3: ” I agree, let’s stretch this franchise out, milk it some more.”
Exec 2: ” That’s not what i said…”
Exec 4: ” Then it’s agreed. We need a 6th installment!”
Exec 1: ” How about we make Hobbs and Dom ‘bffs’. Give them a common enemy.”
Exec 3: ” Yes! The Mandarin perhaps?”
Exec 2: “Why am i here…?”
Exec 3: ” Let’s make them pals. Agreed?”
Exec 4: “Agreed. I mean it’s a throwback to the 80s sequel formula but hey, we are bosses!
Exec 1: ” Agreed!”
Exec 2: “I’m…going home.”

The Bad

Fast 5 is a better more grounded and genuine story than Fast 6. Genuine in the sense that there were good enough reasons to justify the plot aspects of Fast 5.  Fast 6 at times feels like they first thought of the ending, the action set pieces and dramatic scenes, then worked their way backwards to flesh out how to make them happen; subjecting the story to the set-pieces and not building the set pieces or ‘glory scenes’ on the story.

The story starts off in high gear, but at times we have unnecessary moments when the foot is taken of the throttle to put more emphasis on the fact that Dom and his crew are not just a team; they are a family.  Tear jerks inserted.  Without giving much away, certain motives and actions are not justified at all, or no reason is given and if reasons are given, you realize a much shorter route could have been used to achieve the end result. But why go through the long route you ask? Simple, they wanted to insert certain familiar faces from previous installments and also have another action scene.

The film has some loop-holes strewn here and there, and one very obvious one regarding The Rock’s character Hobbs in a certain tunnel scene…  In short, the story telling here is not as convincing, intriguing nor engaging as Fast 5. Even the villains have no grounded motivation.  They are there because, well, every film needs a hyped up villain. They are said to be dangerous, effective and all, but is that brought out in such a way that you as the viewer see it for yourself and believe it? No. You are told they are dangerous, but not made to believe so.

The Good

Fast cars, action scenes, the humor and some bone-breaking martial arts thrown in for good measure are all accounted for.  Tyrese happens to be the comic relief in this installment, and his lines and delivery are spot on.  Vin Diesel does play his role well as the leader and face of the crew, everyone else falls into place not exceptionally well though, but hey, this film knows its strengths and doesn’t push it! No Oscars here people 😉  Gina Carano the MMA fighter and lead actress in Haywire is not just a pretty face, but a pretty face that packs the punches and kicks, arm twists to name a few…

She gets paired up with The Rock as his partner and for a good reason, she literally holds her own in the fighting department.  Not much of an actress yet, but her role played to her strengths.

All in all, it’s not a bad film, a good film for those seeking fun and nothing too serious.  Yes they throw tanks in, and a huge ‘bomber’ plane?  And yes, the trailers pretty much reveal the gist of the story but it’s still an enjoyable flick and worth the visuals on the big screen.  Whether intentional or not, the ‘bad guy’ crew is somewhat a mirror image of Dom’s crew, and seeing The Rock and Vin Diesel side by side squaring off against their mirror opposites was pretty cool 😉 Yes, fan boy pleasures!

Rating

Fast and Furious 6 has a score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes at this moment, we predict that average score may reduce slightly as more and more reviews come in. On IMDb it has a 7.7/10 score.  Here’s our rating:

MOVIE JABBER Rating: 7/10

Fast and Furious 6 is currently showing in Kenyan cinemas, we advise you to not miss out!
If you have already watched it, feel free to share your thoughts below 🙂