Fast & Furious 6

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_puVuHoR6o

What better way to be introduced to a movie franchise than by entering in on number 6. As a man who has seen none of the other Fast & Furious films I didn't know quite what to expect here but the trailer had Vin Diesel driving a car out the nose of a burning aircraft so I got the general idea of what Fast 6 would be like. Pretty mindless car chases and action- and that's exactly what I got. Just done really really well.

If like me you've never looked at the film series before don't worry about it too much. There's recurring characters but they're just Vin Diesel playing Vin Diesel and The Rock playing The Rock etc. Big tough guys who like to fight and drive cars fast with the occasional token female. That sounds sexist but to be fair Fast 6 kinda is. There's plenty of scenes of half naked girls jiggling about all over the place- the film knows it's main target market and it shamelessly goes all out to please them.

That's not to say the film is for just for the simple minded laaaaad. It's been a great year for action and Fast 6 really delivers with some breathtaking chases through London and a particularly fantastic fight scene in the Underground that could be an extra scene from last year's Skyfall. I don't know what it is that makes scenes shot in the Underground so exciting but when shit goes down in those very familiar looking tunnels it just works. Fast 6 almost constantly pushes the tempo as high as it can go and makes the 2 hour 10 run time seem much shorter than it actually is.

It's very over the top, has a tonne of cliches [a personal favourite is the the presumed dead hero walking out from the burning wreckage as the music picks up] and has 'MADE IN AMERICA BITCH' practically spray painted all over it. And it's for these reasons I really enjoyed Fast 6. It never shys away from completely impossible stunts, ignores laws of gravity and is a much better film because of it. My brain is programmed to enjoy fast action and chaos and it very rarely stops.

So what's wrong with it? Well if you're looking for deep story here for some bizarre reason you won't find it. There's sweet little scenes with Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez, who died in the 4th film apparently but is now back to life, but the action set pieces are what really steal the show here. Some maybe feel a little drawn out, especially the film's finale, but there is usually enough going on to just stop your attention drifting. Drifting, is that a pun? Like Tokyo Drift? I'm gonna say yes.

The characters are a little generic with their little wise-cracks and tough-guy personas but they're not unlikable because of it. Any deep character traits would just get lost here but they do their job fine. Sudden revelations that what they're doing is dangerous and is putting people at risk would somewhat ruin the tone of the film.

It won't change your life but it's some of the best fun you'll have in the cinema this year. It's keeps the adrenaline up for it's duration and is a film I'd happily watch again.

8/10



Main blog-
http://www.elephantchris.blogspot.co.uk/