Movie Review: Fast & Furious 6

**** out of 5

130 minutes
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action and mayhem throughout, some sexuality and language
Warner Bros. Pictures

Article first published as Movie Review: Fast & Furious 6 on Blogcritics.

While most series tend to be losing their steam with only one sequel, who would have ever thought that something like The Fast and the Furious would be releasing its fifth. With an ever-evolving title process, along with its cast, the only mainstays since Tokyo Drift (#3) are its director (Justin Lin) and writer (Chris Morgan). The latest entry — with a title that changes every time you turn your head but officially called Furious 6 in the opening credits sequence — almost plays out like a greatest hits. But thankfully, Lin and Morgan keeps things running at full steam; that is, as long as there’s an action sequence at play. Of which, in Furious 6, there are more than plenty.

F6 opens with Brian (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) welcoming their bouncing baby boy to the family, while making promises to themselves — and Dominic (Vin Diesel) — that now they can leave their old habits behind. But just wouldn’t ya know it, Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) shows up on Dom’s doorstep with photos proving Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is still alive. Turns out Letty has a case of amnesia after a car explosion that left everyone thinking she was dead, and now she works for Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). Shaw is after a computer chip which is the final piece of his dastardly puzzle, and Hobbs asks Dom to get the old gang back together again to take down Shaw and essentially save the world.

So now we get the return of Elena (Elsa Pataky), Gisele (Gal Gadot), Han (Sung Kang), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), and Tej (Ludacris). Also returning, is Stasiak (Shea Whigham) and Braga (John Ortiz), just to keep the continuity flowing. Like I said, if you want action, you’ve come to the right place. Cars go vroom and things go boom, but who’d have thought that they could keep it so fun when venturing into a sixth installment of any franchise, right? If you’re looking for a film featuring the first tank propelled high flying acrobatics, you’ve come to the right place. It’s just too bad that they’ve felt the need to pad the film out to 130 minutes with tons of exposition, nearly stalling everything. So, with a seventh installment on the way, stay tuned to the first part of the credits for a payoff scene, and stay away from the film’s IMDB page to avoid the spoiler. But with how much fun they’ve made Furious 6, I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Photo courtesy Universal Pictures