"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" (2013) Review

"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" (2013) Review

When "THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS" first hit the movie screens in 2001, I never imagined that it would be such a major hit . . . or spawn five sequels. The franchise seemed in danger of ending with a whimper with 2006's "THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT", due to its lack of critical success. Three years later saw the rejuvenation of the franchise with the success of 2009's "FAST AND FURIOUS". This movie spawned a mini trilogy of its own, culminating in the latest film, "FAST AND FURIOUS 6". 

The franchise's fifth installment, "FAST FIVE" ended with Dominic Toretto and his accomplices reaping the rewards of a successful heist from a Rio drug lord. In the film's Easter egg segment, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs learns from U.S. Customs agent Monica Fuentes (from 2003's "2 FAST 2 FURIOUS") that Dom's former girlfriend, Letty Ortiz, is alive and well, and working with one Owen Shaw, a British criminal (and former Special Forces soldier) who had recently pulled a heist on a Russian military convoy. Hobbs and his new partner, Riley Hicks, recruit Dom, Brian O'Conner and other members of the gang who helped pull off the Rio heist; to help them take down Shaw. Hobbes convinces Dom to help him, revealing Letty's existence and offering full amnesty for past crimes. With the exception of Mia Torretto and former Rio police officer Elena Neves (who remain behind to care for Mia and Brian's new baby), along with Leo Tego and Rico Santos (who remain on the French Riviera gambling); Dom, Brian and the rest of the gang arrive in London to help Hobbes and Hicks to track down Shaw. Upon their arrival, they discover that Letty has amnesia and that capturing Shaw might prove to be more difficult than they had originally imagined.

After watching "FAST AND FURIOUS 6", I came to the conclusion that it was my second favorite movie in the franchise after "FAST FIVE". However, I am not so sure anymore. There are certain aspects of this latest film that makes me reluctant to view as the franchise's second best. One, the movie's premise is not that original - even for a FAST AND FURIOUS movie. In fact, the story premise for "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" bears a strong resemblance to the premise for the 2003 movie, "2 FAST 2 FURIOUS". In that movie, Brian O'Conner and Roman Pearce helped the Feds bring down a Miami-based drug lord in exchange for pardons and clean records. Brian, Roman, Dom and others help Fed Luke Hobbes take down international criminal Owen Shaw for . . . what else? Pardons and clean records. I also had a problem with the Roman Pearce character. I had no problem with Tyrese Gibson's portrayal of the character. But I found it odd that Roman would immediately drop his airborne love fest with a group of models due to a summons from Dom Toretto, of all people. "FAST FIVE" did not exactly end with Roman and Dom as the best of friends. If the movie had established that Roman had received the summons from Brian, who was his childhood friend, I could accept his immediate decision to join the team. One last problem I had with "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" proved to be a flashback from 2009's "FAST AND FURIOUS" regarding the origin of Letty Ortiz's amnesia. The 2009 movie hinted that Letty had been killed by Arturo Braga's henchman, Fenix Calderon. But a flashback in "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" revealed that Calderon missed Letty completely and shot the car to which she was standing near. The car exploded, injuring Letty. Why Calderon failed to confirm her death after the explosion remains a mystery to me. The entire scene struck me as clumsily handled. I also noticed that Dom's ridiculous "Daddy issues" and desire to be "Papa Toretto" to anyone close to him still remains. When he made a comment at the end of the movie about Brian and Mia's son, Jack O'Conner, being solely a Toretto, I merely laughed. When he repeated the "joke" again, I began to wonder if he was making a demented attempt to claim the toddler as his own offspring. Right now, I feel that Brian and Mia should leave the Toretto home and purchase their own house to raise their kid.

But despite these problems, "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" turned out to be a pretty damn good movie. The franchise's street-racing theme played a major part in the efforts of Dom's team to stop Shaw's team from carrying out their crimes. This theme was definitely apparent in four scenes. One of them was a car chase through the streets of nighttime London that ended with the team's failure to capture Shaw, as he was fleeing his hideout. Another scene featured Dom and an amnesiac Letty in a street race that ended in a sexy moment in which the former tried to revive the latter's memories. There was also the film's final action sequence at a NATO air strip in which Dom and his team finally prevented Shaw from escaping by plane. I found that particular sequence a little hard to bear, considering that at times, it seemed to go on forever and it was shot at night. The only daytime sequence that featured vehicles on a highway not far from that NATO base in Spain. What made this sequence memorable for was the spectacular car chase that featured an outstanding stunt performed by Tyrese Gibson . . . or his double. There is a spectacular fight scene between Letty and Hobbes' partner, Riley Hicks, in the London Underground. I heard that Michelle Rodriguez felt a bit wary in doing a fight scene with Gina Carano . . . and I do not blame her, considering the latter is a mixed martial arts champ. There was also a pretty decent Dom and Hobbes vs. Shaw and his men aboard the cargo plane in Spain.

Action sequences were not the only staple that made "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" entertaining for me. The movie also featured some pretty damn good dramatic moments and rather funny scenes. I have already pointed out that sexy moment between Dom and Letty in which the former tried to revive the latter's memories. I also enjoyed the sequence in which Brian allowed himself to be "arrested" (courtesy of Luke Hobbes' Federal connections) by the FBI, in order to question former adversary Arturo Braga about Letty's connections to Shaw. Not only did it featured a humorous reunion between Brian and his former FBI colleague, Special Agent Stasiak; but also a very dramatic one between Brian and Braga. "FAST FIVE" featured the beginning of a romance between Han and Gisele. But their relationship took on a more poignant note in this movie, which I found very satisfying. I especially enjoyed how Roman quickly figured out Han's true feelings for Gisele. Speaking of Roman and Han, the movie featured a very funny moment in which both of them secretly agreed not to inform the others of their defeat against one of Shaw's men in the London Underground. In fact, Roman proved to have the best lines in the movie. My ultimate favorite? Read the following scene between him and Tej Parker:

[Roman asks Tej for change to use the vending machine]
TEJ: You're a millionaire and still asking for money?
ROMAN: That's how you stay a millionaire.

"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" featured some pretty decent performances. But there were those that stood out for me. I especially enjoyed Tyrese Gibson, who not only proved to be even funnier as Roman Pearce, but shared a nice dramatic moment with Sung Kang, while the two discussed Han's feelings for Gisele. Michelle Rodriguez gave one of her better performances as an intense and amnesiac Letty Ortiz, who is torn between her confusion over her identity and her growing wariness toward Shaw. Dwayne Johnson continued his energetic portrayal of DSS Agent Luke Hobbes with great style. Luke Evans made a particularly formidable foe as former Special Forces soldier Owen Shaw, who proves to be a very difficult to take down. Then again, the franchise has always featured some first-rate villains. Not only did Vin Diesel provided an unexpectedly sexy performance in one particular scene with Rodriguez, he and Elsa Pataky provided a nice poignant moment between Dom and former Brazil cop Elena Neves, who end their relationship due to Letty's re-emergence in Dom's life. However, Paul Walker really surprised me in this film. He has always struck me as mediocre or solid actor in the past. But his acting skills seemed to have grown considerably between "FAST FIVE" and "FAST AND FURIOUS 6". This was apparent in his scenes with John Ortiz, which featured a hostile reunion between Brian and Braga in a California prison.

I feel that "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" had its share of flaws. But thanks to Justin Lin's direction, a charasmatic cast and a solid script written by Chris Morgan, I feel that it not only proved to be one of the better films for the summer of 2013, but also one of the better films in the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise.

"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" (2013) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "FAST AND FURIOUS 6", the sixth entry in the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise. Directed by Justin Lin, the movie stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans and Michelle Rodriguez: 


"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" (2013) Photo Gallery

"KNIGHT AND DAY" (2010) Review

"KNIGHT AND DAY" (2010) Review

Five years ago, Tom Cruise had put himself out on a limb by appearing in a movie, released during the summer of 2010.  The movie in question turned out to be a romantic comedy thriller called ”KNIGHT AND DAY”. Co-starring Cameron Diaz, the movie was directed by James Mangold. 

Surprisingly, seventy to eighty percent of ”KNIGHT AND DAY” was told from Diaz’s point-of-view. She portrayed an auto mechanic named June Havens who found herself swept into the adventures of an eccentric man claiming to be a former CIA agent named Roy Miller. Miller also claimed that he was trying to prevent a corrupt CIA colleague named Fitzgerald from finding a brilliant young inventor named Simon Feck and his new invention, a perpetual energy battery called the Zephyr, and selling both to a Spanish weapons dealer named Antonio. Unfortunately, his former director believes he is a rogue agent that has gone mentally off the grid.

I might as well be frank. ”KNIGHT AND DAY” did not strike me as an exceptional action film. The movie featured a series of minor scenes in which a drugged and semi-conscious June found herself being moved from one location to another by Miller. And since these scenes were shown from her point-of-view, I suspect this gave Mangold and screenwriter Patrick O’Neill the opportunity to move their characters around without any real detail. Personally, it seemed like a lazy way to progress the plot along. I was also confused over how Peter Sarsgaard’s character, Agent Fitzgerald, managed to arrange for other CIA agents to appear on the Wichita-Boston flight at the beginning of the movie as the entire crew and group of passengers. Nor did I understand why he bothered to keep June on that flight after Miller tried to ensure that she would miss it. Also, Mangold’s direction failed to infuse the movie with any special energy that could have made it memorable. Despite the somewhat eccentric plot, ”KNIGHT AND DAY” moved and felt like a typical action film.

But the movie also had its virtues. It featured some beautiful photography of Boston, Jamaica (which served as the Azores, off the coast of Portugal), Austria and Spain; thanks to cinematographer Phedon Papamichael. The movie also featured one hell of a plane crash, supervised by Chris Brenczewski. O’Neill wrote a solid plot that I could easily understand – something that has been lacking in a good number of action films (comedy or otherwise) recently. ”KNIGHT AND DAY” also provided some first-rate action sequences. My favorites included Miller’s fight against his former CIA colleagues aboard the Wichita-Boston flight; the gunfight on one of Boston’s highways; and Miller’s fight against a young German assassin named Danny, aboard a train bound for Salzburg, Austria. Humor proved to be another one of the movie’s virtues. Not only did cast members such as Cruise, Diaz, Paul Dano and Marc Blucas provide some excellent comic performances, O’Neill’s script provided them with plenty of material to work with. At least two scenes struck me as particularly funny – Miller’s ”with me, you survive” speech; June’s encounter with Feck and Danny, the assassin, aboard the train; and her encounter with the arms dealer, Antonio. But my favorite scene turned out to be the encounter between Miller, June and her ex-boyfriend, Rodney inside a Boston diner. I really found that scene hilarious.

There were no bad performances in ”KNIGHT AND DAY”. But I must admit that not all of them struck me as impressive. Both Viola Davis and Jordi Mollà gave solid, yet humorless performances as the CIA Director and Antonio, the arms dealer. Peter Sarsgaard, who portrayed Agent Fitzgerald, seemed amusing at times. Otherwise, he came off as distant and slightly stiff. And Maggie Grace provided mild humor as Diaz's younger sister. But the movie had its share of good performances. Dale Dye and Celia Weston provided plenty of laughs as Miller’s parents, who believed that their son was dead. Paul Dano proved that he also have a talent for comedy in his goofy and funny portrayal of Feck, the brilliant young scientist that created the Zephyr battery. But of the entire supporting cast, my favorite performance came from Marc Blucas, who portrayed June’s ex-boyfriend and a Boston fireman. Thanks to his two-season stint on television’s ”BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER”, I have always been aware of the actor’s talent for off-beat humor. But Mangold’s direction and O’Neill’s script provided him with a role that truly exploited his comedic talents. Blucas portrayed Rodney not only as a compassionate and duty-bound man, but also a self-absorbed and shallow jerk. And he managed to achieve this balance with great subtlety and skill.

But what really made ”KNIGHT AND DAY” work for me were the two leads, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. They had worked together before in the 2001 movie, ”VANILLA SKY” and it was easy to see that they both had a very good screen chemistry. Once again, Cruise proved his talent for both comedy and action as the slightly eccentric Roy Miller, whose idea of keeping his new companion safe was too keep her in a drugged state, as he carted her around the eastern United States and Europe. The actor also effectively conveyed his character’s self-assured nature without allowing it to be tainted by any signs of cockiness. This would not have been the case with a younger Cruise. What I liked about Cameron Diaz’s portrayal of June Havens was that she did an excellent job of conveying her character’s progression throughout the movie. Her June started as a reserved woman just recovering from the end of a trying relationship, progressed to the confused and frightened innocent caught up in intrigue and betrayal; and finally developed into a more confident woman who was self-assured about her love for Miller and what she needed to do to keep him safe.

”KNIGHT AND DAY” was not the best movie I had seen five summers ago. It certainly did not knock my socks off. But thanks to James Mangold’s direction, a solid script by Patrick O’Neill and an excellent screen team in the form of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. It is not a perfect film, but it was certainly better than I had originally assumed.

"KNIGHT AND DAY" (2010) Photo Gallery

Below are photos from the 2010 action movie called "KNIGHT AND DAY". Directed by James Mangold, the movie stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz: 


"KNIGHT AND DAY" (2010) Photo Gallery

"FAST FIVE" (2011) Review

"FAST FIVE" (2011) Review

I have never seen a movie from the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise before 2011. Never. I never had the inclination to see any of these movies, despite the series being a consistent cash cow for producer Neal H. Moritz and Universal Studios for the past decade. One might begin to wonder what led me to see the franchise's latest entry, "FAST FIVE".

I might have to retract a little. I did see the first movie, 2001's "THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS" last December. Well, I only saw two or three minutes of one of the movie's early scenes on a large screen television at my local electronics store. But those two or three minutes did not convince me to go see "FAST FIVE". The movie trailer did. When I first saw it, I had rolled my eyes in disgust at the idea of a fifth FAST AND FURIOUS movie. When I saw the trailer for a second time . . . it intrigued me. Because of this, I decided to end my ban on the franchise and see the movie.

In order to understand the beginning of "FAST FIVE", one would have to watch the past four movies - especially 2009's "FAST AND FURIOUS". That movie, featured law enforcement officer Brian O'Conner's reunion with the Toretto family - street car racer/thief Dominic "Dom" and his younger sister, Mia - after he had allowed Dom to escape arrest at the end of the first movie. Dom and Brian investigated the murder of the former's girlfriend, Leticia "Letty" Ortiz and her connection to a major drug lord. Brian made arrangements with the FBI for Dom's release in exchange for the latter's assistance in the drug lord's capture. However, a Federal judge reneged on the deal and sentenced Dom 25 years to life in prison. The movie ended with Brian, Mia and two of Dom's colleagues (Tego Leo and Rico Santos) attempting to free Dom from a bus en route to the Lompoc Penitentiary.

"FAST FIVE" picked up with Dom's rescue from the prison bus. Dom, Brian and Mia are forced to leave the United States as fugitives from justice. Upon their arrival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; they encounter Dom's former colleague, Vince. He recruits them to participate in steal cars from a moving train, on behalf of a Rio businessman and crime lord named Hernan Reyes. When Dom realizes that one of their fellow thieves, Zizi, is only interested in stealing one car - the Ford GT40 - he has Mia steal the car, while Dom and Brian fight Zizi and his henchmen. The fight results in Zizi's murder of three DEA agents on board the train. The murders are pinned on Dom and Brian. The trio discover a computer chip from the Ford GT40 that consists of details of Reyes' criminal operation and locations of $100 million dollars in cash. They decide to rip off the crime lord's money in order to start a new life, with the help of old friends. Dom, Brian and Mia also discover that a diehard U.S. DSS agent named Luke Hobbs is in Brazil to capture them for the murders of the DEA agents.

When "FAST FIVE" first hit the theaters, many fans and critics declared it to be the best in the franchise. Following my first viewing of the movie, I watched the other four that came before it. Two of them proved to be well-written entertainment; one of them seemed decent, but a little mediocre; and one barely maintained my interest. But "FAST FIVE" definitely turned out to be better than the first four movies. Although the movie featured an extreme car chase through the streets of Rio, it barely touched upon street car racing, a theme that dominated the other four films. In fact, the movie only featured two street car races - a good natured contest between four of the characters and another between Dom and Brian right before the movie's end credits. In other words, "FAST FIVE" was more of a heist film. And although certain fans had complained about the limited emphasis on street car racing, the critics and other fans had expressed that the heist plot made "FAST FIVE" the best in the franchise. So far.

Not only do I believe that "FAST FIVE" is the best in the franchise, I feel that it is one of the better heist movies I have seen in recent years (aside from 2001's "OCEAN'S ELEVEN" and 2007's "OCEAN'S THIRTEEN"). Aside from a small quibble regarding the Vince character, screenwriter Chris Morgan's plot turned out to be a strong continuation of the first, second and fourth films. Morgan's utilization of characters from the previous films provided "FAST FIVE" with a strong ensemble cast. In fact, I happily noticed that none of supporting characters had been shoved into the background or overshadowed by the Dom, Brian and Mia characters. Most of the supporting characters have previous connections with Dominic, except for two - Roman Pearce and Tej Parker - who appeared in 2003's "2 FAST 2 FURIOUS" as Brian's friends. This fifth film provided a warm and humorous private reunion between the three. And thanks to Morgan's script, the franchise's theme of family (especially fatherhood) resonated strongly. This theme also led me to view the Dominic/Brian friendship with a jaundiced eye.

The movie's production also struck me as top notch. Aside from the train robbery sequence, many of the exterior scenes were shot in Puerto Rico and Rio. Director Justin Lin and cinematographer Stephen F. Windon did a first rate job in conveying the elegance, color, chaos and squalor of Rio de Janeiro. I also have to commend Kelly Matsumoto, Fred Raskin and Christian Wagner for their editing of the film - especially the foot chase through Rio's Rocinha Favela (shantytown) and the chase sequence throughout the city.

Before I end up gushing over the movie, I do have a few quibbles. The train heist had been shot in Arizona . . . and looked it. I am aware of the scrub lands that exist in Brazil, but the train featured in this sequenced looked as if it was traveling through a very stark and dry looking terrain. And Morgan's script never revealed how Vince ended up in Brazil. He had last been seen in "THE FAST AND FURIOUS", being evacuated to hospital by a medivac, after being badly injured in truck heist gone wrong. Had he been convicted following his release from the hospital? How did he end up in Brazil in the first place?

Considering the number of performers featured in the cast of "FAST FIVE", I figured it would take a separate article to write about them. If I must be honest, there was not a performance that hit the wrong note. I noticed that the movie seemed to have a strong sense of ensemble acting. Not only did the gang of thieves summoned by Dominic and Brian clicked with perfect magic, but Dwayne Johnson and the other actors who portrayed the DSS agents clicked very well as a team. And I could say the same about Joaquim de Almeida as crime lord Reyes and Michael Irby as his henchman, Zizi.

There were some performances that caught my eye. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker made an even stronger screen team, now that the latter's character (Brian O'Conner) officially became a criminal. And Walker's chemistry with Jordana Brewster seemed a lot stronger and more stable than it was in the first and fourth movies. Speaking of Walker (again), he was also able to re-create his strong chemistry with Tyrese Gibson, who portrayed his childhood friend Roman, from the second film. As for Gibson, not only did he have the worst line in the movie, he also had most of the best ones. He was dynamic as ever. Chris "Ludacris" Bridges gave a deliciously cool and sardonic performance as Tej Parker. Spanish-born actress Elsa Pataky really connected with Diesel and Johnson in separate films. And it was great to see Almeida in a strong role again. I found his character's view on the differences between Spanish and Portuguese colonization rather interesting and chilling. Sung Kang (Han Seoul-Oh) and Gal Gadot (Gisele Harabo)'s characters created a surprisingly sexy romance. Tego Calderon and Don Omar made a hilarious screen team as Dom's old colleagues from the Dominican Republic. And even Dwayne Johnson gave a slightly scary take on the "holy roller" Federal agent, Luke Hobbs.

Considering how long this article is, one would assume that I really enjoyed "FAST FIVE". And that person would be right. And I find this surprising, considering my initial contempt, when I first saw the movie's trailer. Not only did I really enjoy "FAST FIVE", it is one my favorite movies of the summer . . . so far. It is also one of my favorite movies of 2011, as well. I am impressed.

"FAST FIVE" (2011) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "FAST FIVE", the fifth entry in the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise. Directed by Justin Lin, the movie stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson and Dwayne Johnson:


"FAST FIVE" (2011) Photo Gallery