Fast & Furious 6, 2013.
Directed by Justin Lin.
Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Elsa Pataky, Jordana Brewster, and Gina Carano.
SYNOPSIS:
Newly retired from the crime circuit, the ‘Ride or Die’ crew now have the luxury to indulge their millions in beach houses, casinos and private planes. That is, until Agent Hobbes makes his reappearance, bearing details of a dangerous terrorist named Owen Shaw operating within London and with designs on a powerful bomb. That’s not all: Shaw has a special friend along for the ride in Letty Ortiz, back from the dead and out of her head…
“This isn’t what we do,” says Ludacris’ Tej, after his fast and furious team are faced with the proposition of siding with the law – god forbid – against a much greater foe. Agent Hobbes (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) has wasted little time in tracking down the crew he can’t help but love, asking for their help in neutralising terrorist-at-large Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). But working for the cops just isn’t what this family does; Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) gang are comfortably rich and very much retired, and before that they were masterminds of a million-dollar heist. Before that, they just really loved cars.
As is evident, the Fast & Furious franchise has spent well over a decade shifting colours, attempting to reconfigure itself into a franchise palatable towards various audience tastes. The series began life inside the head of Paul Walker’s good guy agent Brian O’Connor who – in a nod to Point Break – found himself torn between the respective codes of the law and the street. Since then, Fast and Furious has continually changed its stripes before settling into a groove formed in Fast Five and arriving fully-realised for this latest instalment. An algorithm of viewer satisfaction has certifiably recognised the popularity of The Rock, the enduring appeal of the buddy ensemble and the preference toward intermittent car chases – in opposition to cars as the plot’s focal point.
Director Justin Lin is still very much set on romanticising his cast of outlaws as one big, happy family. Here, we even see the unit of Toretto, Brian, Jordana Brewster’s Mia (together with hers and Brian’s child), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Han (Sung Kang) and Tej hold hands together to say grace, in a mealtime ritual that endears us further to what is essentially a ragtag band of criminals. What’s peculiar is that, for the most part, the elite of the group in Dominic, Mia and Brian are the only ones truly extolling the virtues of family, with the remaining – somewhat distant – bit players acquiescing for the incentive of money.
Standing in contrast to the main family is the vaguely-identical physical counterparts of Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his own band of mercenaries, whose similarities to the good guys are acknowledged in a referential wink to the action film tendency of pairing up respective protagonists and antagonists. Michelle Rodriguez’ Letty Ortiz is back from the dead and shooting for the wrong team, one cog in an interchangeable assemblage of nameless goons to whom Shaw bears no attachment other than a dependency on their abilities.
Therein lies the obvious conflict between the two rival teams. Their discrepancy is elucidated time and again by Shaw, suggesting he gets his kicks from exposing the flaws in Dominic Toretto’s philosophy as opposed to actually acquiring a lethal bomb. Diesel’s Toretto isn’t fazed by the criticism; he spends the entire film emitting a slow drawl that sounds as if he’s just been woken up from a long nap, though the delivery is intended to have an air of irrefutable cool.
Unsurprisingly, everything here marked to pass for cool is far more likely to elicit laughter than awe. Right from the opening credits (which features a TV-style shot of the crew striding towards the camera), the film reels off countless unintentionally hysterical moments of machismo-infused dialogue, implausible plot developments and over-the-top action.
Still, even amidst the most straight-faced scenes, one never gets the impression that the film takes itself as seriously as its peers on the blockbuster scene. In a summer season following two self-important sci-fi blockbusters attempting to impart a ‘message’ about contemporary warfare, this offering pulls its conceit to the absolute surface level, brushes it aside and turns on the turbo boosters. It knows its skin.
Justin Lin directs his chase sequences with all the glee of a teenager mowing down civilians on Grand Theft Auto. Cop cars and civilian vehicles alike are flung high into the air or crushed like tin cans under the tire tracks of a tank. There are three main set-pieces here, each more extraordinary than the last and likely to induce either a clap or a facepalm depending on viewer predilections. A hot pursuit down Westminster led by Owen Shaw’s very own custom-built Batmobile is trumped by a highway tank rampage, which itself is then superseded by an all-out brawl around and aboard a plane taking off from the longest runway known to man.
The cringe worthy audacity of Fast & Furious 6 is in fact commendable, not least because its tricks – much of them forgoing the CGI found in modern action – belong more in the era of unabashedly playful 90s action thrillers than in the current crop of morose, grey shooters. The franchise has taken a long while to get here. Moreso, it’s taken just as long for Justin Lin to be this comfortable – though not a great deal more competent – behind the camera. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether journeyman James Wan – taking the rein for the seventh (and supposedly final) instalment – will scupper the established tomfoolery, and the potential goldmine of a singular narrative seed laid in this film’s post-credits stinger. We only have to wait a single year: that, in itself, tells us much of what we need to know.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Ed Doyle – Follow me on Twitter.
Originally published May 13, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
