Movie with Abe: Fast and Furious 6

Fast and Furious 6
Directed by Justin Lin
Released May 24, 2013

To say that my enthusiasm for this film was high is an extraordinary understatement. Few blockbuster series achieve their high points with their fifth installments, and that’s reason enough to anticipate this movie. Understandably, this sixth entry can’t top the fifth, but it serves as an entirely exciting and invigorating thrill ride. For much of its runtime, it represents a departure from the focus on street racing and criminal activity that has encompassed most of the previous five films, and a successful venture into full-on action territory ripe for visiting again endlessly in film after film in the future.

While it wouldn’t have been a problem to cover the same familiar ground and frame the plot in the same way that the past five films have, it’s probably best that this series opted to reinvent itself and take a new approach to its marvelous cast of characters. The return of Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty, foreshadowed in the post-credits scene in “Fast Five,” is the obvious impetus for the gang to get back together, united under the legal auspices of Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) as he enlists Dom (Vin Diesel) and his crew to take down the group of vehicle-wielding villains with whom Letty has joined forces.

What this series has always done best is create preposterous, high-octane situations in which something truly incredible occurs which serves both as impressive and ridiculous at the same time. There are several such moments in this movie, starting with Hobbs’ simple solution to trying to take down a car he is chasing: jump down onto its roof. These scenes exemplify why this kind of film should still exist, and, more than anything, it’s a superb argument for the continued practice of going to a movie theatre to share in a film viewing experience. Laughter and applause are appropriate and completely in keeping with the film’s style.

“Fast and Furious 6” is a film that both knows exactly what it wants to be and a film completely comfortable with trying new things. Its opening credits sequence visually reviews the major plot points from the first five films, offering a stylized and magnificent summary of these characters and the way in which they all connect. The action picks up in the film’s final act, capping an extremely exciting chapter in this saga. The film’s token post-credits scene, which actually comes before the credits, secures this franchise as eternally viable and capable of change, setting up an even more enticing seventh film that can’t come soon enough.

B+

Tuesday’s Top Trailer: Fast and Furious 6

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

Fast and Furious 6 – Opening May 24, 2013

If there’s one film series for which I am wholly enthusiastic that does not match up with the rest of my cinematic tastes, it’s this one. The main reason for my excitement for this sixth installment is that the fifth was the best in the series so far, a rare feat for a franchise a decade old. This trailer only offers up more reason to get pumped for the only summer blockbuster which I write about that I’ll be sure to actually see. Not only is director Justin Lin, who helmed the previous installments, but so is the entire cast, including Dwayne Johnson, and, as previewed in the last scene of “Fast Five,” Michelle Rodriguez as Letty, who appeared to have died at the beginning of “Fast and Furious,” the fourth entry. Having Johnson’s Agent Hobbs enlist the help of Vin Diesel’s Dom and his crew to stop an international criminal organization committing what Ludacris’ Tej describes as “vehicular warfare” is the perfect setup to get the whole gang back together. Enhancing the already thrilling action sequences from “Fast Five” are the fact that the criminals have a tank and the awe-inspiring scene from this trailer in which the crew manages to hijack a plane. I’m sure that’s just the tip of the iceberg, and you can count on me to get in line for this one as soon as it comes out at the end of May. I couldn’t be more stoked.