By Jeremy Hannaford (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: June 5, 2013
Little could anyone have believed that a movie about Vin Diesel and Paul Walker street racing would spawn into the multi-film enterprise it is today.
Starting back in 2001, the series has delved into illegal street racing, drug smuggling, bank robbery and even death. But never has the series dealt with a corrupted member. Such is the essential premise of Fast & Furious 6.
While the other films have, for the most part, run on their own with only brief references to prior instalments, Furious 6 lives in the past. While there is a new criminal, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), on the streets assembling horrible and nasty things, it is the search for the once thought dead Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) that is the main goal for our heroes. The history of the series really comes to the forefront and it is a welcome change in pacing. While Furious 6 is still an action blockbuster, it is interesting to see the “family” come together and bond in a single goal – not one of money but of finding that which was once lost.
After having pulled off some amazing action sequences in the last film, director Justin Lin really steps it up a notch. Lin and the stunt crews bring a lot of intense car chases and stunt sequences to the film. Flipping cars into the air with a modified cage vehicle provides an impressive start with some great camera work and a commitment to using real cars and stunt drivers. The one thing that can be always commended about the series is its bonds to realism (aside from those silly tunnel sequences in Fast & Furious). With most films nowadays opting for CGI work on complicated set pieces, this film series tries everything it can to stay grounded in reality. The coordination and use of actual cars and stunt drivers solidifies the experience and adds a flair that CGI could never bring.
The unfortunate progression in action films is that things that were once part of the series can sometimes become quite boring. At one moment in the film, there is a street race with great camera work and some impressive driving. But after having seen a bank vault pulled around through the streets of Rio by two Dodge Chargers, races really don’t raise the intensity anymore. This issue was possibly foreseen because in the third act, the intensity goes through the roof. Having a tank barreling down highways in Spain was quite something to watch but it was a bit much to take in as the sequence grew in absurdity. Along with a final action scene on an airport runway which seemed to be the length of Spain itself, the film really messes itself up and breaks logistical rules. With some bizarre plot twists and betrayals, Furious 6 almost loses its direction with such a rushed ending. Conveniences pop up rapidly and losses occur that are just plain strange. This plotting might have been a sign of why Lin is stepping down from the series.
Lin has improved with experience by directing the last four films in the series. After starting out with the forgettable Tokyo Drift, he brought back the original cast in Fast & Furious and really brought his A-game for the entertaining and lucid Fast Five. But by making what is recognized as the best film in the series, Lin really put himself on the ropes with having to top his previous best. Lin doesn’t drop the intensity, and loses his creative approach as a result. At one moment when Diesel and Rodriguez are having a personal conversation about their old love life, Lin resorts to Michael Bay camera spins, intensifying scenes without purpose.
Lin shows the wear and tear the series has had on him but doesn’t go without a fight. While it doesn’t beat Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6 reaches as far as it can in terms of action and production. It is a shame to see Lin leave after having brought the series back up, but in terms of exits, he can be proud of what he did for both the series and the stunt industry.
