Film Review - FAST & FURIOUS 6 ★★★½☆☆

There is something to be said about a series that keeps getting better as it speeds along, more so by chapter six. Boasting hot cars, big chases, explosive action, and a non stop pace, Fast & Furious 6 will end up being one of the most accessible and entertaining films of the year.

Comfortably cruising through and past the series' sidestep misstep with the third installment Tokyo Drift, director Justin Lin has since pushed forward on a rock steady course by managing to cut, paste and combine various cast members and building story arcs and character relationships that have spanned six films over 12 years.

At first glance it seemed like an improbable feat, as even target fans take the series at face value, but F&F has yet managed to both raise the stakes and balance sheer high octane spectacle with a building character driven story. It has evolved way past being a one-dimensional series of movies about fast cars.

F&F headliners Paul Walker (Brian O' Connor) and Vin Diesel (Dom Toretto) return with Dwayne Johnson, who broke out as the newest big name addition from Fast Five, and continue where the last film left off. With the outlaw crew now living on the lam in various countries all over the world, Johnson's Agent Luke Hobbs finds himself recruiting the criminals he help take down in the last installment to assist in capturing the high stakes heist master Shaw (Luke Evans). The mysterious Shaw also happens to have enlisted an intriguing ghost from the past, the presumed deceased (in F&F 4) Letty (played by Michelle Rodriguez).

Hobbs along with his new ass kicking partner Riley (stunning MMA champ Gina Carano), join forces with Dom, Brian and rest of the speed demon crew Ramon (Tyrese Gibson), Han (Sung Kang), Gisele (Gal Gadot), Tej (Ludacris) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) to take us on what is the biggest and best of F&F outing to date, easily outracing its predecessors in scale, adrenaline, and most importantly not forgetting to intricately play off the likable characters fans have shared a big screen history with.

It goes without saying Diesel and Johnson are at their ass kicking best here. Johnson's tough smart-ass  and ridiculously ripped Hobbs once again wears a black shirt so tight it may as well be body paint (we should all be so lucky). But credit needs to go to he leading ladies as well. who also have ample opportunity to throw it down. Carano debuted her big screen chops headlining Stephen Soderbergh's actioner Haywire, and she brings the necessary presence in this tough girl supporting role. Riley and Letty have it out it a real doozy of a brawl, which is only one of the bone crunching hand-to-hand action sequences in the film. Though I have to admit, I don't think Rodriguez in real life would get more than second round with Carano, who would be easily dispensed by the former mixed martial arts superstar.

As for the cars, it's a given that anything on four wheels has ample spotlight in the film. Though as the series has progressed, the automotive neon sexiness that went along with the street racing has been toned down in exchange for sheer speed and efficiency needed for the task at hand. But here the cars give way to sharing the spotlight and taking on tricked-out tanks and why not throw in a plane as well.

Much like Fast Five, this installment runs over two hours, which can test the attention span of your eager summer moviegoer, and it does hit a point when you figure its about that time to wrap things up. But just when it feels like its overstaying its welcome, it kicks you squarely in the ass with an extended (and yes ridiculous) spectacular last lap which sends you home begging for more once you catch your breath. Fret not, the already in-the-works seventh entry in the series is appropriately teased in an extremely clever sequence for fans who have kept track of all the films.

I have neve been an opponent of checking your brain at the theater door in the spirit of simply enjoying the big screen experience, there is nothing wrong with that. F&F 6 will ultimately successfully rank among the best of that genre. But among the many pluses the series has is that it embraces the fact it's loud escapist fun, lets you enjoy big loud thrills, have fun on many levels, and knows the exact point to pull out and turn around that unabashed "Get the F out of here!!" physics defying moment to have you gasping, cheering and shaking your head all at the same time.

Whether the action involves hand to hand, gun to gun, cars versus cars, cars versus tanks or cars versus planes, the film covers all its bases in the action sequence check list. The all-encompassing demographic appeal of the wining cast is matched only by the ridiculous pacing of the near non-stop action and payoffs. By now you should know what you're getting into with The Fast & The Furious experience, and for my money, Fast & Furious 6 may have earned its place as the easy choice for the overall best action film of the year given its wide open genre friendly appeal and unabashed willingness to simply entertain.

Fast & Furious 6 opens in 2D and IMAX on May 24th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★★½☆☆
Directed By: Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Gina Carano
Studio: Universal Pictures
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 130 minutes

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