The Movie Franchise That Could....

It's good to be back! It's been a while as I have been completing a graduate course while working full-time which monopolized much of my free time. I still watched movies though, just didn't have the time nor disposition to write any reviews. But, last night I watched a movie which was a mix of ho-hum and brilliant. The movie: Furious 6. Now, I was not a fan of the original The Fast and The Furious. To me, it was an O.K. entertaining movie which basically stole the plot from Point Break. Parts 2 and 3 did not pique my curiosity. I did watch Part 4 and remember falling asleep. It just didn't do it for me.

Then...Fast 5 comes out of nowhere and I was a bit surprised upon the realization these movies are becoming a "franchise." The original duo of Paul Walker and Vin Diesel return...O.K. I mean that's what got me to watch Part 4. But then I see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the trailer. I raise my eyebrows. I see the movie. In the theater. And...it is good. It is really good. So much better than what I was expecting. The main characters of the first four movies also return - Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Gal Gadot, and Sung Kang. I watched Fast 5 once and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I would certainly watch it again. It was a solid, entertaining film.

Then Furious 6 is released and I get pretty excited as well as surprised. Again, all the characters including Hobbs return and I believed if it is just as good as Fast 5 then I will be entertained. As it turns out, Furious 6 is just ho-hum with flashes of brilliance. In my opinion, Fast 5 is the superior movie of the "franchise." But Furious 6 has something going for it which will have me running to the theater when the next movie of the franchise is released...something I will not spoil. The last two minutes of the movie are a part of that cinematic pleasure I love about movies, especially when the pleasure is so unexpected.

What do you have with Furious 6? Well, Hobbs finds Torreto (in hiding after Rio) and propositions him to gather his team to help take down another crime team (which happens to use cars) in which Hobbs believes he can not ultimately take down without the help of Torreto, O'Connor, et al. The team gathers and decides to help Hobbs for full pardons.

What I enjoyed about this movie - its flashes of brilliance - begin with the actor John Ortiz who reprises his role from Part 4. This leads to a pretty decent prison fight involving Paul Walker's character. There is the new character of Riley, Hobbs' partner, played by Gina Carano (Haywire). And a good fight between her and Michelle Rodriguez's character. You also have Johannes Taslim from The Raid: Redemption whose character has a good fight scene against Han and Roman (reminiscent of the final fight scene in Lethal Weapon 4) The third act of the movie was decent, but unrealistically too long (aboard the plane). I have to say I enjoyed the fight scenes better than the vehicular action with the exception of the tank scene, which was a bit disturbing. The premise is interesting, but unrealistic. Which leads me to the problems of the movie....it is a bit too unrealistic. Were any of the movies of the franchise realistic at all? No, but some of the scenes in this movie were a little too over the top. I am all about suspending disbelief while watching a movie, but not this much. Further, I do not like Michelle Rodriguez as an actor. I just do not like her and have no idea what she added to this, much less any movie or TV show she's in which some other actor can play better. My favorite moment in the TV series Lost is when her character dies.

Now, after watching this movie, the end credits begin. I think to myself, the movie was just OK, entertaining, but not as good as Fast 5. I even remember thinking while watching the movie how much better the franchise could be if there was someway The Transporter could be incorporated into it. Then the credits stop and more action - apparently the ending of Tokyo Drift (which I did not see) in which Han dies when hit by a Mercedes (which is not really a spoiler since it apparently really happens). This is the last two minutes of the movie of which I referred to earlier. It simply ends with this quote, "Dominic Torreto you don't know me, but you will." Fade to black and I am as hyped as I have ever been after watching a movie.

Will you get your money's worth if you see this movie in the theater? If you are a die hard fan of the franchise or are craving a good action flick to see in the theater, then yes. More than anything, if you are a fan of movies as much as I am, the last two minutes of the movie will be more than worth the money you spend to see this is the theater. Cheers!