Monday, June 24, 2013

Fast and furious 6


Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriquez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Sung Kan, Luke Evans, Gina Carano, John Ortiz ; Director: Justin Lin; Screenplay: Cris Morgan; Producer: Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel, Clayton Townsend; Running Time: 130 minutes; Genre: Action; Location: USA

Technical assessment: 3.5
Moral assessment: 2
MTRCB rating:  PG 13
CINEMA rating: V 18

Fugitives and ex-convicts Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) are still in the hiding somewhere in Mexico after their last gig in Rio when Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) suddenly appears and offers them a deal. He wants Toretto to assemble his crew and help him take down Eman Shaw (Luke Evans), an elite mercenary involved in dangerous weapons, in exchange for their amnesty. Toretto is at first hesitant, but immediately changes his mind when Hobbs spills one interesting information—Toretto’s girlfriend, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who is presumed dead, is alive and working with Shaw.  So Torreto’s quest for the truth begins—why is Letty working with Shaw?  Torreto suspects his girlfriend needs his rescue before it’s too late.
Fast and Furious 6 is a spectacle at its best.  It defies gravity and reality without spoiling the audience’s suspension of disbelief.  This latest film of the series from an unexpected blockbuster franchise remains to be faithful to the core of its genre.  It does not let its fans down with its action and chase sequences where cars crash and seemingly race to eternity. Although absurd, there lies its charm—absurdity in its funniest. In fact, the story just remains in the background. On the foreground of the film are really the action set pieces, the jaw-dropping stunts and the never-ending chases on the highway and this time, on the airport runway.  The original cast of characters, along with their original charm, is still intact and the audience sees them grow and evolve series after series without alienating those who have not religiously followed the previous installments. Towards the end, the audience gets the hint that the Fast and Furious franchise is not done yet, and there goes the excitement once again.
There is no denying that Fast and Furious 6 is a film that celebrates violence and embraces danger as a way of life. With that, the film in its entirety is undoubtedly disturbing. It disturbs the senses as it challenges the limits and endurance of the human physique. The story fights evil with evil, only that the protagonists are portrayed as lesser evils. It pampers and glorifies criminals like modern-day heroes without much regard to the damages they do with public spaces. With all these, the center of the story still revolves around love and family relationships. Love that transcends memory, guilt, and even death.  Torreto risks his life to save Letty from danger and death—and that’s what love is, Fast and Furious style.  O’Conner will give up anything for his family—and that’s all that really matters in this tormented fast and furious world.  At the end of the film, they all thank God for their lives, for delivering them from danger, and for fast cars. But then again, all these are just incidental to the action set pieces, car crashes, fight sequences, and dangerous stunts. It’s still a dark world where only the toughest survive and where strongmen kill for love.  The moral aspect of this movie is too much to chew on for young audiences—why expose them to such confusion?