Fast & Furious 6

2011’s Fast Five breathed new life into the franchise with the introduction Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as DSS agent Luke Hobbs and marked its departure from the flashy street races to more over-the-top action sequences. It is the most successful Fast & Furious to date, but Fast & Furious 6 aims to leave it in the dust with even more ridiculous stunts and insane driving. Prepare to throw all logic out the window.

Fast & Furious 6 takes place exactly where Fast Five’s post-credits scene ended. Dom (Vin Diesel) and the rest of his crew have settled down across the globe after having successfully heisted the $100 million in cash from Hernan Reyes. Life is good until Hobbs shows up unexpectedly at Dom’s in need of help to catch a man by the name of Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). Like Dom, Shaw leads his own crew of talented drivers who are stealing various parts needed to create a weapon of mass destruction. Hobbs wants to enlist Dom’s crew to stop them before they get the past part needed. To entice them back into the game, Hobbs reveals that Letty, previously though dead, is actually alive and running with Shaw and his group. If he wants her back, he’s going to have to help capture Shaw.

The Fast & Furious franchise is no longer about supped up cars or racing for respect anymore. It’s a NOS injected thrill ride that favors style over substance. And I’m okay with that. The skillful maneuvering and drifting of past films may have seemed pretty outrageous but they at least seemed plausible for a trained professional. Fast & Furious 6 features stunts that are downright impossible. The tank and plane seen in the trailer are only the beginning of the film’s ridiculous nature. People will literally fly across the screen and end up without a scratch on them. It’s fine, though, because as ridiculous as everything is, it’s vastly entertaining.

Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and the rest of the cast are touted up as these larger-than-life characters that can’t be hurt. The entire film is one big spectacle featuring these massive set pieces for them to play on. Yes, the tank and plane scenes are awesome to see play out but there are also some fantastic fight scenes as well; one in particular involves Michelle Rodriguez and MMA fighter Gina Carano.

There’s also a surprising amount of humor involved. Light banter between longtime buddies Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) keep the dialogue moving and fan favorite Han (Sung Kang) has a few good quips of his own. There’s never a dull moment as something is always happening on screen.

Fast & Furious 6 is an adrenaline fueled, action packed monster of a film that bewilder you as much as it will entertain. It’s absolutely ridiculous, yes, but in the best way possible, and will ignite a newfound love for the franchise that is already six films deep with a seventh already in the works. That, in and of itself, should be applauded.