Alrighty so I decided to do a special PBG Review this time around simply because something magical happened. There was this radio contest on The Edge, my favourite radio station, to win tickets to an advanced screening of Fast & Furious 6. Well, I won! So last night I went down to Toronto and sat down in the big AVX with people who worked for Universal, members of the media, other reviewers, and got to watch the movie! In spirit of it all, I figured I'd do a review of the movie.
So, here's Pretty Big Girl Review #2: Fast & Furious 6!
So I've been a fan of the Fast & Furious series since the very first movie. I've always loved American Muscle and because Vin Diesel's character also has a thing for American Muscle I fell in love almost instantly. It rekindled when I watched Tokyo Drift, the third movie in the series but oddly enough the last movie in chronological order. It's a big strange, but chronologically it goes like this: The Fast & the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Fast & Furious, Fast 5, Fast & Furious 6, and Tokyo Drift. It's also been hinted at (and most blatantly shown at the end of Fast & Furious 6) that the 7th installment will succeed Tokyo Drift!!!
But anyway, watching Fast & Furious 6 was like getting on a roller coaster. I had high expectations that I would be blown away simply because I'm a fan of roller coasters, and this one seemed really dangerous. Of course, right from the start, they had us fall down the biggest drop ever seen to man. It started off like any Fast & Furious movie should, with a race between two beautiful cars.
It started off on a very high note with that, but it quickly became very emotional and story-oriented, unlike many of the other movies before it which were all about fast cars and races. The movie did not fall short on any story whatsoever, and I'd dare say out of the entire series this movie is the most story-concentric. It definitely tried to concentrate on the characters, their relations with each other, and how they fit into the story.
That being said, I was expecting (and hoping) for fast cars and races. Instead, what I got was story, crazy action, emotional moments, and a fucking tank. Oh, and some really good humor.
While I was definitely blown away by this movie, it also fell a little short with me in terms of what I feel a Fast & Furious movie is. To me, Fast & Furious is all about the common phrase their family coins, "Ride or Die," with fast cars, dangerous road stunts, and running from the law. This movie didn't really give me that. At most, in the movie, I counted two points where cars were the focus of the scene, and one of those times was for humorous purposes only (but don't get me wrong, it was hella funny!!!). I love how it focused on plot, but the fact that it lacked the central core of their concept made it seem not like a Fast & Furious movie at all. It seemed as if it traded in it's sweet cars for some karate lessons and stunt men, because some of the things they do in this movie are crazy.
Like this...
And this...
Oh, and we can't forget The Rock doing his stunts. Also, I had no idea who this chick was, but I liked her a lot for the .5 seconds she had a pivotal role in this movie.
Overall, I would give this movie an 8/10. It was a very good movie, had great stunts, great story, and flawless hilarity, but it lost points from me from losing the very core of what a Fast & Furious movie should be. It seemed to much like your run-of-the-mill, "I need criminals to help me catch this criminal" movie.
However, I would give it a 0/10 just for making me re-live Han's death over again. The lady next to my fiance and I had a good moment where we just wailed like walruses over it. No spoilers, since it's technically already happened...but you have to watch it again because there was something we all missed when it happened, and I don't think any of us could have seen it watching the movie.
Seriously, don't try watching it to find out. You won't. Just watch because it's great.
PROS
♥ Great story/plot
♥ Very good, consistent humor
♥ Some amazing stunts
♥ Acting is fantastic (even from The Rock)
♥ Plot twist nobody saw coming
CONS
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