Fast & Furious 6 (2013) Review by Shivom Oza – Crashes And Burns!

1.5/5 Stars

In this film, all the members of the crew, who had given up the ‘fast and furious’ life post their Rio heist, come together to bring down a mercenary organization, led by British Special Forces soldier Owen Shaw.

The SIXTH film in the ‘Fast & Furious’ series, ‘Fast & Furious 6’ is another example of how the makers are running out of stories to tell.

The only good element about this film was the dialogue. Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris, who play Roman Pearce and Tej Parker respectively, share wonderful camaraderie. The rest of the film is tepid, to put it mildly. Even the car-chase and fight sequences leave a lot to be desired. Not that one should look for logic in a ‘Fast & Furious’ film, but this one is devoid of entertainment as well.

As we had learnt in the end credits of the last film in this franchise, Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) former girlfriend Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), presumably dead, turns out to be alive. In this film, we learn that she has lost all her memory and is now a part of Owen Shaw’s (Luke Ewans) gang.

Owen Shaw, a former British Special Forces soldier, now leads a deadly gang which is causing much trouble for Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson).

Hobbs convinces Toretto to join this mission of nabbing Shaw and his gang, by letting him know that Letty’s still alive. Toretto convinces his now-retired friends to take part in this mission and so, they begin their quest to get Letty back.

Although the premise of the film is quite promising, the screenplay is just not gripping enough. There are a couple 7-8 minute car-chase sequences, which really begin to test your patience, as you’ve seen them all before. The action is ridiculously over-the-top (Yes, even for a ‘Fast & Furious’). There’s a scene in which Toretto gets catapulted at least 40-50 metres from his car and he manages to get hold of Letty, who gets thrown out of a speeding vehicle (a TANK, for God’s sake!), mid-air! Of course, both of them conveniently fall atop a bonnet of another car and end up absolutely bruise-free. Such moments were hilarious, rather than thrilling. The one thing that you always look forward to in such a film, which is the soundtrack, also turned out to be a dampener. The movie falls short on all counts. The only saving grace was the final scene, which is the prelude to the next film. There’s a big surprise in store, but it’s too little and too late. Not worth sitting through two hours of the film itself, certainly!

Avoid the film. You’ve seen it all before.

Shivom Oza