Film Review: Fast and Furious 6

Fast and Furious 6. Rated M (action violence and infrequent coarse language).130 minutes. Directed by Justin Lin. Screenplay by Chris Morgan.

Verdict: The Fast and Furious franchise reaches top gear.

When a film can’t even make up its mind about what it has to be called, you know the people responsible are at the very pinnacle of a certain kind of success. Fast 6, Furious 6 (as it appears on screen in the opening title credit), or Fast and Furious 6, this is the latest instalment in a ridiculously successful franchise that has defied the laws of cinema. Or re-written them completely. Whichever it is depends entirely on your own point of view.

Beginning with The Fast and the Furious (2000), this series of films about fast cars, gangs, covert undercover operations and an international array of locations usually reserved for movies about that certain secret agent 007, the (arguably) niche market to which these films speak has embraced them wholeheartedly. And it is not that difficult to understand why. While they might not be works of art, they are superbly produced action films about the true spirit of comeraderie, and this instalment will have you staring at the screen with a certain amount of jaw-dropping awe.

The Fast and Furious ‘family’ have split up around the globe to enjoy the spoils of their bank heist in Fast and Furious 5. But when Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) brings Toretto (Vin Diesel) photographic evidence that the love of his life Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is still alive and working for an opposing gang, Toretto reunites the team to take the weapon-stealing gang on and bring Letty back to the fold.

It’s impossible to fault the acting on show here because there isn’t any. As any Fast and Furious Fan knows, it’s all about the car-related stunts, and Morgan’s screenplay – a brilliantly engineered piece of ‘let’s get the talk out of the way so we can get back to the car chases’ – is embraced by the cast, who share his aspirations without question.

The irony is that they’re absolutely right to do so. The big action set pieces are simply gob-smacking, and Lin (Fast 3) and his Australian-born cinematographer Stephen Windon (Fast 3, 5 and 6), nail them with breath-taking precision. The final sequence, which takes place on the longest airport runway known to mankind, is an instant classic, and the post-credits scene sets up Fast and Furious 7 with this series’ signature confidence. Just remember, as the film-makers wisely mention in a closing title screen, don’t try any of this at home.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.