All roads lead to this
1,2,3,4,5,6…usually when a movie franchise accumulates this many sequels, the concept behind each installment becomes weaker and the quality of the series is compromised. When it comes to the case of the “Fast and the Furious’ franchise, Justin Lin has managed to keep the continuity of the street racing phenomenon fresh and ensure the series to maintain a top competitor position among box-office hits. Ever since his emergence into the ‘Fast and Furious’ universe with his directorial position for ‘The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift,’ Lin laid out a plan that would take the sequels to a whole other level where adrenaline fueled action infuses with carefully mapped out cast development, making each effort commercially and critically more successful than most would imagine. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson and Sung Kang all return for ‘Fast & Furious 6,’ with a welcomed reintroduction of Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty Ortiz.
The latest ‘Furious’ chapter ‘Fast & Furious 6,’ follows the events that took place in ‘Fast Five’ where Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and his crew are living the retired life after completing a successful heist. Despite being wanted fugitives in the United States, they all maintain a comfortable life across the world. Agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) approaches Toretto with an offer to wipe his group’s record clean if they join him and take down a highly efficient mercenary group under Owen Shaw’s command. Dominic’s reluctance ends quickly after discovering Letty is not only alive but working with Shaw. Not ones to turn down helping family, Brian (Walker), Roman (Gibson), Han (Kang) and Tej (Ludacris) come to Toretto’s side and agree to the terms.
When Lin took the director’s chair for ‘Tokyo Drift,’ his success has been reliant on his consistent ability to include a new aspect to each installment. With ‘Fast & Furious,’ he brought the entire gang back together which was something fans have wanted since the 2001 original. Then Lin delivered ‘Fast Five’ where Dwayne Johnson’s addition took fan’s anticipation to new heights, with most eager to witness the inevitable showdown between Vin Diesel and The Rock. Now ‘Fast & Furious 6’ has taken the theaters by storm and puts the gang in situations they’ve never prepared for and welcomes back the fan favorite character Letty Ortiz.
Of course ‘Fast & Furious 6’ is ridiculous and the action scenes are not realistic in any sense of the word, but that’s what makes it fun and entertaining. Lin and Co. deliver a visually explosive installment and with the ingenious sequencing of these sequels they are able to keep the series fresh and exciting. Since its inception in 2001, the franchise has created a group of characters that are so strongly developed that fans of the series are interested in plot progression just as much as the thrilling CGI-infused action scenes. Whether or not the director’s chair is helmed by Justin Lin for the seventh installment, he has made sure that the 6th sequel will continue to reach success with a creatively strong cliff hanger that introduces another action genre heavyweight into the mix.
‘Fast & Furious 6’ is explosive, fresh and strategically executed.
Ben Lester (bjams11)
