Movie Review: Fast & Furious 6

For those that stayed until the end of the previous film they were not shocked to see how the next Fast film, released in 2013, continued. For those that had no clue they were surprised by a ghost from the teams past and another exciting adventure. As always spoilers will be ahead. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

After their successful heist in the previous film Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew have gone their separate ways as they avoid the police. Dom lives with Elena (Elsa Pataky), Brian (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) have a son named Jack, Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) are enjoying their wealth while Han (Sung Kang) and Gisele (Gal Gadot) are still living together. Their lives of luxury soon come to an end when DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) finds Dom; however instead of arresting Dom Hobbs has come with a deal. Special ops soldier and former British SAS major Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) has been stealing tech needed to build a device worth millions on the black market and Hobbs, along with his partner Riley Hicks (Gina Carano) have had trouble capturing him. Dom is not interested, until Hobbs shows him a picture of someone helping out Shaw: the not so dead Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez). Dom and his crew come together to help Hobbs, in exchange for amnesty to their past crimes. In London Dom finds Letty who shoots him on site, it is later revealed that Letty did survive her car accident in the fourth film, but is suffering from amnesia. Determined to save the woman he loves Dom and his crew team up with their one time foe Hobbs to stop Shaw. I probably shouldn’t go further without spoiling the movie (stay until the very end to get the answer many waited for since the third film) but the highlights of the movie can be described in three t’s: Tragedy, Traitor and Tank!

The bar for the Fast franchise had been set a little high after the fifth film and while I don’t think the sixth addition reached as high as it should have been it got close. The action took a big step up with the cars, especially during the climatic car chase involving the tank as Shaw basically did not care who he ran over; my jaw was on the floor the entire time the tank was on-screen. I have yet to check it, but it would not surprise me if the body count in this film was the highest in the entire franchise. The story I thought was pretty good and the entire cast did a fantastic job in their respective roles. It was great to see Rodriguez return to her role as Letty, I know many fans of the movies were irritated by her amnesia storyline but thankfully they did not have to suffer for long. If I have to be honest the stand out for me was Luke Evans. He was perfect as Owen Shaw; I actually thought for some time he was the best bad guy in the Fast franchise until he was topped in the next film but that is for another day. I definitely think if you liked the previous Fast films, particularly the fifth, Fast & Furious 6 will definitely keep any action fan on the edge of their seat.

Movie Review: Fast Five

If anyone thought Fast and Furious was dead after the fourth film they were very much mistaken. This film released in 2011 not only revived the franchise; it completely changed the entire movies going forward. As always spoilers will be ahead. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is set to be transported to prison after the events of the previous film; however he is broken out by his friend Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and his sister Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster). The trio manages to evade authorities and head to Rio de Janeiro. Reuniting with their old friend Vince (Matt Schulze) they get caught up in the activities of crime lord Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). Discovering a computer chip containing Reyes criminal finances (about $100 million in cash) Dom, Brian, Mia (who is pregnant with Brian’s child) recruit Vince, Roman Pierce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), Han (Sung Kang), Gisele (Gal Gadot) who develops a relationship with Han, Leo (Tego Calderón) and Santos (Don Omar) into stealing the money. While they plan Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) arrives in Rio determined to bring in Dom and his family; recruiting Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky) a local police officer who Dom becomes attracted too. However when Hobbs catches up with Dom at the same time as Reyes’s men and gunfire breaks out the heist soon becomes very personal for all involved. I probably shouldn’t say anymore, but watch the film until the end for a surprise.

Returning to the original roots of being a heist film is one of the reasons I think Fast Five is one of the better films in the franchise. That is what drew people in the films in the first place: incredible action and watching the “bad guys” get away with a nearly impossible crime with police following. Watching how Dom and his crew pulling off the heist (specifically pulling out the gigantic safe) is thrilling to watch. Diesel, Walker, Brewster, Gibson, Bridges, Kang, Gadot, Schulze, Calderón and Omar shined once again as their respective characters, Almeida was a pretty good bad guy, and Pataky was a great addition as Elena. However I think Fast fans are in agreement when I say adding in Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs was the best thing the franchise could have done. While he was already a huge star Johnson’s acting ability really improved with these movies. The writing was much better in this film compared to the last two, the action stepped up, the cars were gorgeous, the characters become more developed; overall Fast Five for the longest time was considered to be the best Fast yet (it might still be in some people’s minds.) I definitely think if you have watched the previous Fast films and think about giving it up do me a favor and watch this one; it might change your mind. Even if you are not a huge fan of these movies this one will get any action film fan excited; it might even make someone a fan of the franchise.

Movie Review: Fast & Furious

Out of the entire Fast franchise so far many fans have said that this is the weakest one yet. While I do agree that the fourth installment is not the best it does have its moments. Fast & Furious, more commonly known as Fast and Furious Four, also establishes events prior to Tokyo Drift and future films with the characters fans have come to know and love. As always spoilers will be ahead. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Set five years after the first film Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) have been hijacking fuel tankers in the Dominican Republic, along with a new crew including Han (Sung Kang), Tego (Tego Calderón) and Santos (Don Omar). However when police start closing in the crew is forced to split up; despite promising to ride or die together Dom leaves Letty in order to protect her. Months later Dom receives a call from his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) that Letty has been murdered. Dom discovers evidence leading to Letty’s killer which reunites him and Mia with their old friend, and FBI agent, Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker). Brian has been tracking down drug lord Arturo Braga who has been trafficking drugs from Mexico into the United States, while Dom knows Braga and his henchman Fenix (Laz Alonso) are responsible for Letty’s death; forcing the two to team up once again to take down Braga along with Mia (who rekindles her relationship with Brian) and Brago’s liaison Gisele (Gal Gadot) after Dom saves her life. About as far as I can go without giving away the rest of the movie.

As stated previously many fans would agree that this is the weakest Fast film to date and they are right. While the chemistry between the original characters (Dom, Brian, Letty and Mia) are still there, the addition of Gisele brought in a few more guys to the movie, and the racing/car chase scene were not bad (the one at the end of the film in the tunnels I thought was pretty good) it could not save the story. It was basically a heist movie involving heroin and fast cars; while they tried to incorporate Letty’s death into it future films kinda made it useless. If you want to watch the film you can; it does explain just a little bit of what is happening at the beginning of the fifth film. Otherwise I’d skip it.

Movie Review: Justice League

Me being a HUGE fan of this universe I had to see this movie. It was not exactly how I envisioned it but I am not slamming it as much as the critics. I am going to try and be spoiler free but just in case here is a WARNING! I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

The world is still morning the loss of Superman (Henry Cavil), none more so than his mother Martha (Diane Lane) and Lois Lane (Amy Adams.) Meanwhile Bruce Wayne aka Batman (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) attempt to recruit fellow heroes Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) and Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) aka Aquaman, Cyborg and Flash respectively. Bruce and Diana believe something is coming to Earth, and it is going to require all of them to stop this threat. Sadly I cannot go any more without spoiling the film so the only thing I am going to say is STAY UNTIL THE VERY END!!!!

Now I understand why critics have been giving this a hard blow, there were a few issues I had as well. For starters the editing could have been better; it seemed like things were going by too fast (one minute it’s day the next it’s night you know what I mean.) There were some things I thought happened too soon, like honestly could have waited until 3/4 of the film, but that’s just me. Individually I thought the acting was good or great. Gadot is perfect as Diana. Affleck is not the best as Bruce but he is not the worst. Miller I thought did a good job as Allen, let me put it this way Barry is still learning to be an adult so if you watch the TV series it is nothing like how Grant Gustin is, but that is OK because this is a different universe. Fisher is great as Cyborg, again still learning. As for Momoa, well first off I am not blind. That out of the way I really liked how he portrays Curry in the beginning and then as he joins the fight, if you watched him on Game of Thrones the roles are almost similar so I’m told. Because Aquaman, Cyborg and Flash are getting their own movies I’m curious to see where their characters are going to go, maybe get a snip or origin in there for those unfamiliar with their stories. They do hint at it in the film but it’s not enough. Other characters, such as Lois, Alfred, Martha, and the villain are also good in the film. P.S. I think J.K Simmons is FABULOUS as James Gordon and I cannot wait to see more.

If I were to rank it with other DC films, at least in this universe, it is definitely better than Suicide Squad, but not as good as Wonder Woman. If you are a fan of superheroes than I would recommend watching this movie, if not in theaters than when it airs on TV.

Movie Review: Wonder Woman

My family really enjoys the comic book franchises, movies and TV shows, and we watch almost all of them. I will go into more at a later time, but today I wanted to do the movie everyone was talking about and in my opinion lived up to its hype: Wonder Woman. If you have not seen the movie, spoilers will be ahead. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

The only child on the island of Themsycira, Diana is raised by her mother Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) of the Amazons and trained by her aunt Antiope (Robin Wright). Hippolyta doesn’t want Diana to fight as in their past fighting the God of War Ares, who may still be alive after being wounded by Zeus. The Amazons are always ready for a fight and Diana grows up to become to a beautiful and tough woman (Gal Gadot), and a fight comes very soon. A plane crashes on the island and Diana rescues the pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). Unfortunately he was followed by an army of bad guys and many Amazons are killed; including Antiope. Trevor soon reveals, under the lasso of truth, that he is a spy who stole a notebook providing clues to an even deadlier poison gas which would give the Germans victory. Believing Ares is responsible for the war and how evil man is, Diana leaves the island to kill Ares with Trevor. Suddenly Diana realizes the world and man are not what she always thought they would be as she fights the war and falls for Trevor. And that is about as far as I can go without spoiling the rest of the movie.

Wonder Woman has been an icon for women since 1942 and for years a live action adaption seemed to just stay in developmental hell, a term used for movies just waiting for a studio to take the chance. While there was the successful TV series with Linda Carter, her appearances on animated shows and a direct to DVD movie it seemed Wonder Woman would not get her on-screen due. That was until Batman vs. Superman when the world was introduced to Gal Gadot as the Amazonian princess (unless they were familiar with the Fast and the Furious franchise). It wasn’t too long before Wonder Woman finally had the on-screen treatment the character and audience deserved.

After looking at the many actresses that could have been Wonder Woman over the years I can honestly say no one could have done a better job than Gal Gadot. She is beautiful, she is fit (which when you play Wonder Woman you have to be) and is an amazing actress. Chris Pine was absolutely perfect as Steve Trevor, Wonder Woman’s constant love interest in almost all adaptions, and while I am not sure of his future with the franchise I hope we see him in some capacity or another. Robin Wright may be on screen for a short amount of time but she definitely left a lasting impression. Someone did a post on Facebook where they had pictures of Robin Wright and Carrie Fisher as Buttercup and Leia, showing them as princesses in the 80’s, but leaders and generals today. The rest of the cast is superb, some are funny and others are just so rotten.

I absolutely loved this movie and I cannot wait to see more of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in Justice League and the sequel whenever that may be.