"Fast and Furious 6" Review: Or Universal's Muscle Engine That Could

So let's address the elephant in the room: we know these are not intelligent movies. We know that Universal's venerable Fast franchise, since the second movie, has basically been geared towards audiences looking for brainless summer entertainment where people go into an air-conditioned theater, and watch 'splode-y things happen in a cliched action movie. But it's that self-awareness that allows this franchise to continue its success. Director Justin Lin and the cast know what these movies are and what the expectations are. So it ultimately becomes quite pleasantly surprising when things become more ambitious than what we expect.

And ambition is what we get. Yes we have a TON of random car race scenes set to whatever the most popular genre of top 40 music is nowadays. And yes we have some of the most ridiculous scenes you'll ever see in an action movie this year (let's say it involves 2 people being catapulted from standing on top of a car and a tank, and flying across a gap between 2 sides of a freeway). But in between, we also get a bit of drama, character  development, and franchise story progression here and there. It's not Shakespeare, but if nothing else, we can tell the filmmakers are really really trying here. 

The plot is, naturally, simple. Hobbs (The Rock) is tracking down an international thief named Shaw (Luke Evans) who is looking to steal some billion dollar microchip that will enable him to black out electronic devices all over the globe. But Hobbs needs "wolves to catch wolves" so he tracks down Dominic Turretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) and their team of merry men to drive fast cars and take down Shaw and his team, which are essentially doppelgangers of the good guys (as Tyreese's Roman Pierce so humorously points out halfway through the film). True, plots don't really matter in movies like this. But interestingly enough, the filmmakers have managed to tie this installment heavily into the previous films--which is not something I'd expect in such a franchise. Dom's whole motivation for doing this for Hobbs is an opportunity to save his one-true-love Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), resurrected from her supposed death in the  4th film. This ultimately allows for the movie to re-explore the main villain in the 4th movie, as well as previous scenes that happened in that film, ultimately even improving elements of that film. In fact, the film even also revisits Tokyo Drift (the third movie), in one of the subplots involving Han (Sung Kang) and Giselle (smokin' hot Gal Gadot), which culminates in a delicious tag scene involving...I've said too much.

But my point is, it takes a lot of planning and strategy to take events and characters that happened in previous movies and attempt to construct and tie them into elements of a popcorn movie, to make this popcorn movie a relevant entry in a franchise. And that's what director Justin Lin and writer Chris Morgan have done with both "Fast Five" and "Fast and Furious 6." If nothing else, they deserve credit for really trying  here, when they could easily just coast along with simple explosions and CG car chase scenes. They've actually thought things out, and attempted to tie up lose ends and develop their characters--even minor ones, like Elena, Dom's cop-turned-girlfriend from Fast Five--between various installments of the franchise. And for someone like me, who expects very little from this franchise, that's pretty impressive and surprising.

The acting's not great. The dialogue is clunky. Vin Diesel snears and growls through lines that alternate between badass, or cheesy pick-up lines. Paul Walker's cardboard as ever as the bonde Keanu Reeves. But the supporting cast is pretty fun to watch overall. Dwayne Johnson--screw it, I'm going to continue calling him The Rock--The Rock is very entertaining as Hobbs, but he gets a little mushy here essentially becoming Dom's BFF, who's so full of respect for him. If nothing else though, The Rock puts a lot of charisma in most of his roles, and this is no exception, veering between comedic and tough through the full movie. Tyreese gets most of the laughs as goofy-idiot driver Roman Pierce. Ludacris gets some entertaining screentime as Dom's team's techie. And the newest additions, kickboxer Gina Carlo and British up-and-comer Luke Evans get some good moments as a hard-ass cop and a slimy menacing villain respectively. 

But let's be honest, you're attending a Fast movie for the action--not the script or the acting. And it is ridiculous, bombastic, and bone-crunchingly fun in this. You have a ton of really great fights including 2 with Gina Carlo and Michelle Rodriguez, and a tag team battle with Vin Diesel and The Rock vs. Luke Evans and a big muscular version of Hobbs. There's about 4 crazy chase scenes (a Dom vs. Brian race; one scene involving Dom's team pursuing Shaw's team, with modified F1-racers with ramps; one scene with a tank; and one race between Letty and Dom). And one final ginormous set piece involving cars taking down a giant plane. It's all silly, over-the-top, and ridiculous and all defy the laws of physics. But hey, I failed physics, so who really cares as long as it's all fun, right? Just turn your brain off and enjoy the "ooohs" of audiences being entertained by the WWE-inspired fights.

But when it's not about the action sequences, we actually do have scenes of genuine sentimentality and character evolution--Brian is dealing with fatherhood, and guilt over being partially responsible for Letty's "death", Dom is dealing with the shocking return and determination behind rehabilitating Letty, Han and Gisselle are contemplating settling down, Letty's wondering who to trust and what she wants in a family--it's all pretty interesting that Chris Morgan is writing these characters, and considering their feelings and emotions and motivations. These are not the characters we saw in the first Fast movie, which is sort of fascinating, if you think about it. It's not usually just doing things for the sake of doing things--even if no character actually takes any pauses to consider their actions, and even if none of it is subtle. This is worlds better than, say, for example, the evolution of a character like Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates franchise, who has essentially remained the same in 4 movies. Is it perfect? No. But it's more than we should expect in this franchise.

There's a good chance that my high review for a movie like this is entirely dependent on lowered expectations. But perhaps that speaks more as a flaw in the skepticism most critics have in popcorn movies than it does the merits of the movie or the crew behind it themselves. I understand the Fast franchise is not to be taken seriously in the eyes of most serious moviegoers. But perhaps we need to give it more credit since the filmmakers actually attempt to care about the stories of these characters (if not the single stories of the films themselves). And that is one of the key points of storytelling is loving and respecting your characters enough to help them grow--even if the circumstances they grow under are shallow and superficial. But if you can manage to do that in addition to entertaining me with visually engaging action scenes, then more power to you. In short, is this franchise or this movie perfect? Absolutely not. But it's serviceable for sure, and (dare-I-say) welcome and enjoyable--moreso than most of the terrible, soulless movies directors like Michael Bay produce. And that's because this little engine called the Fast franchise, thinks it can and aspires to accomplish.

Overall Rating: B+

"Star Trek Into Darkness" Review: My Name Is...

2 really big movies in, and it's completely shaping up to be a controversial, twisty summer for fanboys everywhere. Given the reveal of "The Mandarin" in "Iron Man 3", "Star Trek Into Darkness" follows a very similar suite by taking a classic villain of fanboy mythos and transforming him into something reasonably different. And based on a few reviews from cinephile sites, it sounds like not everyone is happy. I'm fairly pleased to say though, that this particular fanboy, ladies and gents, liked what he saw...mostly anyway.

Now granted, take that with a grain of salt, because I may not take JJ Abrams' reinterpretations to heart as much as many other hardcore folks online might. If I were to classify myself as any sort of Trekkie, I'd honestly say casual at best, only really devoted to Next Generation and (so far) the Abrams franchise. I have seen the original movies, and I know enough about the mythology to get by without being murdered for complete ignorance at Comic Con. Given that, I'm not nearly as offended as many geeks out there seem to be, so if you're reading this and you're a hardcore Trekkie, don't gauge my eyes out for giving it a good rating. 

Overall, this was a fun, exciting movie. In fact I has slightly less problems with this one than I did Iron Man 3. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have its share of issues. More on those later.

The basic premise of the film goes as follows: A bio-genetically engineered man named "John Harrison" ends up attacking the Starfleet senior officers, killing an important character in the process. In search of retribution and justice Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew go on a manhunt for him. They are able to capture him. However this all ends when Kirk finds that one of the higher officers of Starfleet has not told him the entire truth about "John Harrison", and discovers a few more frightening things about the character, including what he wants. Then the film turns into an all-out war between the Enterprise, a second Starfleet vessel and "John Harrison."

First, let's discuss, perhaps, the movie's 2 greatest assets: Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Benedict Cumberbatch as...er..."John Harrison". Those who have seen the really fantastic 2009 film are probably already sold on Quinto's Spock, as he did a magnificent job in that film. I'm happy to report that he continues the trend here. Spock is conflicted much of the time, never knowing whether or not to make the logical choice or the right one. He's learned to chill a little more since the first movie, and Quinto plays the role he inherited from Leonard Nimoy with total conviction. You really buy into Spock's motivations, why he feels the way he feels, why he does the things he does. For me he is the linchpin of this entire vision of the franchise. As for Mr. Sherlock Holmes himself, Benedict Cumberbatch takes what he can with a fairly under-written role (i.m.o), and elevates it magnificently in the time that's given to him. His villain is devious, intense, and far more interesting than some of the other characters in the Enterprise crew--or at least would even be more interesting had his role been larger. And all of this is done simply with strong vocal intonation, calculating intensity, inflection, cold eyes, and callousness.

On the topic of performances, by the way, I'd also like to point out that the "always welcome" Simon Pegg deserves praise too. His Scotty provides some much needed comic relief to the film--then eventually plays an even much larger role in this film (especially towards the end) than he ever did in the original movie.

Now, the action sequences and set pieces are also quite breathtaking, and the movie is pretty relentless with these scenes. We break every moment we get to breathe with a legitimately well filmed, tension-filled action scene. My particular favorite is a sequence in which Kirk and "John Harrison" are flying through space to try and make it into a very tiny spaceship door while having to avoid floating debris. There is also a great fight/chase scene towards the end between Spock and "John Harrison." Watching all of this unfold on IMAX 3D, by the way, is incredibly worth it!

Now for the twist. I daresay, without spoiling anything, I very much enjoyed the reveal of who "John Harrison" really was. It's predictable, sure. And fanboys complained that this was mostly fan service. But I can honestly say I bought into it--mostly because Cumberbatch is such a fantastic performer. When the reveal happened, my audience, a wide selection of hardcore and casual Trekkies clapped happily. And naturally, what the character's identity really is ends up driving the story forward. Many fanboys took issue with this, stating that it would be ruining the previous incarnations of this character. But frankly, who cares what they think? This is a NEW Star Trek parallel universe. Anything goes here. And bringing a familiar character to the table that may not 100% resemble the character's counterpart from previous Star Trek entries is acceptable in my book.

Now for some of the problems...

First off the writing for the film really isn't perfect. In fact, I took issue with a subplot containing a secondary villain, which I felt was generally unnecessary  I'd wager that you could have the "John Harrison" storyline drive the film without need for any distracting garbage concerning Admiral Markus. Yet it's still a significant part of the story. Why is that? My guess is--they had to fill the time somehow. 

But hey, congrats to Paramount because mission accomplished there. Additionally, Cumberbatch's character "John Harrison" really ends up not having too much to do until after the team lands on Chronos. We hear 1-2 lines about the characters motivation, but frankly it's not enough for us, as the audience, to really understand or identify with his feelings and thought process. It ultimately made the character slightly weaker since there's not a whole lot else revealed about him during the movie. Additionally, there's also a 3rd subplot--the looming threat of a war with the Klingons--that goes absolutely nowhere.

There are also some problems with predictability. Certain scenes, the writers will have a character literally call out an important detail just so that we catch it in time for it to be referenced in the movie later on. The problem with this is that we end up knowing these elements are all going to come into play sooner or later, and therefore, the surprises end up lost because we can see them before they happen based on unsubtle details. (Particularly a scene involving a vial of blood).

Another major problem I had was that outside of Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and to a far lesser degree, Bones and Uhura, the crew we grew to love in the first film has practically nothing to do in this film. In fact one of the best qualities in the previous film was that everyone got their moment to shine. No such luck for "Into Darkness" sadly.

I also must admit, I was not taken by Chris Pine's Kirk this time around. The way Kirk was written in this film makes him look gullible, overly brash, and foolish. Furthermore, it was hard for me to take any of the more dramatic scenes seriously, since Pine's tendency to overact comes out--especially during crying scenes. And unfortunately, in this film, there are scenes where dramatic weight Pine just doesn't have, are required. Next to more subtle actors like Cumberbatch and Quinto, he grossly pales in comparison. And overall that's a shame, since this entire story, from the 2009 film to now, has basically been  told through Kirk's eyes. Kirk should be the anchor of a Star Trek movie (being the captain and all), but he ends up lacking in the end.

However, to end on a high note--A few more things I did like:

The score by Michael Giacchino is top notch. I found myself humming the Star Trek reboot theme as I left the theatre. However his score really does influence the effect certain scenes had on me, so kudos for that. The visual effects in the film are also very, very good. Everything looked really shiny and reallistic.

I also applaud JJ Abrams for his overall kinetic energy and pacing with these films. He directs each scene with a sense of fun and tension, ultimately making you care about the situation. And visual landscapes of future San Francisco, and desolate Chronos are quite stunning. Furthermore, Abrams is able to get a few emotional moments out of film, but I'd say they had a less personal impact on me than when he's giving us his action (primarily due to some overacting here and there on Pine's behalf). Fair warning though: You will see a great deal of lens flare throughout the movie.

I also very much like how the writers and director are definitely keeping this franchise firmly grounded as both a sequel to previous films and a reboot at the same time. There's one scene--a fun, little cameo--the directly references the events of a previous film that happened before the reboot. Despite this entire franchise being a reboot, we are explicitly cannon here folks, and that in and of itself is a very interesting notion. In fact, despite the presence of Spock Prime in the original movie, only a handful of call outs were made to the original continuum in the first film. In one scene here, we get an official callout to the previous events in the previous movies, and it's rather interesting how that plays out.

Now overall, I honestly don't think this is better than the 2009 film. That one was fun, easy to understand, and well-acted. But, in spite of its flaws, I do believe this was a fun, exciting romp with amazing performances, and less plotholes than Iron Man 3 (even if the villain and his motivations are largely ignored). I enjoyed myself immensely, getting sucked into the drama, the tension, the situations, and the creative spins on elements of classic Trek mythology. If you get a choice to "boldly go" to the movies to see this Trek, then make it so! You won't be sorry.

Overall Grade: A - 

"Iron Man 3" Review: Different Suit of Armor, But Still Quite Good

"Ooooh it's good to be back!" But is Tony Stark truly back? In the hands of Shane "Lethal Weapon" Black, we actually get a very different Iron Man movie than the last 3 outings (include The Avengers). Does it pay off? Mostly yes. I'll get to the gripes in just a bit. But for now, welcome to Marvel Phase 2 everyone.

First thing's first, I gotta say, it's just awesome to be back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After last year's amazing Avengers, all I've wanted to do is see what happens next. And here and there we get some fun references in this. But mostly, Black wants and gives us a self contained story. Based on the Extremis arc in the comics, 3 basically introduces Cinematic Universe patrons to Maya Hansen and Aldrich Killian, and their attempts to create and harness the Extremis virus to tap into the potential of the human brain to activate areas that could essentially turn people into superhuman soldiers. Unfortunately, it has literally explosive results, which are utilized by The Mandarin as terrorist attacks all over the globe--one of which places Happy Hogan in the hospital, and makes it personal for Tony. Tony's brashness then lands him in hot water as he threatens The Mandarin and gets his house, pretty cars, and pretty suits (to a lesser degree) blown up, as well as endangering Pepper's life. Without any help and a long way from home, Tony's forced to rely on his wits and will to get to the bottom of the mystery behind who The Mandarin really is, where to find him, and what his connection to the Extremis program is.

To give credit where credit is due, Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce really try to emphasize story over fan-service here, which becomes incredibly controversial (I'll get to that later, I promise). In a moment of pure brilliance, we are seeing Tony, a seemingly invincible character, as we've never seen in 3 movies, being put through the ringer to the point where it doesn't matter if his suit's on or not--we still fear for his life. And this is a significant challenge, because where can you really take a character that has beaten an entire army of aliens and giant metal space eels, and still make it seem like he's in danger? Somehow Black and Pearce manage to pull it off with a very menacing threat to Tony and the gang, so major kudos for that. It's also very interesting and understandable that Tony would have PTSD, given the events of The Avengers, and it adds a lot to his character and how he's changed since the first Iron Man.

The performances, for the most part, the anchor of the movie! Downey, of course, owns the screen, whether he's delivering the snidest of remarks to a 12 year old kid, or trying to overcome a villain who can physically best him, we are dealing with a master conductor at work, leading an equally powerful ensemble. Downey knows this character inside and out, and after 4 movies, still manages to make him interesting and funny through self-discovery and continuous evolution.  Right below Downey is Guy Pearce, who brings an incredibly twisted, sinister approach to his portrayal of Aldrich Killian. Unfortunately, not everyone in the cast is given their due. Gweneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts is really underutilized here only as a damsel in distress. This is a real pity given how enjoyable it was to see her in Joss Whedon's vision during Avengers. Don Cheadle is also not given as much to do, other than to play the buddy in the buddy cop duo of Stark and Rhodey. The Iron Patriot suit itself is used quite nicely, but sadly not its pilot. And lastly, Rebecca Hall is pretty wasted as Maya Hansen. There's a decent (albiet predictable) twist with her character, but at the end of the day no one really cares much about her because she's reasonably 2-dimensional overall.

Now let's get to the elephant in the room: Sir Ben Kingsley. People will be lining up to see Iron Man go toe-to-toe with The Mandarin. And what they'll get is a great performance...with a very very disappointing payoff. Sadly Shane Black's interpretation of The Mandarin is very disappointing. Many were saying that Kingsley's performance would be on par with Ledger's sinister Joker from The Dark Knight. We get a glimpse of how that could be possible--excellent vocal intonations and a pure ruthless look in his eyes-- only to have it ultimately ruined by the final direction of where Black takes the story and The Mandarin character. On one hand, it is a very ballsy move to take a beloved superhero arch-nemesis, and take the focus off of him to complete the story you want to tell (and it's not a bad story overall--plus Black gets points for sheer commitment to it). But it's definitely at the cost of taking a classic character and, well (excuse the vulgarity) pissing all over it. Which leaves me conflicted overall, because you set up a good character with a great performance only to ultimately disappoint with a twist that's slightly stupid. I admittedly like my fan-service.

Now the action and VFX in this movie is fantastic, as we do get a TON of really excellent, edge-of-your-seat sequences. Everything kicks off with the explosive destruction of Tony's Malibu penthouse, then we later get some great fights with Tony against the Extremis soldiers WITHOUT his armor, to another fantastically brilliant scene where Tony's only got a repulsor guantlet, and uzi, and rocket boot on that Black manages to make incredibly unique and entertaining, and of course 2 really showstopping finale sequences involving an Air Force One rescue and "Operation House Party," with Tony's army of suits. And for the record, the Mark 42 kicks so much ass!

Additionally, the movie has some very funny moments, which only become funnier because of our familiarity with Tony's character. The entire back and forth between Tony and a kid who helps him out in Tennessee is incredibly fun--particularly in how much of a lovable ass Robert Downey Jr. can make Stark. There's also some really great sight gags, like a ginormous random stuffed rabbit, and a hilarious nod to A Christmas Story. If Black is good at anything it's snappy one-liners and moments of goofiness that work in an action movie.

However for each of these brilliant scenes we are treated to the occasional stupidity. Aside from the character of The Mandarin, the movie is pretty guilty of some severe plot holes. For example--Tony Stark, in Iron Man 1 built the Mark 1 Iron Man suit in a day, in a cave with a box of scraps. In this, he has more resources at his disposal around Home Depot, and yet, the best he can come up with are a few trick smoke bombs and a taser? You've gotta be kidding me. Also, we can deploy a million Iron Man suits to attack an oil tanker, but you can't call just 1 to pick you up and take you somewhere when you are stranded the way Tony is in the movie? Huh? On occasion, Black also has a tendency to really slip a lot of the cheese from 80s action movies into the film. One particular scene at the end, when a character comes back from the dead for one last hurrah is so predictable and cheesy, that it simply reminds you of villain moments in the Lethal Weapon franchise. At one point, when I saw Rhodey and Tony sneaking around a shipyard with guns ready, I even immediately thought Riggs and Murtaugh. This makes for a different feel than we're used to with the Iron Man franchise, which both works and doesn't work. It works that we get to see Tony getting out of situations without having to rely on the Iron Man suit all the time and sets it apart from the other movies. But at the same time, this is not Lethal Weapon we're talking about here--nor is it 1984. We, as an audience in the 2000s, came to see Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man--not Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man: The Buddy Cop star doing all the things people do in a cheese fest 80s action movie.

But I digress. Things like the plot holes in the above paragraph are but minor quibbles that are forgivable in a movie that has more pros going for it than cons. And while I take issue with a few things--especially The Mandarin-- I only do so in the sense that I am a biased fanboy and tend to be over-educated in comics and thus over-critical when elements are overlooked. Because on the whole, thinking about it, this is definitely a fun, entertaining movie. It's not perfect. It's not as good as The Avengers, or even the first Iron Man. But there's a lot to love and a lot that will put a smile of enjoyment of your face when you see it for yourself--particularly in the acting, the humor, and a fairly interesting, capable story.

Also stay through the credits for a very funny cameo ;).

Til the next summer blockbuster hits, folks!

Overall Rating: B+