A PLEASANT ENOUGH RIDE THAT WASN'T TOO FAST OR FURIOUS

Never thought I'd watch a movie with fast cars, hot women, and muscular men but I had to 4 years ago for my film assignment back in John Moore's Liverpool University. At that time, I was forced to but I did enjoy it after that.

Ahh... I remember those days - watching movies for school work purposes is really different. Every scene is scrutinised to generate strong arguments for your review. Not forgetting supportive theories from past researchers to substantiate your points. I miss those days! Watching movies was more than just for entertainment sake.

Fast forward a few years, I had a chance to catch Fast and Furious 6 at the première thanks to blogger, colleague and friend, Miss Choulyin "The Diva" Tan. This time, I watch it like every other movie goer. I have lost touch with movie reviews, thanks to what we call a full time job! Oh well, I have no excuse - if you love something, you should always find time for it I guess. But now, I sometimes like nothing more than watching reruns of Sheldon Cooper on the Big Bang Theory.

Anyway, Fast & Furious 6 was entertaining despite a few ridiculous scenes. Before I proceed, I'll warn you that there might be one or two spoilers here and there.

What I love about the movie is that Letty is back! Oh well, I only watched F&F1 with Letty in it and I love her. So knowing that her character got killed later on really did not make me want to watch the movie.

As a girl, I admire Michelle Rodriguez body - must really work towards that! Hence, sad to say, I partly enjoy the movie just because I get to see Letty and yes, it is weird. It is not even because of the boys!

But of course, the most ridiculous scene in the movie involves Letty and Dominic (Vin Diesel). I somehow have the feeling that the Director did this on purpose to mock us. For lack of a better word, the only way to describe the scene in which Letty and Dominic flew over the highway bridge (God knows how many feet high) and landed safely on top of a car alive is "WALAO EH!".

The closest screen capture I got online. Yes, Letty flew over to the opposite side of the road and Dom caught her. Both unharmed. And later, Giselle died at the end of the movie, falling from a car. What are the odds?

I am embarrassed to say this, but I actually enjoyed the cheesy dialogues haha. Some say lame, but I personally thought there were clever. Haha. I just have a weird sense of humour I guess.

The one I like the most was the conversation between Han and Roman.

Roman was telling Han to buy a huge ring for Gisele because women only go for either large bling or large "something" else. And Han's punchline: "Is that why your girlfriends wear so much bling?"

I believe I have also completely lost the ability to predict plots. I had no idea Riley (Gina Carano, who is an ex-mixed martial artist) is the mole! So I thought there were a small twist in the plot, which was good. For my brother, he saw through it and so for him, it wasn't much of a plot changer.

Oh well.

In terms of camera movement, I am not a fan of the spins and turning of camera positioning. For example, the ending scene in the airplane, when The Rock is fighting the large sized dude while Vin Diesel took care of the other guy, the cameras were spinning. Perhaps it is to present the havoc and disorientation when you are in the middle of the fight; but it was sure as hell messy! The car races were also not exciting enough I guess - I'd want a 3D experience like if I were in the car haha, but it did not happen.

What I also hated was that they killed my other favourite power couple (besides Dom and Letty), Han and Giselle! Darn it!

When my friend posted on FB stating, "Why Giselle, why?", I knew exactly what he meant.

Delving into the theme of the movie, it is clear that the plot revolves around the power of "Family". Dom is a person who will always put his family first and hence, this made him weak, according to the antagonist, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). Prioritising your family makes you predictable.

I guess what F&F6 tries to emphasise is that having teamwork and love among Family will lead to victory (although it might mean losing one or two members). What the writer did not do is make his point stronger by making it more thought-provoking or touching I guess. The theme was right in your face, but then slip away, leaving you with a vague memory that it has been discussed at all in the film. But then again, this is F&F that we are talking about - the main characters are still the cars, the babes with long thin legs and plump asses in the shortest skirts ever and of course, our two hot male leads.

In short, F&F6 is another action flick that is good enough for entertainment but not good enough to fulfil your quest for a deep storyline or even an adrenaline rush (maybe because I wasn't in one of those fast cars). I bet I will forget it in a few months time, except the scene where Giselle died!

TC-My Ratings:

p/s: For those who does not follow F&F series (like me), the timeline for the movie Tokyo Drift is actually after F&6.