FAST & FURIOUS 6 (Justin Lin). 130 minutes. Opens Friday (May 24). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NNN
The Fast & Furious franchise ain’t running out of fuel any time soon, at least as long as the series sticks to its winning formula of muscle cars that defy gravity, muscle men who defy mortality and curvy women ready for their Maxim cover shoot.
In this round, Dwayne Johnson’s federal agent enlists his former foe Dom (Vin Diesel) to buckle up and take out villains who are building a weapon that can wipe out a country. Working for the bad guys is Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty, Dom’s former flame, whose death in a previous instalment ain’t nothing but a thang.
Story logic is a mere speed bump in a series that thrives on momentum. The ridiculous plotting, complete with laughable dialogue, operates like a basic road map, guiding you from fist fight to car chase.
What keeps Furious 6 revved up is the camaraderie between the crew (particularly the comic repartee between Ludacris, Johnson and Tyrese Gibson) and, of course, the cartoonish but dazzling action. This time around the hand-to-hand combat boasts better moves than the Mitsubishis, especially with Haywire’s Gina Carano enlisted to throw some bows.
As if that weren’t enough, a post-credits sequence teases the franchise’s seventh lap with a cameo that will thrill fans. Let’s just say we can’t get there fast enough.
