FRESH FROM THE THEATRE: Furious 6

Here we go. I'm sure you all saw my reviews on the first five movies of the franchise - if you didn't, check them out here! So let us now break down the sixth movie:

Furious 6

Where could I begin? I have loved each and everyone of these movies. I'm not blind, of course I can see faults in each - meaning that I can figure out what problems people might have had with them. But then again I am capable of just laying back and enjoy each movie for what it is: Good fun.

We pick up a couple of months after the ending of the previous film. Brian and Mia's baby is born, and their life finally begins without being chased or followed. One morning however, Agent Hobbs shows up, asking for Dom's help. He shows him something he is unable to say no to - evidence that Letty is still alive. Dom calls back the whole team, seeing that Brian negotiates a pardon for all of them, if they take down a team of highly trained mercenary drivers. We find out that Letty's supposed killer shot at her car, instead of her, and in the explosion she hit her head - causing her amnesia. It was Shaw, the leader of the mercenaries, who picked her up in the hospital and she has been running with him ever since. Upon meeting Dom, she finds out a lot about herself she didn't even know, but her allegiance ties her to Shaw.

It is only when Shaw is willing to sacrifice her for his cause, is that she finds hope in Dom, who in comparison is capable of sacrificing himself just to make sure she is OK. Shaw, unfortunately seems to be one step ahead of them all the way, and isn't until our team brings out their rough charm that they actually get a chance to defeat him. Hobbs gets them their pardon and one more thing - the Toretto's old house back in Los Angeles, where Brian and Mia can raise their son in peace.

Where to begin? AWESOME MOVIE! Why? This has a very simple reason, the writers used their heads! Their could've been oh so many logical bumpers when you make a movie that has a prequel and already a sequel - one that came out 7 years earlier none the less! So it was smart, very, very smart! This is one of the best examples of why the star of the movie should also be the producer - Vin Diesel - you can clearly see that he cares about the project.

That said, let's take a closer look. All throughout the movie I was ready to cry because I know that Gisele wasn't in the third movie and I knew that they were probably going to kill her off. And even though I felt it coming, I was hoping they would wait another movie with it - but then it would've just been a drag. I am glad that the movies are all tied together but I was very sad to see her die. You made me care movie, I really fell for their relationship and well, it was very sad. Also, reminding me that Han also dies at the end of the third movie was a bit harsh... I was however very happy to see that they didn't make take his death in vain. But, I won't spoil it for you here :D Go see the movie to understand what I mean!

Second off - Brian and Mia. Mia wasn't in this movie as much as I would've liked her too. She is however a mother in this movie, so it only makes sense that instead of racing around after criminals she stays home with her baby. Their relationship has evolved over the series, but I was always happy to see how much they care for each other. And their relationship was even more real to me because they didn't throw 'I love you' around like other movies do. However, Brian did say it to her here and it felt right and cute and honest - really, you know that these two love each other more than life.

Finally, Dom and Letty. Being a girl, you'll excuse me for caring a lot more for the personal relationships in the movie. What was fantastic to me was that they didn't play the cliche of her memory coming back to her just when it was appropriate for the movie! No, she doesn't remember and that is fine because she hasn't changed deep down. Dom sees exactly who she was and even if the surroundings have changed she is still the same girl. His only mission is to make her fall in love with him again and he does simply by being who he is. She is never forced into being with him, she is never given the great speech about how Shaw is bad and they are the good guys. She is free to make up her own mind and in the end she chooses Dom simply because she feels a sense of security with him that she didn't with Shaw. And I loved that!

Another thing was, that indeed in the fourth movie they left Letty's death a bit open. Meaning, that bringing her back to life wasn't completely off the hook. In the movie, supposedly Letty was shot at after her car was wrecked by a guy named Fenix. Dom killed him, but here we find out that he wasn't able to shoot her after she crawled out of her car. And here is the only mistake I have found - she has a jacket on, and then in the fourth movie she is shot at wearing only a top. Here, they kept the jacket on and it was OK, because she had it on when he started running, yet it bothered me because in the actual scene where she was shot at, she didn't have it on. I easily pick out these things, and well, if this is the only problem the movie has, you can trust me when I say that this is a great addition to the series!

The movie is witty and funny and it uses humor anywhere and everywhere it can. It isn't over the top or forced. You know these characters, you know what they are like and what to expect and they deliver. And Shaw? Oh man, was he a worthy adversary of what? No offense to Agent Hobbs, but he didn't really stand a chance in the previous movie, while Shaw really got to me. I didn't think that they would be able to take him down - or even if they did, at least for the price for more heads than just Gisele's. It was great however, the first time I saw Luke Evans was in Boy George's Taboo (click here to see him sing!) - and well, he came a long way from there. I almost shit my pants. He was definitely one of my favorite villains on the big screen.

So, we come down to the same question I ask myself every time. Worth seeing? Yes, for many reasons. First, I saw it with my best friend who has only seen the fifth movie and remembered nothing of it. He really liked it - it is for everyone, not just fans. Second, it finally ties together every story - "All roads lead to this". This movie had the biggest opening since the first came out twelve years ago. It is really great and the fans deserved something of this caliber. I am looking forward to the seventh!

Until the next item on my list!

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Dominic Toretto - Vin Diesel

Mia Toretto - Jordana Brewster

Brian O'Conner - Paul Walker

Letty - Michelle Rodriguez

Roman Pierce - Tyrese Gibson

Agent Hobbs - Dwayne Johnson

Tej - Ludacris

Han - Sung Kang

Gisele Harabo - Gal Gadot

Elena - Elsa Pataky
Shaw - Luke Evans