As I sat watching Fast 6 with my boys Ari, Marc, Sam, and
Danny I was thoroughly impressed. Time after time I say these films are going
to be stupid actions flicks and time and time again I am left in awe. You see,
somehow, the worst acted movie of all-time became the greatest action series of
all-time. Let’s see how that happened and what every movie franchise could
learn from the Fast and Furious franchise.
The first film in this series was a ridiculous action flick
with fast cars, hot girls, and absolutely horrendous acting. No seriously, go
back and re-watch this film. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel offer some of the worst
acting to ever hit cinema. The plot ridiculous, the driving sequences faked and
fighting telegraphed, yet people came and people watched. As films 2-4 moved
along, something amazing started to happen; the films started to not only be
entertaining but began to be true action flicks. Horrible tough-guy sayings
became classic Fast and Furious lines, ridiculously unrealistic action
sequences became expected, and over-the-top jokes became actually funny. So how
did this transformation happen?
Two things occurred.
1)
The Fast and The Furious franchise bought into
its own ridiculousness.
Having cars fly into boats, having guys been thrown 50 feet
in the air only to land on a car windshield without a scratch may seem crazy
but they actually became acceptable because the franchise just said, we are
going to be ridiculous but are going to be awesome at it. Once you suspend your
belief and allow your imagination to run wild, these movies are more than
watchable, they are enjoyable. If you try to be a serious movie but have a
ridiculous action sequence like Die Hard, it almost comes off as too comical
and ruins the integrity of the film. But when you initially go out there and
say we are going to do some insane sh*t, then they become good movies.
2)
The Fast
and The Furious franchise actually started making awesome movies.
Very often in movie franchises, people get lazy and rely on
prior films to continue the fan base. But when your original films are horribly
acted and ridiculous, sometimes you actually need to make your movies better
than the prior ones. That is what TFATF has accomplished. Around film #3, these
movies actually became awesome action films with beautiful scenery, amazing car
chases and some of the best action in the past 20 years. Fast 5 brought the
franchise to a new level and was objectively and awesomely fun film with insane
car chases, and awesome fights including an epic showdown between the Rock and
Vin Diesel. Fast 6 was just as amazing
if not better. Amazing driving was actually overshadowed by some amazing fight
scenes and martial arts. The shot of a flying headbutt and a tag team move
partnering Diesel and The Rock will forever live in movie infamy.
The lesson is as follows. For all movie franchises out
there, don’t stop making your films better, don’t be lazy and most importantly,
recognize your franchise for what it is and stick with it, embrace the
craziness and maybe just maybe you can catch up to The Fast and The Furious!
Action and Violence
No sex or drug usage (bare back of a woman)
4 Stars
No sex or drug usage (bare back of a woman)
4 Stars
