Movie Review - The Fate of the Furious

The Fate of the Furious

Starring: Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Luke Evans, Elsa Pataky, Kristofer Hivju, Scott Eastwood, Helen Mirren, and more.

Directed by: F. Gary Gray Written by: Chris Morgan Based on characters created by: Gary Scott Thompson Cinematography by: Stephen F. Windon Music by: Brian Tyler

Premise: During his honeymoon in Cuba, Dom gets trapped by a mysterious woman. She's picked him specifically. And she's made sure to get something which will force him to choose to do things her way. First on her to-do list, get Dom to betray his family - that which he holds most dear. As the group tries to figure out why Dom has gone rogue, they get rounded up by Nobody. They want them to help find Dom but to also aid in putting a stop to Cipher's plans. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Charlize Theron as Cipher was multi-layered and fun (in an evil, despicable way that is :P). Very much enjoyed watching her taunt Dom and act like she has all the answers; even as we see her struggling to understand how he can feel the things he feels. And looking a little jealous. Like I said - fun! Jason Stratham and Dwayne Johnson as Deckard and Hobbs look to have the most fun in the film. The in-joke/subliminal advertising for Moana was rather cute. Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez speak volumes with glances. There's lots of witty banter and fun. Good job all!

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: As we've come to expect from the F&F series, there's a ton of special effects of all kinds. We've got engines catching on fire, crashes galore, subs, tanks, planes, explosions, and more! 

They did some cool stuff with the sub and the iced over lake. And the torpedoes? Sweet!

The "rain" in Manhattan was fabulous! The whole Manhattan section was divine. The fight on the plane was also super. Bullet holes galore. Add in Stratham and the "package," and you're in for a whole lot of fun! (So unexpected and yet so awesome! lol. My most favorite part of the film.)

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: Science and physics always take a back seat in these movies. This time is no exception. EMP doesn't mean the same to these guys as it does to everyone else. lol. And though they cut away from the scene, there's still no way for that sub to get in the water! They do make it all look good, though! 

Even though it may hide their hands and faces, you do not go out onto the icefields in Russia without appropriate gear! Oh, you touched that bar with your bare hand outside in sub freezing temps? You just left a layer of skin stuck there. :P Sometimes I do wish they'd try a little harder to cover the easier things. 

Definite kudos on the little hints dropped here and there as to how Dom might not be quite as subdued as Cipher thinks he is. They do a replay to show the audience what they missed and a little more. So you won't miss anything, even if you do. :P I did like how they wove in a lot of people and history from the other films back into the plot. 

No real surprises in the plot, but still fun. Just watching all the insane destruction is half the entertainment. Add in some lovely fights, and voila! 

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: There are a ton of gags! Between the fire, the ice, the bullets, the car and people chases, the hand-to-hand and the close weapons combat, the department was kept incredibly busy. Add in a little CGI, and the bar got raised a ton!

I have to mention that the fight at the prison was all levels of fun. A chase within a breakout, within a free for all. Nice! 

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Lots of interesting sites in the film. Iceland, Cuba, Ohio, Georgia, New York, Germany, even a glacier! And the way they incorporate the names into the landscape is a nice trick. Some lovely spanning views of all the exotic places. 

Conclusion: The Fate of the Furious is fast and crazy and full of more cars and stunts than ever. It's enough to fill any action junkie's want list. :) Leave the laws of physics at the door, and strap in for a wild ride. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Furious 7

Furious 7

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Dwayne Johnson, Lucas Black, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Tony Jaa, Elsa Pataky, Eden Estrella, and more.

Directed by: James Wan Written by: Chris Morgan Based on Characters Created by: Gary Scott Thompson Cinematography by: Marc Spicer and Stephen F. Windon Music by: Brian Tyler

Premise: The older brother of a defeated foe has decided to wreck vengeance on Dom's team. Hobbs sends Mr. Nobody to help them out, since their new enemy, Deckard Shaw, is a trained assassin and covert ops specialist. Bur help comes at a price - the group needs to rescue a missing programer for them. If they do, Mr. Nobody has permission to let the team use a highly classified program to track Shaw down as well as give support. Only problem is, Shaw doesn't seem to want to wait that long to play with them. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: The main members of the well known cast are back. Though Paul Walker passed before the film was finished, the filmmakers were able to used past footage and members of his family to fill in the gaps. Paul will definitely be missed, but for anyone not knowing of his passing, they won't realize anything is amiss in the film. So kudos to the actors for smoothing out any holes and doing some one sided conversations to cover for their lost comrade. Family is what the Fast and Furious crew have always been about.

Watching Statham go toe to toe with Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson will make many hearts (those with and without testosterone) flutter. Talk about looks that can kill and snappy comebacks. Nice work guys!

Not to worry, the girls don't allow themselves to be left behind, with some great work coming from Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, and newcomer, Nathalie Emmanuel.

Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody was great! Kept you just a little insecure on whether or not he might be up to something. He made his own pile of comments and jabs. It was great to see him back on the big screen!

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: There were lots of awesome special effects, outstanding stunts, explosions, and car daring do! I sort of wish they'd not shown as many of them as they did in the previews, though. A couple of them would have had a lot more impact if they'd been left as a surprise - like the bus with the cliff and the car at Abu Dhabi.

I don't know if the airplane car drop scenes were a mixture of real and CGI, but dang they looked good! No idea how the heck you'd control or guide a car with chutes. All I know is it looked amazing!


3) Story/Plot - Neutral: The plot on this one is one of those that you don't want to look at too closely or it won't make sense or quite add up.

The storyline about Letty and Dom and them trying to work through her lack of past memories and the kinks it puts in their relationship worked rather well. When added to Brian and Mia's own unexpected issues now that he's a father, they made a nice mix. Family has been at the core of most of the Fast and Furious films, and this one, as the ending/tribute shows, is no different.

Most of the problems come from the other places. (Do not read further if you want your action and testosterone fest to go unsullied! You've been warned!) The fact Shaw somehow always knows where the group is and what they're doing, yet no one seems to wonder how the heck he's doing it or even that he's doing it - and never a even a hint of how he knows! (And you don't think therefore he might be expecting you to find him after you get God's Eye? REALLY? And that he might set a trap for you? So you BRING the only copy of God's Eye with YOU?!?! Add to that a missile armed helicopter and drone being brought from overseas by terrorists, and no one seems to notice their obvious breach of US airspace, or the fact the air force takes twenty plus minutes to even make their presence slightly felt while major havoc is wreaked in a major US City. Mr. Nobody's assistance/support seeming to vanish like smoke, even though he's not dead. Though the worst one was probably (despite the fact it did make for a great entrance!) the one with Hobbs and how he took care of the drone - the timing, especially since he couldn't see it, would have been virtually impossible to sync. (Yes, I can be a party pooper. :P)

Again, with a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief, the story does move well. But in general, it paled, in my opinion, to that of FF6's, on several levels.

There were some unexpected fun bits. The biggest  was a couple of repeating villains! Dom had Shaw from the start, then Brian picked up Kiet, and then the group also got tagged by Jakande as he went after Ramsey and whoever was with her. It was rather unexpected and added a bit of flavor, and gave the audience multiple points of a "payoff".

Some in-jokes were sprinkled here and there as well - both for Statham and Kurt Russell - those were fun.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: The hand to hand combat scenes are definitely worthwhile - even though they decided to do funky things here and there with the camera. Tony Jaa brought a little "Jackie Chan" flavor to the film and had several nice combat scenes.

Like I mentioned in the Special Effects section, it was too bad they gave away so many of the big stunt/special effects moments in the previews. There were plenty of other shots they could have shared to get people excited to come see it and left these to surprise the audience, thus ramping the excitement level even more. The car drop scene and the Abu Dhabi flying car scenes were definitely awesome.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Thumbs Up: The film covered several fantastic locations for mayhem. Abu Dhabi was a definite treat on several levels.

The opening scene where Shaw is visiting his younger sibling in London pans into a giant revelation as Statham and the camera move back from the hospital bed and he strides on through the hospital - major kudos for how that was laid out.

This being said, however, some of the gimmicky techniques got taken a little too far. I don't mind new angles and ways of making things seem fresh, but too many of these repeated back and forth over a short span of time, do not work well. Early on there's a section where the camera zooms in and then way out then back in then way out again that almost ruined the chase. Some odd sweeping shots on closeups then turning to another character and sweeping the shot in the opposite direction, back to back to back, was too much. A lot of the driving, fights, and action would have been just fine straight forward. It almost made it seem as if they were trying too hard?

Conclusion: Ignoring the plot holes and going in with a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief, Furious 7 will definitely entertain. (Though I didn't feel it was as good as FF6). Tons of eye candy for the guys - both female and four wheeled and then some. Lots of stunts and hand-to-hand combat. Plus an ending that will leave your eyes moist.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again)

Movie Review - Riddick

Riddick

Starring: Vin Diesel, Jordi Mollà, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Dave Bautista, Bokeem Woodbine, Raoul Trujillo, Conrad Pla, Danny Blanco Hall, Noah Danby, Neil Napier, Nolan Gerard Funk, Karl Urban, Keri Hilson.

Directed by: David Twohy Written by: David Twohy Based on Characters Created by: Jim Wheat and Ken Wheat Cinematography by: David Eggby Original Music by: Graeme Revell

Premise: Betrayed by the people he ruled, Riddick finds himself stranded on a merciless world filled with predators. Surviving despite the odds, he finally spots a foe he won't be able to beat. Running across an old mercenary outpost, he triggers the emergency beacon for a rescue. The downside is that he's still a wanted man in this side of the galaxy, so getting the mercs who'll be coming after him to cooperate, won't be easy. Especially when the bounty on his head will be doubled if he's brought in dead. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Vin Diesel plays Riddick once again. This Riddick goes back to the basics. Vin Diesel used the cool shiny eyes to great effect in this film, adding a subliminal extra layer to his acting because of them. His deadpan delivery worked extremely well in several surprisingly cute, comedic moments. Jordi Mollà gave Santana a sense of complexity, showing competence and bravery going hand-in-hand with leers and immorality. Matt Nable was fun to watch as he moved through the beginning of the film as cool, ordered, and in control to finally revealing why he'd come to the far off world - and how the telling of it, showed the true conflict hidden inside. Katee Sackhoff pulled off being super tough and also feminine with great aplomb. I do have to wonder if her name Dahl, which they all pronounced as 'Doll' was some kind of joke in and of itself.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: I loved the creatures the special effects department came up with for the isolated world. The 'dogs' were fascinating - a cross between a hyena and a great dane. Even more fascinating were the guardian beasts, with their long tails with blades and air holes to mimic a face and keep the prey distracted. Nasty little things.

Inventive and varied weapons added variety to the normal assortment of handguns and knives. It was interesting comparing 'the rich' mercenary toys and the more 'average Joe' equipment. Even the ships owned by each group were of similar makes, yet markedly different at the same time. The weird motorcycles with horse saddles, and which seemed to move a lot like horses, were very interesting. The CGI didn't mesh as well with the bikes as with some of the other effects, but were still very cool.

The planet itself was fascinating. It had obviously gone through some great calamity long ago, the remnants of a bygone era still visible here and there.


3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: I haven't seen the two previous Riddick films (and the animated shorts) in some time, so I was fuzzy on specifics of the backstory, but it's not really necessary to have seen the previous films to enjoy this one. For people with no knowledge about the character, this might actually work in their favor as they will feel more of the pressure Johns is under as he tries to make out the truth about Riddick. But for those who do know the story and the other films, it would probably be worth while to rewatch both "Pitch Black" and "The Chronicles of Riddick" before seeing "Riddick" as both are touched on in this new section of the character's evolving tale.

A lot of things are hidden in the background and are never actually spoken of, so keeping an eye out and actually studying the cave paintings, will tell you much. I did miss a few, but those I did notice gave me the sense the guardian creatures were made and somehow later got away from their maker's control. Also, if you look at the eyes of the 'dog', they're both different, but one actually looks human. So there's a chance the 'dogs' were actually the sentient dominant race at some point. They're definitely smart, even in their current state.

Something else possibly implied, but never shown, is that the planet has a population of large herbivores. Riddick at one point has a giant leg he's using for emergency rations. By making the assumption it came from something large, it is then understood how the world could support the large number of 'dogs' and guardians that we see. I wish they'd shown one at some point so those watching could be sure. It would have easy to do, just show one or two giant herbivores walking off on one of those spanning sweeps across the surface. The simple glimpse would have explained how the planet could support the current lifeforms. Sadly, though, they didn't.

Two major weak points in the overall plot - 1) To avoid what was coming, why didn't Riddick just continue on his journey? If he'd avoided the path of the storm, he would have been safe. 2) While most of the character motivation made perfect sense, Diaz's at the last part of the movie did not. Turning against Riddick would have been understandable, but not with what he actually did.

I did totally love the mind twisting scene of "Fair Trade'. It was a beautiful ploy. Well played. The film had several instances of this type of mental combat. Loved them.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Though Vin Diesel ends up fighting a lot of CGI, all the battles looked smooth and were well choreographed. The fight with Johns, Riddick, and the guardians was a great scene.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The views of different parts of the world the story takes place at were mesmerizing. The location looks and feels very different from what we know, which added a lot of flavor to the film. These were even enhanced as we got to see several of these as how Riddick actually saw them with his special eyes. Even after he finds a kinder area on the planet, it still looked harsh. There was no denying he was the sole humanoid on that planet.

Conclusion: If you can see past the few flaws, "Riddick" is quite entertaining. Cool toys and cool gear, as well as some surprisingly funny or suspenseful moments, will make the experience worthwhile.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Below is a treat I found while looking for info on the movie. The voice over is pretty much what you get at the beginning of the movie, but this has more a bit more story to it. Enjoy!

Movie Review - Fast and Furious 6

(A-kon is this weekend - so I prepped early :P)
Fast and Furious 6

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Ludacris, Luke Evans, Elsa Pataky, Gina Carano, Clara Paget, Kim Kold, Johannes Taslim, and more.

Directed by: Justin Lin Screenplay by: Chris Morgan Based on the Characters Created by: Gary Scott Thompson Cinematography by: Stephen F Windon Original Music by: Lucas Vidal

Premise: As each member of Dominic Toretto's crew move on with their lives and try to settle down after their last job, the group gets called back together when Agent Hobbs informs Dom that Letty, Dom's old sweetheart who they'd believed had been killed after going undercover for Brian O'Conner, is not actually dead. but though she's alive, it seems she's tangled up with an international that's crew willing to kill to steal parts for a device capable of dampening electricity for 24 hours on a huge scale, something which would cause untold chaos and death if applied in a large city and which would go for a very high price in the open market. So Dom and his crew will need to work with Hobbs to bring Shaw down and try to get Letty back before things go too far. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: I love Michelle Rodriguez and she really outdid herself in "FF6". The first time she and Dom meet face to face, it's obvious from her expression she's never seen him before. She did an awesome job separating things she'd lived through in the other movies and acting like she'd never done them. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Dwayne Johnson are just too fun to watch as they pick at each other. Tyrese Gibson as Roman will make you roll your eyes one moment and laugh at another. Sung Kang and Gal Gadot are a blast to watch together. Luke Evans was deliciously bad. Great job all around.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects were slick and awesome. Shaw's escape sequence close to the beginning of the film will make your jaw drop. Cool electronic gadgets added some nice extra dimensions to several of the physical stunts. Great stuff.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: While the ending is never in doubt, the script still managed to have a lot of surprises. (And there's a big one at the end of the film!) Moves created counter moves which made for more moves - two smart groups going at each other trying to anticipate, diffuse, counter, and get the upper hand.

I was even more excited that while Mia had a kid, they didn't do the usual with her that Hollywood has done with other action female characters who've given birth and set her to the side as if she had nothing to contribute anymore. Though it took a bit to get her involved, when her time comes, Mia proves once again she is as capable as any of the guys.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: The trademark of the "Fast and Furious" franchise is the awesome car stunts. "FF6" is no different and totally delivers. If anything, they 'raise the bar' even further with the amazing 'gags' in  the film.

The hand to hand combat was also fantastic. The subway section fights were great! I also loved that the women fought as hard and with as much skill as the guys, if not more. On a strange reversal, that only enhanced things, two of the guys fought one of the bad guys, and got totally trounced, the skill level difference incredibly obvious. And it was a great move! Made the good guys seem human. Especially as they agree not to let anyone know about the manner of their defeat.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Several international locations as well as a few old familiar places grace the screen during the film, which gave it a great variety in the look and feel of the shots. The cinematography was great as well, giving all sorts of angles on the fast driving as well as overhead shots of major events. It definitely added the 'wow' factor to the at least the Shaw escape scene.

Conclusion:  "Fast and Furious 6" is a great, wild ride! "Raiders of the Lost Ark" with wheels. Lots of action, great stunts and fight choreography. The film will definitely get the adrenaline pumping. If you've seen some of the other offerings for the franchise, you will not be disappointed.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Fast Five

Fast Five

Staring: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Elsa Pataky, and more...

Directed by: Justin Lin Writing Credits: Chris Morgan Based on Characters by: Gary Scott Thompson Original Music by: Brian Tyler

Premise: After a grand escape by Dominic Toretto, engineered by Brian O'Conner and Dominic's sister Mia, the team meets again in Rio, where an old friend hooks them up with an 'easy' job when they're strapped for cash. Things go south due to info that wasn't shared, and now Dominic, Brian, and Mia are on the most wanted list of not only the US Government, who's sending a special team to find them, but Rio's biggest crime boss.

Review: Five Fast is the fifth installment of The Fast and The Furious franchise that started back in 2001. If you haven't seen the others you won't be lost, all the major info needed supplied in bits and pieces for the most part. However, if you have seen them, this turns into a major reunion party and more. (In the credits they show the way the characters looked then to now - sort of wished they'd done it at the start as it would have helped place one or two of them! :P)

You can't look at the physics of things too closely, or you'll spoil the fun. A little suspension of disbelief will go a long way and boost your enjoyment. That being said, they pull off all sorts of amazing stunts. They took all the stops out and wrecked more cars, in more closeups than ever before. If you're seeing it in IMAX, it makes it that much more. Some of the flipping cars and flying pieces of concrete and metal feel like they're coming right at you with no 3D.

Loads of chases, gun play, wrecks, and mass destruction with a towed safe. I also enjoyed the added flavor of people speaking in Portuguese down in Rio and the Spanish and English wordplay between two of the guys. (Decent subtitles are supplied for all.)

The acting is good, which means they sell it well. Some expected turns actually don't happen, and some unexpected left turns do, which was great. Loads of action action action. Tons of lovely cars and in one section loads of babes for the guys to drool over - as if they needed more than the two, make that three hot female costars.

It was a blast watching Vin Diesel and the Rock go at it. A train wreck waiting to happen. And it does. And then some.

Great location shots, too -- Rio, Puerto Rico, Arizona. I love it when they actually try to use location shots for foreign places (though they did mix some Puerto Rico into Rio - it has a spacial look :P) so you can get a feel for the difference in housing and even customs if you look hard enough.

So if you're on the hunt for an action film with decent plot, colorful characters, amazing stunts and good acting - this one's for you!

Also, make sure to sit through part of the credits, especially if you've seen the other films. There's a little extra something there just for you! :)

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth full price of admission (IMAX))