<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by Justin Lin. Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Gina Carano, Luke Evans, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot

I thought the Twilight Saga had well overstayed its welcome. Hell, I even thought Harry Potter shouldn’t have had two last part movies. Fast & Furious 6 is a formula film. Apart from the surprise twist and cameo at the end, it’s for the brain dead fans of a franchise that needs to retire fast!

I preferred the 5^th installment (Fast Five) actually even though that had its fair share of silly stunts. The 6^th and probably not last movie brings the heist masters together again but this time they fight for justice and to bring back one of their own – Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), killed off in one of the previous films is re introduced to give Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) his eternal lover back to him. And he must fight for her and to stop a bad guy called Shaw (Luke Evans) from stealing something, I’ve already forgotten what, and destroying the world.

Mixed Martial Arts babe Gina Carano from Haywire is in the film as Dwayne Johnson’s cop buddy and she kicks some serious ass. Her fight with Michelle Rodriguez is a highlight for me.

The car chases and races are totally banal and bland. The plot too. The only time emotions are evoked is when Diesel does his whole puppy dog eye thing with Rodriguez trying to convince her that he knows her better than her amnesia is telling her.

Chris Bridges and Tyrese Gibson provide the comic relief along with The Rock (Johnson) who is his regular self in all the films he’s in.

The whole hot cars and babes seem to have taken a backseat. It’s more about ‘family’ in this one. There’s still the one liners that fans will laugh at and Diesel’s inimitable attitude that you’ll sorta admire. Girls seem to have a thing for him but I’m told that’s because he looks like he has a big… engine!

Paul Walker is as boring as ever. Just like Sung Kang and Gal Gadot.

Don’t get me wrong, you can still have a good time with this film. It’s just not raising the bar at all.

Yes the finale is big; it has a tank on a highway mowing down innocent people in cars. It has Vin Diesel ejecting from his speeding vehicle and hurtling himself across a flyover to save his true love who has been catapulted from a tank. Some real Spider-Man shit happening here! Then there’s a chase sequence on a military base runway that seems to go on endlessly as if the runway lead to heaven or at least was long enough to carry of for 15 minutes of a plane trying to take off!

I really think this should have been the last film – the opening credits with scenes from all the previous movies allude to that – but the end of 6 throws up a new character (a surprise cameo by a popular action hero) that may be the focus of a set of new films. Let’s say he may transport the Fast & Furious franchise to a new level!