FAST & FURIOUS 6 (Justin Lin 2013)

[Chris Knipp]

Justin Lin: FAST & FURIOUS 6

http://www.chrisknipp.com/links/oikj.jpg
PAUL WALKER AND VIN DIESEL IN FAST & FURIOUS 6

Just as fast, only rich now

Six iterations of the high speed car series Fast & Furious and it still doesn't seem tired at all. Its appeal seems to be its soulful machismo, and the way however spectacular the caper, these are just guys who love cars and their babes. And it's a rainbow coalition of sorts, with a blue-eyed blond guy, Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), a sort of Latino guy, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), a jokey but tech-brilliant black guy, Tej (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges), and an Asian guy, Han (Sung Kang - he has the best guy hair since Paul cut his). They're rich from their Brazilian heist in the last episode, Fast Five, (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?3089-FAST-FIVE-%28Justin-Lin-2011%29)but must live off shore because they've broken a few laws, you know? Brian has a kid now, a boy naturally -- he doesn't even walk yet and he and Toretto are waving hot looking toy cars at him.

Then there's straight arrow ally Hobbs (the ultra-ripped Dwayne Johnson), some kind of fancy cop who's not averse to turning a trick or two, as it were, when circumstances require it. The films contain all sorts of outrageous action punctuated with comedy and wisdom. What's not to like? I think maybe Fast Five had some sequences in it -- the train car theft and the Brazilian bank break-in -- that are barely matched this time, but there is a lot of action, car crashes like you wouldn't believe, and girl fist fights that rival the guys'. These movies have never been as rich and complex as something like Olivier Megaton's Colombiana (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?3148-COLOMBIANA-%28Olivier-Megaton-2011%29), but they're got . . . those guys, and those babes, and the pace never lags and focus never wanders.

Number one babe this time is Toretto's ex-girlfriend Letty, who becomes the focus of the story. Hobbs approaches Toretto with a photo showing she is alive, after all, and enlists his aid in tracking down a new bad guy in London called Shaw (Luke Evans). Turns out Letty lost her memory and Shaw has adopted her as his own. Toretto enlists the rest of the "family" to find Shaw and get Letty back. The deal is if they get Shaw they get full amnesty too. As Letty, Michelle Rodriguez has a natural sullen quality that draws our attention. Can Toretto make her remember? I'll leave you to figure that out. Amnesty will allow the next movie to have scenes shot back on home turf. But a quick final sequence shows the "family" may be joining Han next time, once more, in Tokyo -- a hell of a neat place to stage a nighttime car race, with all those skyscrapers and pretty neon lights. This is, after all, a series about beauty, pecs, biceps, cheekbones, girls' legs and butts, the gleam and dashing lines of special edition cars. The roar of their engines is these movies' special music, as is the triple-espresso edge of Vin Diesel's bass voice which he effortlessly belts out, even sotto-voce, a sledge hammer gently tapping at our eager waiting ears. It matters not the words he speaks, only the timing and the conviction, which never falter. They say Paul Walker can't act. But he smiles really nice, and when he says his lines, like "Uh, let's go!" he always sounds natural and at home. This is a crew that has developed a rhythm.

Shaw is a really nasty dude, with a total, well almost total, lack of affect; he couldn't care less if one of his henchmen gets killed, but he admits Letty is sorta special to him in a way. But as a villain, he's totally one of the F&F-type guys. He may be a mega-rich super-crook with a taste for world domination, but he drives the marauding tank, he does the hand-to-hand battling of cops and Toretto's pals. He does his own stunts, as it were. He isn't one of those effete James Bond type bad guys. It's only the London security police, the people who man those cameras so ubiquitous that, as Tej vividly puts it, in this town "you can't fling a booger without somebody seeing it," who are badly overweight, and can't be counted on.

As before there are little details that matter. There's a cool gun that shoots a wire, like a harpoon: enemy cars become like hooked whales. A thin, oddly shaped bullet will lead them to Shaw. Shaw's got some kind of program in a small laptop that's like a silent WMD; that's what Toretto and his pals have to get hold of. For some reason the CGI, which must be pretty heavy, doesn't bother me here the way it does in Star Trek Into Darkness (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?3499-Star-Trek-Into-Darkness&p=30228#post30228)and Iron Man 3 (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?3494-IRON-MAN-3-%28Shane-Black-2013%29&p=30258#post30258), maybe because the F&F people are not so much into fires and explosions -- a little bit, but it's under control. Mainly they're interested in getting cars to do things up in the air that nobody would really survive. And let them do that, if they want to. For me though the best moments are when the cars are stationary, and we can admire their shapely custom bodywork, or when Brian cuddles his kid, or Toretto or Tej belts out a one-liner.

[Chris Knipp]

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3299/32ix.jpgPaul Walker Dies in Car Accident at Age 40

Walker's official Facebook fan page posted a statement just after 7 p.m. Saturday:
"It is with a truly heavy heart that we must confirm that Paul Walker passed away today in a tragic car accident while attending a charity event for his organization Reach Out WorldWide. He was a passenger in a friend's car, in which both lost their lives. We appreciate your patience as we too are stunned and saddened beyond belief by this news. Thank you for keeping his family and friends in your prayers during this very difficult time. We will do our best to keep you apprised on where to send condolences. - #TeamPW"
Universal issued a statement at around 7:45 p.m.:
"All of us at Universal are heartbroken. Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the Fast and Furious films, and to countless fans. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul's family."

[Johann]

Sad.
I liked Paul Walker, even though those Fast and Furious films do nothing for me.

[Chris Knipp]

See the Betsy Sharkey LA Times appreciation, "The rock-solid good guy" (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-paul-walker-fast-and-furious-career-critics-appreciation-20131201,0,4622894.story?track=rss#axzz2mGQ5Sorq). She gets it right.

Paul Walker was intensely likable, nice, and handsome. Besides the Fast & Furious movies which unlike you I much enjoy for their working class togetherness and exuberance (and the last two have been the best), I also saw some of his other recent films (Running Scared, Flags of Our Fathers, and Takers) and I plan to see more, as a homage.

[Johann]

Didn't Mythbusters do an episode where they proved that a car does not burst into flames upon impact?

I swear I saw an episode of Mythbusters that proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that a car "bursting into flames" is pure Hollywood.
And didn't they fill the car with hundreds of disposable lighters too? The car still didn't "explode".
There's something not right about this crash, not just the enormity of the tragedy.
The crash itself is not Jake.

[Chris Knipp]

Maybe best to wait till the investigation of this accident comes up with some results before we begin drawing conclusions.

Paul Walker was a big-hearted and much beloved man. Vin Diesel brought the brawn to the Fast & Furious series; he brought the beauty -- not just physical. He was a beautiful man. His charitable works were numerous. He also described himself as an:
"outdoorsman, ocean addict, adrenaline junkie ... and I do some acting on the side."

[Johann]

I'm no CSI, but something is not right about that crash. Something disturbingly not right.
I'm not drawing conclusions. I'm making observations. Conclusions may never be come to anyway, other than "speed was a factor".
That's not good enough for me.

Paul could've had a LONG career. That's what is so sad about it.

[Chris Knipp]

Yes, of course it is sad. He was still young.

And it hurts me that this that could be a memorial page is now a conspiracy or crime page. Unfortunately however I'm the only contributor to this website who really knew the work of Paul Walker in any detail. I've seen ten of his movies. You've seen one and didn't like it.

[Chris Knipp]

It is always right to ask questions.
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. --Albert Einstein. But so far you have asked only one question: "Didn't Mythbusters do an episode where they proved that a car does not burst into flames upon impact? " And to this you give your own answer, that you're almost certain they did. I don't have an answer, bu I would suggest that Mythbusters can prove that a thing can happen --- that you can escape from a car that has become submerged in the water, for example. They cannot conclusively prove that a thing cannot happen. That is much more difficult to prove; impossible, really. You only have to do a thing once to prove it can be done. You would have to try to do a thing to the end of time to prove it can't be done. And I suspect that there have been cars bursting into flames upon impact - or just bursting into flames, without need of an impact to cause it. In fact the impact might not be the cause of the fire. The fire might be the cause of the impact. Mythbusters is concerned to show where Hollywood movies make things look more likely than they are, or more impossible than they are. This was real life.

You can question this event and the descriptions of it, for what that is worth. But is it worth much? We're not talking about 9/11 or the JFK assassination here. Just an actor and an associate, known for thrill-seeking and liking fast cars, who died in a car. And this is unfortunately a common kind of event, even for actors to die in car crashes.

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Screenshot from FAST FIVE (2011)

[Chris Knipp]

Obit for Paul Walker in THE DISSOLVE. See it here (http://thedissolve.com/news/1006-rip-paul-walker/). See also the fan and non fan comments after this on the site.



Actor Paul Walker died today in an automobile accident, at the age of 40. According to the website TMZ (and confirmed on Walker’s Facebook page), Walker was on his way back from a charity event to help the victims of the recent typhoon in the Philippines when the car he was riding in spun out of control . Walker, a working actor since childhood, first made a name for himself in the late 1990s playing supporting roles in teen-friendly films like Varsity Blues and She’s All That, but he’s best-known for playing Brian O’Conner in the blockbuster action-movie series spawned by 2001’s The Fast And The Furious. In five of the six Fast & Furious films—he sat out the third—Walker played a soulful hero who began as the antagonist to a band of car thieves and later became the group’s ally and conscience. His rugged good looks and intense conviction were as responsible for the success of those movies as the eye-popping stunts. Walker also played memorable parts in the Clint Eastwood drama Flags Of Our Fathers, the thriller Running Scared, and the Disney animal adventure Eight Below, all released in 2006. Walker was reportedly working on the seventh Fast & Furious film when he died; there’s no word as yet on how much of that work had been completed before the accident.

Elsewhere on THE DISSOLVE a short piece on Walker that you'll find here (http://thedissolve.com/news/1023-read-on-december-3s-essential-film-writing/?utm_content=buffer2826f&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer): Grantland’s Alex Pappademas remembers Paul Walker:


“Maybe it’s too big a leap to suggest that Walker’s death represents some larger symbolic dimming of the day for a certain kind of leading man—blue-eyed, surfy, fast-car-loving, born of the Newman/McQueen DNA line. So instead, let’s say Walker managed to occupy a space of diminished expectations with aplomb and even grace. He punched his weight. He’d started making serious-actor moves toward the end of his life—like coproducing the December 2013 release Hours, in which he plays a father struggling to keep his infant daughter alive on a ventilator during Hurricane Katrina—but wasn’t too good to endorse Davidoff Cool Water, a cologne that smells like a teenage boy who drives a cab. I wouldn’t be totally surprised to learn that Walker actually wore Cool Water; if he wasn’t that kind of guy, he always managed to come off that way.”

The DISSOLVE staff discussion brings out that the FAST films got better as they got along, especially after the first three, and even better and "denser" in the last two. I agree the last two have been the best, though fans of the series like them all. It's mentioned that JOY RIDE, which he's also in, was directed by neo-noir specialist John Dahl. JOY RIDE (2001) came not long after Dahl's excellent opening trio of films KILL ME AGAIN, RED ROCK WEST, and THE LAST SEDUCTION, which define what "neo-noir" means. So I would put that one on my to-do list.

[Johann]

I've seen 5 of his movies and I didn't like any of them. Each one was exactly the same. Fast and Furious 6 and 7 are the exact same as well.
We're not talking about Peter O'Toole here.
Paul began his career in Meet the Deedles. I know you gotta start somewhere, but Meet the Deedles?

His death is a crime.
And I'm not apologizing for it.

[Johann]

I liked Paul as a person. As an actor I don't think we got to see his full potential.
He had Hugh Jackman handsomeness. Can anyone explain to me why he wasn't a star bigger than Vin Diesel?
I say Paul could've been as big a star as Tom Cruise but it didn't happen.
Was he content to keep making Fast and Furious 37 and 38 and 39?
Now it's his legacy, which may be overshadowed by his *ironic* and tragic death.
Seriously ironic: did you see those ads he did against street racing? To leave it to the pros and Hollywood?

[Chris Knipp]

Are you reading my posts? In answer to all that, see the quote from Grantland’s Alex Pappademas that I gave just above. It is all there. He represents a certain kind of leading man who has given way to blockbuster stars like Hugh Jackson (who is not a physical look-alike at all) or more particularly Vin Diesel. ". . .let’s say Walker managed to occupy a space of diminished expectations with aplomb and even grace. He punched his weight. He’d started making serious-actor moves toward the end of his life." Clearly Paul Walker never had any chance of a career on the level of Tom Cruise's, nor did he have the talent or the ambition of those stars he physically resembled. I differ from you about the FAST & FURIOUS movies which obviously lie outside your range of taste. Though they're blockbusters, they don't have the pretensions of the Marvel comix stuff at all. But for me and many others they are a lot more entertaining and real. The series is about camaraderie and this was a theme that fit Paul Walker's real-life personality and lack of pretension. He fits in. He's likable, even lovable. That's different. On the other hand, "He'd started making serious-actor movies toward the end of his life." But he also had apparently talked a good deal recently about taking a break from acting to spend more time with his 15-year-old daughter. As for the ads, "do what I say, not what I do," applies. He defined himself as an "adrenaline junkie" -- there was no secret or irony about that at at base his death is frankly more appropriate than ironic. There is a quote from him where he says if he dies in a car crash don't feel sorry because he died with a smile on his face and he smiled a lot. Smile, Johan.

[Johann]

Camaraderie in movies is not something I live for.
I've never based seeing a movie on buddies bonding over fast cars and never would.
That is pure Alpha-Male B.S. to me. But I know many peeps love it. The market is undeniably there.

If Paul Walker said we should smile for him if he dies in a car wreck then he was truly fearless.
I don't feel like smiling right now.

[Johann]

Apparently the car hit a signpost that had the speed-limit posted for that area of Valenica before it hit a tree: 45.
The speed limit was 45.
And "Speed was a factor" in the crash?
How fast was that car going? And is the speedometer locked on it's final tally? Or did it melt?

This is very sad.
Questions remain.

[Chris Knipp]

Conspiracy theory fantasies only diminish the very real sadness of Paul Walker's untimely death. Armond White has written a touching review of Walker's upcoming movie HOURS which is also a superb tribute to Walker and the things he stood for and the kinds of movies he starred in. White loved Walker's other movies, as I did. I warmly recommend this review by Armond White, "Brotherman, Guy. (http://cityarts.info/2013/12/04/brotherman-guy/)" Not for the first time White gets it right. Excerpts below.
Paul Walker’s demise makes his new film Hours especially poignant–as it was always intended to be. Hours (which opens next week) is another of the genre movies that Walker regularly appeared in and made distinctive. His specialty was the action film where stress revealed personality through a character’s approach to morality, the law, the universe. Hours, written and directed by Eric Heisserer (calming down from his horror film conventions), streamlines this premise to the personal action of Nolan Yates, Walker’s role as a young widower who must hand-crank the generator of his newborn child’s incubation/respiration unit when the hospital loses power during Hurricane Katrina.

Brad Pitt used Hurricane Katrina as a backdrop to lend presumptuous significance to Benjamin Button, a now forgotten white elephant movie, but Walker, a working man’s Brad Pitt (strikingly handsome, strikingly masculine), made movies more modestly. B-movie simple, Hours eschews bleeding heart sanctimony regarding Hurricane Katrina and more effectively converts sociological, human concern into Yates’ private existential dilemma.

Walker’s on-screen solidarity with Black actors meant he could be a regular guy without hipster cool; always principled, his can-do characters leave the machismo to others–as in the dazzling multiracial heist movie Takers and the likable scenes in Hours of Nolan’s natural camaraderie with a doctor, his chivalry with a nurse, his romantic memories and always, his shining sense of concern. If there’s been any progress in American race/class relations it was evident in Takers and the Fast and Furious partnerships–Walker’s trusting exchanges with Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson and others. He was a blue-eyed wonder but always–essentially–a guy.

Walker was just beginning to channel his guy’s-guy persona artistically, as producer-star of genre films that branched into genuine, subtle significance and stretching his skill as with his wild Meth-head in the daring social satire Pawn Shop Chronicles. Certainly Hours will appeal to anyone who appreciates the cathartic exercise of genre movies that subtly prioritize human communication. Walker’s brotherly ease and romantic sincerity were a great combination; he connected heart and mind, free of fake piety and was the least narcissistic of beautiful male movie stars. The ending of his potential darkens one’s hope and diminishes our culture.

After the sadness of Paul Walker’s sudden passing, Hours is a final gift–an adieu and a suitable reminder why he mattered.

[Johann]

FAST & FURIOUS 7 will be released on April 10, 2014, according to Vin Diesel.
I hope this one has a little more to it than "vrooom vrroom!".
I will probably see it as my "paying my respects" to Paul Walker.
Seeing Number 6 in tribute has been the norm recently. 4 friends of mine insisted on seeing 6 again in honor of Paul.
How do you honor a guy who was cut down before really showing us what he's capable of?

It seems a little empty...

[Johann]

Forget that last post.
The movie was pushed back to summer 2015. (!?)
That tells me that the movie must really suck.
They have to tweak it.
They have to make the "tribute" to Paul Walker all it can be, I guess..

[Chris Knipp]

It doesn't mean that it sucks. It means one of the stars died.

[Johann]

That didn't mean anything to Ridley Scott when Oliver Reed died....
And Terry Gilliam didn't mâke us wait years to see Heath Ledgers' last performance.

[Chris Knipp]

You are right, but this is a different group and a different situation. FAST & FURIOUS films were a team effort and the team may feel broken now. I don't know.

As you know, a posthumous Walker film just came out, HOURS. But while I"ve seen reviews of it (mixed, but some perfectly good ones), it seems to have rapidly disappeared.