Speed Racers Pt 7 (Furious 7, 2015)

The seventh film in the series that has not apparently run out of gas (and fifth film directed by Justin Lin) finds the team no longer on the run and being a family. Dom and Letty are working on their relationship, as she has not regained her memory. Brian and Mia are enjoying parenthood. Everything is going smoothly…well, except the fact that somebody is trying to murder the crew…and not just the crew, but anyone connected with the take down of Shaw in the previous film. Which means Hobbs needs to team up with the family once more.

The big threat here? Shaw’s big brother… uh… Shaw. Well, this brother gets a first name as well. Overseeing our intrepid clan is Mr. Nobody…played by Kurt Russell. Because if your films are full of familiar faces and names… you cannot go wrong adding Kurt Russell to the mix.

Seven ups the stunt ante again…”Gee, we had a tank last time?” How about skydiving cars? Cars driven from from skyscraper to skyscraper…via the top floors? In this film, they crash cars and use pieces of the cars in hand to hand combat. The Rock picks up a giant gun and starts to shoot down a helicopter. And then? It gets nuts.

Overall, it is a pretty solid effort, though false a bit short of the sixth entry. Part of this is due to the film having been faced with an unexpected tragedy before they were done filming. After leaving an awards ceremony Paul Walker (Brian O’Conner) and a friend were killed in a car wreck (the friend was driving). It was very clear from the response of the cast and crew that they had all gotten very close, and were crushed by the loss of their friend.

But this forced some story alterations. I doubt their plan was to send Brian out of the series. But now they had to adjust the story to do that. With help from Paul’s twin brother they filmed some final shots. The final moments are full of heavy comments about not saying good-bye and how things are never going to be the same. They are clearly paying their respects to Walker, which is both understandable and touching. But it does make things a little awkward.

Paul Walker has passed away, but Brian and Mia are just done with adventuring and are going to raise their kids. Yet, each character speaks as if they will never see Brian and Mia again.

Overall, while not quite as strong as Fast Five or Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7 is still a lot of fun…and it could have made a nice finale for the franchise.

July 31, 2017 0

Speed Racers Pt 6 (Fast & Furious 6, 2013)

The sixth film throws in a twist for Dom, Brian and their family. Letty is back, but now she appears to be their competition. Hobb’s has let the gang be, seeing as how they have stayed out of the heist scene since their last encounter…but a new crew of high precision vehicle themed criminals. Hobbs knows he needs help and seeks the skills of Dom and the crew. The carrot he dangles before them is the discovery that Letty is, in fact, alive and working with this group that is a threat to free nations everywhere.

The core of the story is Dom’s desire to get Letty back, but she seems to have lost her memory. This allows the film to have some playful and competitive flirtation between the two, but also gives the villain, Shaw, something to use against the crew. This is fairly effective. For Brian, he and Mia have a child and are looking at their future. What this means for Mia is that she is sidelined from the story, which is a bit disappointing for the character, however, the franchise’s cast tends to grow as fast as it loses characters.

And this is a big cast. The regulars are back and they are all in regular form, firing quips, arguing, and driving real fast. This film is as fun as the previous entry, with no fear to go big. For example? There is a big chase at the end that involves a giant tank.

This series has benefited from having a single director for the past few entries. The films feel like the story advances and was actually planned, rather than assembled backwards. Plenty of franchise sequels simply feel like they have the idea and try to fit it in…but it seems like Lin and the writers planned things out in advance.

Fast & Furious 6 continues the upward tick of the franchise, and makes for a fun adrenaline fueled time.

July 30, 2017 0

Speed Racers Pt 5 (Fast Five, 2011)

And uh…here is where things get a little weird for the franchise. Because, uh, the fifth film? It is probably the best film of the franchise at this point. This film embraces the absurd and becomes a full on heist film. Brian has joined Dominic as a fugitive after he and Mia free Dominic from a prison bus.

The three go to Rio where they join in an attempt to steal some cars from a train, which goes horribly wrong. Dominic, Brian and Mia decide they need to get back at the man behind the failed heist…who is one of the most connected men in Rio. They assemble a team which brings back cast members from the second, third and fourth films. This means Roman, Han and Gal Gadot’s Gisele are all back.

To put a wrinkle in their plans? Dwayne the Rock Johnson. He is the unstoppable Government Agent Hobbs. Hobbs is determined to bring the fugitives in at all costs. This results in several reversal of fortune moments for the fugitives and Hobbs that keep the viewer on their toes.

The group they have assembled make for a lot of fun. While Roman and Tej provide a lot of the comic relief, the film has a lot of fun with the flirtation between Gisele and Han. The core relationship of Dominic, Brian and Mia hold this group together.

Lin provides multiple exciting sequences, both in and out of cars. The cat and mouse with Hobbs culminates in an exciting chase through the streets of Rio with cars pulling a giant safe. I mean, like a vault. And even that has a giant twist.

Like I said, this film embraces the absurd, not worrying if anything is to over the top. The end result is a fun bit of action based escapism.

July 29, 2017 0

Speed Racers, Pt 4 (Fast & Furious, 2009)

For the fourth film, they dropped “The” from the title. Because…saving space on the poster? I guess? This film brings it back to the original. O’Conner is working with the Feds again, while Toretto and Letty are pulling heists. When Letty is murdered, O’Conner and Toretto’s paths cross again. Admittedly, it is a bit of a strained relationship. Dominic is seeking revenge on Letty’s killer, but Brian wants to bring her killer in. Brian also finds his relationship with Mia rekindled.

In the first film, O’Conner ultimately remained aligned to the side of the law. His devotion was challenged, and while he did not walk away, he made a choice that cost him the job, but he also stayed on the side of good, so to speak. This film challenges his faith in the law to make the right choices.

In the hopes of getting Toretto off the wanted list, Brian cuts a deal with his boss…but when the agency jumps the gun and messes up a planned bust of villain Campo, it falls on Brian’s head. He and Dominic set out to get Campo on their own.

This film is the turning point for the series, it also sets the stage for each film trying to really top the big spectacle of the previous film. This one opens with a pulse pounding attempt to steal some tankers. It closes with a high speed chase through narrow tunnels.

Director Justin Lin (who directed Tokyo Drift) can put together a compelling action scene and keep it exciting. This time around, he has a much moire entertaining film, closer in spirit to the first film.

July 28, 2017 0

Speed Racers Pt 3 (the Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, 2006)

The name is derived from a style of racing called Drifting. It involves the driver over-steering and losing traction of the tires. It is more elaborate than that, but I am not a car guy. And that is pretty much all there is for a viewer in this film. Some cool racing scenes with cool looking cars.

Tokyo Drift opts to leave the country and focus on people other than our previous regulars. We follow white rich kid Sean who hopes to break into the Tokyo street racing scene, but finds it is tough, cause racism.

The film is a convoluted plot that involves the Yakuza and family drama and mean rich kids…but it never gels together. The characters are not particularly interesting and therefore it becomes hard to not get bored when there is no racing.

Because that is one thing this film has…pretty cool looking race scenes. But the film tends to feel overwhelmingly inconsequential, especially as part of a franchise.

That last line is kind of unfair, the film has a dramatic turn for the entire franchise, but that also creates a lot of confusion for the timeline of the series (a few of the films technically take place before Tokyo Drift).

July 27, 2017 0

Speed Racers Pt 2 (2 Fast 2 Furious, 2003)

I think we all know what comes after a movie is a modest success or better…the studios move on to the next project, happy with their success. Oh wait…no… they cry out for a sequel. And so, the embarrassingly named 2 Fast 2 Furious was made.

Dominic Toretto is missing in action this time around, instead pairing the ex-cop O’Conner with an Ex-Con friend named Roman (Tyrese Gibson) to help take down a drug lord. It involves cars again, because apparently that is why the government hires O’Conner. They are helped by a sexy undercover DEA agent (Eva Mendes…I said sexy, right?).

This is the film’s biggest problem. It is basically a buddy cop film in the vein of Lethal Weapon or Rush Hour. The first film emphasized the idea of family, both that of your birth and families you make yourself. This film lacks that, which removes the weightier concerns of O’Conner’s moral code that was present in the first film. There is no struggle for him here. His target is a bad guy.

They did try and do something different here, but Diesel’s presence is noticeable, and it was probably a bad idea to try and continue without him. Roman is not a charismatic enough replacement, instead he is more a comedic relief. The action in the film is competent, but uninspired, leaving us with a somewhat lackluster action film.

July 26, 2017 0

Speed Racers Pt 1 (The Fast and the Furious, 2001)

2000 and 2001 were a good couple of years for Vin Diesel. He had a supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, but only a small spattering of roles before that. His other “big” role was the voice of the titular character in Brad Bird’s the Iron Giant. But between Pitch Black and the Fast and the Furious, Diesel’s value rose prominently.

Rob Cohen (Daylight and Dragonheart) directed this tale of a young and reckless cop who goes undercover into the world of street racing to try and take down some skilled thieves. He of course, gets drawn in much deeper, falling for the sister of his target. You can pretty much connect the dots from there.

The fresh faced Paul Walker is special agent Brian O’Conner. He is trying to catch extremely muscular Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, an infamous street racer and adrenaline junkie thief. He and his gang are pulling off daring heists using their souped up cars.

The Fast and the Furious never promises to be a new take, and it hits all the beats an “Undercover Cop Gets In To Deep” action movie will take. But it does so entertainingly with fun and daring stunts. The film is a complete knockoff of the 1991 Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze movie Point Break. A couple years ago that movie got remade. This is the better “remake”. The cast is generally likeable, including Jordana Brewster as Mia, the previously mentioned sister who complicates things and Michelle Rodriguez as Letty, Dom’s girlfriend and fellow thief. The Fast and the Furious is a fun action and popcorn film, though if you told me it would spawn seven more films (and an eighth sequel in the works) I would never have expected it.

July 25, 2017 0

Swing High (Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2017)

Spider-Man has the distinction of having been rebooted three times in the last fifteen years. Both the Raimi Films and the Marc Webb films have good points. Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 is a high point for super-hero themed films. But they also never quite fully got Spider-Man as a character. Maguire’s Peter Parker could be to goofy, while Garfield’s Peter was to moody and mopey.

Sony hit some hard times, made all the worse by a major hack that exposed all sorts of internal issues. One thing it revealed? Sony had talked with Marvel about a deal that would allow Spider-Man to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The talks fell apart before the hack. But this brought them back to life.

Sony decided to let Marvel bring a heavy creative hand in. In exchange, Sony got to include MCU characters in their Spider-Films. The MCU introduced Spider-Man into their world via Captain America: Civil War. Spider-Man was a highlight of that film. And rather than try to retrofit Peter Parker in, as if Spider-Man had been there all along… they stepped into his career early, so he is new on the scene.

Homecoming picks up roughly eight months after Civil War, with Peter enjoying using his Stark supplied super-suit and anxiously awaiting his next big Avengers mission. Which seems to never come along. Instead, Peter races around trying to get better by fighting street crime and helping lost old ladies. His day to day life has, of course, been tougher since Tony Stark has come into his life, and he starts to withdraw to make more time. He dreams of beautiful classmate Liz and hangs out with his closest friend Gan-uh-Ned. Of course, he makes a major discovery, the adults don’t listen and Peter over-confidently decides to take on guys who may be out of his league.

One of the refreshing story points is that this is not about Peter learning about “with Great Power comes Great Responsibility”…at this point, he has learned that lesson. We only get vague reference to Uncle Ben’s death. In fact, the origin of Spider-Man is tossed out in a two second exchange.

Holland’s Peter Parker is sweet and awkward…his Spider-Man is quippy, but still learning. He is not yet the confident Peter Parker, he practices lines, tries to get into a good pose before alerting bad guys to his presence. But of the previous film versions, this is easily the strongest portrayal of Peter. He may be in-experienced, but there are just so many things that make this version…well Spider-Man.

The rest of the cast of characters are updated in some interesting ways. Ned Leeds is really Ganke from the Miles Morales Spider-Man comics, and he is a very fun character. This is largely due to the comic timing and enthusiasm of actor Jacob Batalon. I was most hesitant about Marisa Tomei as Aunt May…not because of her acting ability…but because she is only a few years older than me…and she feels more youthful and vibrant than traditional portrayals of Aunt May. But I ended up really liking her in the role.

Michael Keaton’s Vulture is a terrific improvement on the character. I never really cared for the comic version…he never seemed like he was all that much of a threat. And the green suit did not help. Keaton’s performance is solid and menacing…yet his motives are understandable. He is a guy who wants to provide for his family, and saw secret government agencies undercutting his business. He turns to crime to make up for that. The Vulture look is a nice combination of modern with hints of his original look. It works very well.

The action scenes are all nice and effective. Sometimes these films can get confusing during busy action scenes. Homecoming makes the action easy to follow. And the film is infused with humor. While theses were not absent from the previous versions, it is much more present here. And yet, the humor is not at the expense of Peter’s character. He feels the heavy weight of responsibility, regardless of his experience.

Admittedly, the film does not break new ground for Spider-Man…but I think it may be the best of the Spider-Man films so far. Or, at worst, a close second to Raimi’s second Spider-Man film. This is a fun film, and fun should be part of (a lot more) super-hero films. Being overseen by Marvel, there are plenty of easter eggs…but what Marvel is usually really good about is that the easter eggs are a bonus for fans who love the comics…and if you have not read the comics, you won’t feel like you are missing something.

Honestly, I recommend seeing Spider-Man: Homecoming in the theater. It benefits from being seen with an audience.

July 9, 2017 0