Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

5/5

Fast & Furious 6 is a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. It is non-stop excitement from beginning to end, perfectly paced without a single misstep. Its story continues right where Fast Five left off and never pauses for a second. It's filled with a fair number of plot twists and, partly because it sheds its underground street racing roots, it keeps you engaged until the gut-shot preview of Fast Seven. But the plot is not why you see this movie. You watch it for the way it collects all the coolest characters from the previous movies and assembles them into an Avengers-style superhero team. They team up against an especially cruel and evil villain (Evans) who has some devious tricks up his sleeve (i.e., those bad-ass "flip cars").

The action scenes are more often than not obscenely absurd, but even at their most extreme they are more intelligible than the fast-cut close-up style permeating more traditional action movies. Stunts remain more visceral experiences than CGI action, and this movie serves as the perfect example. The car chases are riveting, the fistfights are thrilling. I was honestly on the edge of my seat, heart pumping, holding my breath for two whole hours. And the movie manages all this with a levity and comedy that work (against all odds) to shape it into a well-balanced piece of entertainment. Yes, the characters are archetypes without any complexity. But their one note-ness gives them charm and focus and sympathy. I found myself so invested in the characters and what happened to them that I couldn't stop myself from jumping out of my seat and yelling yeah! in the middle of the theater. And I did not feel embarrassed at all. I never thought I'd be saying any of this about a Fast & Furious movie, but color me surprised. Fast & Furious 6 is one of the most engrossing action movies I've seen--ever--and I cannot wait to see it again.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1905041/

Immortals (2011)

4/5

Tarsem's Immortals took me by surprise. I was initially excited to see it, after enjoying Tarsem's previous film The Fall, but my desire waned after countless negative reviews piled up. I almost entirely gave up on it until I found it on Netflix the other day. I must have watched it at the last possible moment because the next day it was no longer available for streaming. And I'm glad I did.

The plot is straightforward and seems to be made entirely for people who want nothing more than an action movie: King Hyperion (Rourke) steals the Epirus Bow so that he can use it to release the Titans from their prison beneath Mount Tartarus. Theseus (Cavill), a peasant who witnesses his mother's death, is the only one courageous enough to fight back. Zeus (Evans) believes so much in the humans' ability to combat evil that he threatens all the other gods on Olympus with death if they attempt to come to the aid of the humans.

As I said: simple, uninspired. But something about it stirs up excitement and emotion, and I'm betting it's all that Greek mythology. Tarsem gives us a striking visual oasis, with eye-catching costumes, luscious landscapes, and seamless computer graphics. Add in some of the coolest fighting I've seen, and who cares about the story anymore? Tarsem defies the current trend in crappy modern action flicks of fast cuts and shaky camera movements. Instead he uses "bullet time" photography, and he uses it wonderfully, pausing on sweet moves before speeding up for some fast action. The editing is tight and keeps the film lean and tense.

As for the negatives, the acting is passable (although that is honestly better than what I was expecting) and the unnecessary voice-over doesn't detract too much from the film (but that's probably because there isn't much of it). For what it aims to be, it's pretty close to perfection. I highly recommend this movie for anyone who wants a cleanly-shot and strikingly beautiful mindless action film.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1600195/