Furious 7

When I think back to the first time I watched 2001's The Fast and The Furious -- probably about 13 years ago -- I remember liking it but not loving it. I can safely say I never thought that six movies later the franchise would be stronger than ever, and that I also would be disgustingly excited for each new entry. I've been counting down the months, weeks and days until the latest franchise entry. Maybe you've heard of it, a little movie released in theaters this past weekend, Furious 7.

Having put their mission in England and Spain behind them in putting away Owen Shaw, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew of street racers and drivers have moved on. Well, that's the plan at least. Having moved back to his old stomping grounds in Los Angeles, Dom, friend and partner and crime, Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker), and his sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster) barely survive an explosion from a bomb sent their way by Shaw's older, more dangerous brother, Deckard (Jason Statham). Worse than that? Their friend, Han (Sung Kang), has already been killed by Deckard who has vowed to dispatch anyone involved in the attack on his brother. As if the younger Shaw hadn't been good enough, now Dom, Brian and the crew are going up against the very best. Their best hope of getting Shaw before Shaw gets them? Teaming up with a government agent who knows the perfect way to bring that confrontation into reality.

Let's start with the uncomfortable. Star Paul Walker tragically passed away in November 2013 as filming was in high gear for this action-packed sequel. His death left the production in a troubled state. Should they continue on or abandon the project? How would the Brian character be treated in terms of a send-off? In stepped Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody who helped stand in for their brother in scenes that hadn't been filmed yet. Some brotherly look-a-likes, some quick CGI work, yeah, it stands out at times the scenes Walker wasn't there, but it's never distracting. Is it a difficult movie to watch at times knowing it will be Walker's last? Hell yes, but it is a fitting send-off for an incredibly likable actor and movie star.

The movie itself, well, it continues on without missing a beat. In steps director James Wan, replacing Justin Lin who had directed the last 'Fast' entries starting with 'Tokyo Drift.' I was a little wary, but Wan follows the formula that's made these movies so successful and amps it up quite a bit. The biggest compliment I can give here is that this is the type of fun, ridiculously over the top entertainment that movies SHOULD be. These movies are F-U-N from beginning to end. 'Furious' is the longest such entry at 137 minutes, but it never even remotely feels long. The pacing and story actually fly by. It's far from the most pointed story and drifts along with crazy action sequences filling in the blanks, but you go along for the ride. Pun intended by the way. This is a popcorn movie at its absolute freaking best.

Yes, the action is ridiculous and will be discussed later. I have thought and continue to think that the heart of these movies is the characters. Seven movies in, you're familiar with them. You like them and you're rooting for them. That starts with Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, the team's leader, a philosophizing, growling street racer who holds family and loyalty above all else. Mess with his family and brace to incur his wrath. The most important relationship is between Dom and Walker's Brian, a brotherly relationship that has gotten better and deeper with each passing movie. These aren't the youngsters of 2001's original film. They're a little older, a little wiser, but they're still two of the best, most skilled drivers around. Their dynamic throughout is the real heart of the movie, two friends off-screen who allow that friendship to carry over onto the screen.

But wait, there's more! Basically the whole team is back. Unfortunately Dwayne Johnson isn't around much for his part as muscle-bound, one-liner spewing Agent Hobbs. He's there at the beginning and end but not the middle. When he's there, it's prime stuff. He just brings an energy to the character no matter how long he's around. Along with Brewster's Mia, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, and Ludacris are all back. Rodriguez's Letty is slowly getting her memory back and gets some surprisingly effective scenes with Dom about their past. Tyrese as fast-talking jokester Roman Pearce and Ludacris as tech and hacker extraordinaire Tej provide some comic relief, a one-two punch who consistently get laughs from their bickering back and forths. Kang and Gal Gadot make quick appearances in footage from the previous movies and in a cool touch uniting the seemingly disjointed timeline of the franchise, Lucas Black reprises his role from Tokyo Drift as young driver Sean Boswell. Just a fun cast who are familiar with their characters and continue to bring them to life.

What would a successful franchise be without some fresh blood? Expanding on his surprise appearance at the end of 'F+F 6,' Statham has some fun as Deckard Shaw, a brooding, menacing villain who isn't given much to do other than pop up and wreak havoc at the least opportune time. I wish he was given more to do, but it's Statham in villain mode. That's rarely a bad thing. Other new faces include Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey, a world-class hacker, Djimon Hounsou as an international terrorist and Tony Jaa as his brutal enforcer, and UFC fighter Ronda Rousey as a bodyguard who tangles with Rodriguez's Letty. My favorite new part? Kurt Russell having a blast as Mr. Nobody, an incredibly capable, dangerous government agent who teams up with Dom and Co. to bring Shaw to justice. Russell is smiling almost every scene he's in, and it looks like he's genuinely having some chaotic fun.

Most movies would be hard-pressed to improve on the action of its two predecessors, Fast Five and Fast and Furious 6. '7' manages to do just that. The action is flat out, over the top, ludicrously nuts, never possibly exist in this reality type of action. Car chases in abundance, Statham taking on Hobbs early and then Diesel in the finale, Rodriguez and Rousey tearing each other up (in some classy gowns at that), it is all NUTS. It works though because the story and characters commit. It never plays out like a spoof. So yes, there's cars dropping out of a plane and parachuting to take down an armored convoy. Yes, the attack is nuts. Yes, Dom and Brian crash from one skyscraper to another....and another in Abu Dabi. The finale itself is probably about 30 minutes long and just a smorgasbord of excessive action on the streets of Los Angeles. Car chases, fist fights (with wrenches), helicopters and missile-loaded drones....and very few cops in sight. Go along with it and have some fun.

I read heading into this sequel that Wan and Co. filmed a poignant tribute to Paul Walker for the finale. Yeah, about that...it's a perfect, moving ending. And no, those aren't tears in my eyes. I'm allergic to something, anything, whatever. Don't Judge Me!!! The final scene and a quick montage of Walker's involvement in the series is beyond a perfect send-off to the very popular movie star and actor. If this is the end of the series, so be it. This was a more than worthy finale. If it isn't -- supposedly there's at least 2 more sequels coming -- I'll welcome them with open arms. This is that rare series that has gotten better in the second half of its run. Judging by the box office money on opening weekend, I'm not the only one to feel that way. It made $400 million this weekend internationally. 400 MILLION!!!! That perfect popcorn movie and a fitting finale for Paul Walker's Brian O'Connor character.

Furious 7 (2014): ****/****

2 Fast 2 Furious

Released in 2001, The Fast and the Furious was a huge success in theaters, making over $200 million compared to just a $38 million budget. It jump-started the careers of much of its cast and kicked off a hugely successful franchise that through six films has made over $2 billion in theaters. Let's dive into the first sequel, 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Still on the run after letting Dom go back in Los Angeles, Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) is making a name for himself as a street racer in Miami. He's gotten into trouble now and is back on the radar of several different law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and U.S. Customs. If Brian takes on a dangerous assignment for both the FBI and Customs, his record will be wiped clean. The assignment? Help put together a case against smuggler and Argentinian drug lord, Carter Verone (Cole Hauser). With authorities closing in on his circle, Verone needs drivers to help transport piles of drug money under the cops' noses. Brian needs help if he's going to pull off the job and get out alive. He seeks out a childhood friend who's he fallen out with, an ex-con and skilled driver, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson). Can they pull the job off?

Okay, let's get this out of the way. I love the Fast and Furious franchise. Always have. Always will. So all that said, this ain't a good movie -- by a long shot -- but I love it just the same. Of all the movies, this is probably the guiltiest pleasure. How many movies can you hear Paul Walker say 'Forget about it, cuz.'? It tries to be incredibly hip and street and just so cool. Seriously, try a drinking game where anyone says 'cuz' or 'brah.' You'll be drunk for days.

Building on the surprise success of the first Fast/Furious movie two years earlier, '2 Fast' doesn't mess too much with the winning formula. Director John Singleton knows not to bite the hand that feeds so keep things simple. That formula? Some supremely cool cars from street and drag racers to some throwback classics, or as Brian and Roman say several times 'American muscle,' some cool characters and lots of scantily clad ladies all over the place. It ain't rocket science so don't overthink it, right? The races are edited in crazy, hyper fashion as the cars fly by, the soundtrack is littered with some then timely rap and hip-hop songs, and everything is easily digested in 107 minutes. You realize how far the movies have come since these early entries, a roguish, cheap quality that rises up to be pretty entertaining.

Otherwise occupied filming XXX, Vin Diesel -- star of the first Fast/Furious with Walker -- was unable to participate in this first sequel. The winners of that decision/unavailability? Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson. A whole bunch of 'brahs' and 'cuz' lines aside, the biggest appeal of '2 Fast' is the Walker and Gibson pairing. Any screen they're in together, it plays like two friends hanging out and talking. It doesn't feel forced in the least. The character backstory provides some fun fireworks too, the duo growing up close friends but having a falling out when Brian decides to become a police officer. Just the same way Diesel and Walker played off each other so well in that brotherly fashion, Walker and Gibson do the same. You're rooting for them, two talented drivers backed into a less than ideal situation with all sorts of outside forces closing in on them.

Who else to look for? Walker is the only main cast member to make the jump from the original to the sequel so we've got some fresh meat! I've always liked Cole Hauser (wish he was in more movies), and he's having some fun as Verone, clearly doing some sort of slightly subdued Tony Montana impression. Eva Mendes sexes it up as Monica Fuentes, the deep undercover agent working to take Verone down, and flirting some with Brian in the process. Also joining the franchise is Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as Tej, a do-it-all race organizer and mechanic while model Devon Aoki plays Suki, the designated sexy female driver. Thom Barry does reprise his role as Bilkins, FBI agent extraordinaire while James Remar plays the cantankerous Agent Markham, always mad at somebody. Also look for Michael Ealy as Amaury Nolasco as rival street racers.

Want some more in-depth analysis? Yeah, I didn't think so. If you like these movies, even this type of movies, you're going to enjoy this sequel. I've recommended to moviegoers that it's worth it to stick with the franchise because it has gotten significantly better, especially most recently with Fast Five and Fast and Furious 6. Those are great fun movies, pure entertainment, but these are pretty cool too. Also worth watching? A short film made with Walker showing how Brian ends up in Miami after the finale of the first movie. Check it out HERE.

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003): ***/****

Fast & Furious 6

I can't say I saw this coming. When I watched 2001's The Fast and the Furious in high school, I enjoyed it the story of an undercover cop trying to bust a street racing heist crew. Did I think it would become a hugely successful series that would spawn five sequels, and more to come? Nope, I definitely didn't see that coming....but that's just where it is. Go figure. I love where the series has gone, upping the ante with each passing movie. I L-O-V-E-D 2011's Fast Five and was naturally psyched for the sixth entry in the series, 2013's Fast & Furious 6. Moral of the story....it more than lives up to expectations.

Having pulled off a successful heist in Rio, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his team have retired to spots around the world....for the time being. Having worked with and against Dom and his crew in Rio, DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) has tracked them down. He needs their help to take down Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), a former British special forces soldier who with his own crew of specialists has been stealing the pieces necessary to build the technology that could cripple a nation. Hobbs enlists Dom with offers of pardons for his past crime, but there's more. Dom's former love, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) -- who was believed dead -- is working with Shaw, giving Dom all the motivation he needs to take Hobbs' offer. Dom seeks out friend and fellow driver Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and his team to help him, but even his crew's unique driving talents and criminal abilities will be put to the test against the likes of Shaw's crew.

Where Fast Five left off, '6' picks up without missing a beat. It does seem a long ways off from the street racing origins of the first film, but again, this is the rare series that gets better and better as it develops. I think much of that success can be attributed to director Justin Lin who quite simply just knows what he's doing. Since taking over the series with the third film, Tokyo Drift, Lin has helped take 'Fast and Furious' to different places than the first two movies. Yes, there's ridiculously exciting car chases and action and hand-to-hand fights and awesome cars and beautiful women and tough guys being tough and.....Yeah, I think that's it. That description could sound very common denominator, even stupid, but Lin has made an art of that formula. He takes these familiar genre conventions, throws them in a blender and comes up with these ridiculously entertaining popcorn flicks.

I will devote plenty of words to the action on display here (of which there is a ton), but I'm going to mention again what takes these movies up a notch beyond pure action flicks. It's the characters. If you've made it to the sixth entry in the series, you like something enough to stick with it. Yes, the cars and chases and action is awesome, but I genuinely like the characters and am rooting for them. I love the dynamic among Dom, Brian and the team, especially when you throw Johnson's Hobbs into the mix again. The script is far from Shakespearean, but it also knows these characters inside and out. At 130 minutes, you can't have all action (well, I suppose you could), but as was the case with 'Five,' some of the best moments come from the quieter moments as members of Dom's crew interact, bust each other's balls or even.....just talk!?! I know, crazy, right? Kudos to screenwriter Chris Morgan for turning in an underrated script.

Let's face it though. These are some pretty cool characters, and there's a whole lot of them. The original stars, Diesel and Walker, are the basis for it all, enemies turned friends turned family. Neither are considered great thespians, but they are great tough guys, great action stars. Their back and forth is natural, not forced, and flows effortlessly. Johnson again is a great addition to the series, and he also looks like he could tangle with a dozen or so grizzly bears and come out on the winning side. Jeez, look at his arms! Also returning to round out the team is Tyrese Gibson as Roman, the motor-mouthed driving specialist, Sung Kang as Han, the master thief and chameleon extraordinaire, Gal Gadot as Gisele, Han's girlfriend of sorts, weapons specialist and precision driver in her own right, and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as Tez, an electronics and tech whiz. Jordana Brewster and Elsa Pataky also return in small, cameo-like parts as the love interests.

With so much talent assembled, new names aren't necessary, but the new stars are gems here, especially Evans as Owen Shaw, the brutally efficient, ice cold master thief/criminal who finds himself working against Dom and Hobbs. As a villain, he's the best the series has seen mostly because he's a more than worthy opponent for our heroic anti-heroes. His one-on-one scene with Diesel near the midpoint of the film is a gem. Evans isn't a huge physically imposing bad guy, but his intensity goes a long way. Also joining the crew is Gina Carano as Riley, Hobbs' assistant in the developing case. She isn't given a ton to do, but she does get not one, but TWO fight scenes with Rodriguez (who's "death" in Fast and Furious is explained in somewhat believable fashion). It's tough to find fault with that statement.

Blah blah blah talking and dialogue and scripts blah blah blah. FAST CARS! EXPLOSIONS! CHASES! I thought 'Five' had set the bar at a pretty unattainable level.....well, yeah....I was wrong about that. Things get ratcheted up even more with three amazingly choreographed set pieces. The first has Dom, Brian, Hobbs and Co. racing through the night streets of London in pursuit of Shaw. An excellent sequence in itself, but just the start. The follow-up is a chase along a Spanish highway overlooking the sea. Oh, and there's a tank, and American muscle cars, and crashes, and ridiculous collateral damage. It features stunts so ridiculous, premises so beyond reality that it's almost laughable. You know what? I didn't care. Just sit back and watch it develop. This scene defies the laws of physics countless times, and it doesn't matter.

Both of those set pieces could make a movie worthwhile to watch on their own, but then there's the finale. Shaw is making his escape via an airfield (apparently the longest runway in the history of aviation) as an immense cargo plane tries to land to pick him up. Dom, Hobbs, Brian and the entire team are racing behind him in a variety of souped-up muscle cars trying to keep the plane on the ground. This extended sequence is schizophrenic in the best sense of the word. Cars zipping around at inordinate speeds, fistfights and brutal hand-to-hand fights, explosions left and right, it's an incredible, adrenaline-pumping scene. It goes on for something like 15-20 minutes, and It....Is....Nuts. It's hard to give audiences an action scene we haven't seen before, but Lin and screenwriter Morgan find a way to improve on the finale chase in 'Five,' but yep, they completely succeeded. And credit to Lin, he cuts the action so you can see it, always keeping tabs on what's going on. At no point it is an indecipherable blur.

That's enough rambling movie crush for now. Having just watched this newest entry earlier today, I feel like it's too soon to compare the films. I think I liked Fast Five a tad bit more, but it's really close. The more I think about this one, the more I like it, and here's why. This is a movie that knows exactly what it is and isn't trying to be anything else. It is a popcorn flick that will hopefully get your adrenaline pumping. It is fun from beginning to end whether it be the cast (who appear to be having a ball) or the ever-increasing and ridiculous action. It's just fun. If it isn't The Godfather or Citizen Kane or an all-time cinema classic, so be it. Sit back and enjoy it.

Oh, and yes, there will be a sequel. Much the same way Fast Five led into this film with a post-credit scene, so does '6' and it is a doozy. It ties the series all the way back to Tokyo Drift with a mystery that has baffled some series fans about the fate of one of the key characters. There's a huge star added to the mix -- no SPOILERS here -- setting the series up nicely for future ventures. I, for one, am most definitely psyched to see where it goes.

Fast & Furious 6 (2013): ****/****

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

I'm not quite sure why I went to the midnight showing of Transformers: Dark of the Moon late last night/early this morning. It still seems ridiculous to pay $11 to see a movie regardless of how much I actually like going and seeing new movies (a lot by the way). The first Transformers movie was tolerable even if I didn't love it, and the sequel -- Revenge of the Fallen -- has to be one of the most painful experiences I've ever had in a movie theater. But here I sit having watched the third one, and who would have thought of this? I liked it.

No, I didn't love it, and I probably don't ever need to see it again, but for a one-time viewing I can admit it. I....actually....enjoyed.....a.....Transformers....movie. Wooo, it's almost therapeutic admitting that. Each movie in this trilogy at its best is a disposable summer blockbuster and epic that is supposed to entertain, excite and dazzle.  The master of everything extravagant, over the top and needlessly ridiculous, director Michael Bay actually tightens his final movie. Yes, some of the humor is still a little much, and as cool as the finale is, it does goes on for far too long. Compared to Revenge of the Fallen though, it's a masterpiece in filmmaking.

After teaming with Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen) and the rest of the Autobots to save the world twice, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is struggling to adjust to adult life. He's living in Washington DC with his new girlfriend, Carly (Victoria Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), but he can't manage to find a decent job. He's thrust back into the battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons once again when Megatron (voice of Hugo Weaving) unleashes a plan that threatens to destroy the Earth. Dating back to the original Moon landing in 1969, the government has managed to keep a secret about this battle between factions. But now it threatens to tear the world apart. Trying to save Carly and teaming up with Bumblebee and the NEST team, Sam joins the fight in hopes of finding some way to defeat the seemingly impregnable Decepticons.

I'll say this now, and get it out of the way. This review is going to ramble some, but I'll do my best to keep it on point and somewhat focused....unlike the movie. At 157 very long minutes, this movie is just too long however you cut it. The first 90 minutes are surprisingly un-Michael Bay like with a minimum of action. To his credit, Bay pulls back the reins on the humor department, actually turning to some character development and surprise, surprise, some decent dialogue. Who would have thought of that? Still, there's too many characters, far too much going on at all times, and flaws galore, but I still found myself liking the movie in spite of its flaws.

Maybe the biggest surprise is how far LaBeouf has come from the first movie. By this second sequel, I found myself actually liking the character and rooting for him. The early parts of the movie actually humanize him a bit so you feel like rooting for him. Some of LaBeouf's acting eccentricities are still there, but they just work better here.  Whether it is his relationship with Carly or his feeling of loss not seeing Bumblebee, there is actual emotion in the script. It sounds so simple, but after the generally organized chaos of the first two movies, I'm stunned. Set the bar low enough and see what happens? Good things! He has a solid chemistry with the very beautiful, Barbie doll-like Huntington-Whiteley and manages to provide some of the movie's funnier moments as he copes with being an adult.

I can't explain it, but Bay is able to assemble some serious talent for his scripts that typically have 800 or 900 speaking parts. The best and newest additions to the trilogy were Frances McDormand as a CIA defense agent and John Malkovich as Sam's eccentric, partially crazy boss. Neither part requires either actor to do any heavy lifting, but both consumate professionals look to be having a lot of fun -- especially Malkovich. Patrick Dempsey joins the cast as Dylan, an extraordinarily rich businessman working with the Decepticons. Those are the best additions, but a majority of the cast returns too.  Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson return as Colonel Lennox -- leader of NEST -- and Epps, since retired from the unit but back to join the fight with Sam when needed. John Turturro gets to ham it up as since-retired special agent Simmons, but in a slightly more subdued way than 'Revenge.' A small part for Hangover star Ken Jeong is everything that's wrong with Bay, his sense of humor and his lowest common denominator for laughs while Alan Tudyk is a scene-stealer as Dutch, Simmon's assistant. Also a bonus, Sam's parents (Kevin Dunn and Julie White) are relegated to much smaller parts.    

Living in Chicago the last couple years, it was hard to miss Michael Bay and his production descend on the Windy City. News and media covered it extensively, and as a Chicagoan I was definitely looking forward to seeing how the city looked on the big screen.  It was worth the wait. I wasn't checking my watch, but I'm guessing at least the last hour takes place exclusively in downtown Chicago on Wacker Drive along the Chicago River. It is an orgy of action and CGI (superbly well-done by the way) that doesn't know when to quit, but it is something else to watch. Seeing the city torn to pieces was more than a little odd, but the combination of all these gigantic robots duking it out with Sam, Carly, Lennox, Epps and their teams maneuvering through the city is great. The action is top-notch that could have easily been edited/shortened, but I don't think either of those words is in Michael Bay's lexicon.

The movie certainly starts off on a high note as some history is explained, tying the first Moon landing in 1969 into the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons. It's that type of conspiracy theory that's absolutely ridiculous but is still a lot of fun to watch and just go along for the ride. 

Comparing the three movies there isn't/wasn't a huge difference among them so I'm struggling to put my finger on why I liked this movie. Some of it has to do with the on-location shooting in Chicago, some of it Bay actually toning things down, and even the cast making the most of an average script. Composer Steve Jablonsky turns in a solid, exciting and action-driven score, and Linkin Park adds their new song -- Iridescent -- to the soundtrack. The action is crazy, the CGI amazingly real, and even when I'd felt like I'd been sitting in the theaters for days watching the movie, I still enjoyed it. A classic it is not, but it is the definition of a summer blockbuster flick that goes perfect with a jug of popcorn. That's all I was looking for.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon <---trailer (2011): ***/****

Death Race

One of the great cult films of all time, 1975's Death Race 2000 is a great example of a low-budget pile of schlock actually amounting to something.  By all accounts, it is a horrific movie that should by no means actually work.  It does though, mostly because of the badness.  It's so funny, so stupid, so cheap, and ultimately so mind-blowingly ridiculous that you end up liking the movie.  I'm not a huge, die-hard fan of the Roger Corman produced flick, but I liked it enough. Still, I was rather skeptical when 2008's Death Race was released.

My usual reaction to any remake is what's the point? Is a new version of an old movie going to add anything or improve on something? In the case of the original Death Race, a lot was left to be desired, but because of the low-budget factor you went along for the ride. The 2008 remake thankfully does switch things up, adding some cool touches to the same basic premise.  The cast is solid -- especially two key supporting roles -- and the action is fun, the premise more than interesting, and in the end, it's an entertaining action flick. With a movie like this, I'm not looking for Academy-Award winning stuff, just to have fun.

It's 2012 and the American economy has collapsed, and a new entertainment venue has emerged to keep the masses happy. Private corporations run the prison system, and one warden, Hennessy (Joan Allen), has put together 'Death Race,' a three-stage race where hardened killers, rapists and crooks compete against each other in heavily armored cars featuring tons of vicious weapons. Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is a former race car driver framed for the murder of his wife who's sent to Hennessy's Terminal Island prison. She needs Jensen to pose as the most infamous of the drivers, Frankenstein, a man so scarred by previous races he wears a mask at all times. All he needs to do is race, win once, and he'll get his walking papers. Jensen agrees, knowing the warden won't keep her promise, but this man with revenge on his mind has other plans.

From a low-budget drive-in movie from 1975 to a high-octane, big-budget action movie, everything has been ratcheted up a notch or two or ten.  The film's look is grayish and washed out, almost like some sort of post-apocalyptic hell.  The story is straightforward and fairly obvious, but with a movie called 'Death Race' you're not exactly looking for Shakespeare, are you?  The action is pretty much non-stop once the background is established. Following the good old Roger Corman (who produced the original and remake) formula for success, director Paul W.S. Anderson has assembled a movie with tons of violence, tough guy actors, and ridiculously gorgeous female cast members who are required to look ridiculously gorgeous. When handled right, that always sounds like a good movie to me.

Say what you want about Jason Statham's acting range, but the guy is one of the coolest action stars out there.  He's usually right in that silent to ultra-silent category, using words like they pain him to say anything. I think he's made some poor decisions with the movies he's taken (the Crank movies, In the Name of the King), but I've always liked him. As Jensen Ames, he doesn't need to show much range. He is pissed at the world, and he's going to get his revenge one way or another. Tyrese Gibson takes over for Sylvester Stallone as Machine Gun Joe, a rival driver in the race and Jensen/Frank's biggest competition. The same goes for Gibson as it does Statham. He isn't the best actor around, but he's always a presence and looks like he's having a hell of a good time.  Natalie Martinez is the completely unnecessary eye candy as Case, Jensen's navigator. Her character is the equivalent of a GPS with a Barbie doll body. Her line deliveries are so bad it's laughable. Watch the slow motion scene where she steps out of a classic car though, and you'll see why she was hired. Not a complaint by any means either.

With this type of schlock, I had to wonder. Were Joan Allen and Ian McShane blackmailed into doing this movie?  These are two supremely talented actors so what are they doing here? As actors, they legitimize the movie just by being there. They don't have to do anything or say a word, and the movie is better for it.  Of course, they don't just stand there. Director Anderson takes advantage, giving them two great supporting parts. Allen has one of the most amazing line deliveries I've ever heard (see if you can figure it out at IMDB's Memorable Quotes HERE). She is icy, steely-eyed, and ruthlessly brutal. McShane gets all the great lines and hams it up with the best of them as Coach, Jensen's pit-boss who has lost track of how many years he's been in prison. His last line is the best though, listen toward the end of the race. Coach's pit crew includes Jacob Vargas as Gunner, the mechanic, and Frederick Koehler, as Lists, the mousey genius. Jason Clarke plays Ulrich, Hennessy's top guard and henchman.

In a movie dominated by the bloody three-stage race, my issue comes from the editing as it so often does with action movies of the last 10 years or so. The driving sequences are so hyper, so frantically cut that the scenes are almost indecipherable.  You can barely see what's going on with all the shaky cam, smoke and explosions.  Because of that, the driving scenes even get a little tedious.  How many times can you see one car blast away with machine guns and rockets at another? There are some cool surprises for the racers, but even that gets old fairly quickly.

Predictable, yes, but the last 15 minutes do provide a couple of solid twists.  You know those twists are coming because of some rather obvious hints, but they work regardless.  And if nothing else, the remake does try something different with its ending as opposed to going for the same one as the original.  It's a good enough movie to be judged on its own from the original, and that's always a good sign for a remake.

Death Race <---trailer (2008): ** 1/2 /****   

Four Brothers

Released in 1965 and starring John Wayne, The Sons of Katie Elder is an all-around underrated western and one of my favorite Duke movies. It's different from most westerns, and the sense of camaraderie that develops among the four main characters -- brothers reunited after their mother's death -- is a high point. I know I'm not exactly timely on the subject, but 2005's Four Brothers is a quasi-remake of the 1965 western, albeit set in Detroit as opposed to 1870s west Texas.

A likable and talented cast, a director with some solid movies to his name, and a story that worked well in its original form and should have worked here. Those were three things I thought would carry this movie. Soon after viewing the movie, I'm still surprised at my initial reaction to 'Brothers.' It is not just a bad movie. It is truly awful. I can't remember the last movie that disappointed me this badly. As things moved along, I laughed out loud at several scenes (scenes not meant to be funny either) and groaned at others.  No two ways about it, this movie stinks to the high heavens.

A well-known and highly respected foster parent, Evelyn Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan) is killed in a grocery store robbery, shot down by the two robbers. Four of her foster kids -- long since grown up -- including Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin of Outkast), Angel (Tyrese Gibson), and Jack (Garrett Hedlund) return home for her funeral. They want to know what's being done to bring in their mother's killers, but quickly realize the case is being brushed aside. Led by the fiery, hot-tempered Bobby, the brothers start investigating on their own, finding out that this wasn't just any random act of violence. Two Detroit detectives (Terrence Howard and Josh Charles) are close behind, trying to stop the brothers before more blood is shed.

One of my first reactions -- and there were a lot, mostly negative -- was that director John Singleton was trying to make a movie that was a throwback to the crime thrillers of the 1970s, blaxploitation flicks and seedy movies about the underworld, gangsters, and crime across the board. That's fine with me. The 1970s produced countless great crime movies. A tribute movie released in 2005 could have been a good idea, a movie honoring those that came before it. Instead, 'Brothers' gets so bogged down in cliches for characters and story, and trying to be cool, the whole movie falls flat on its face.

There are a lot of places to I could start off with and rip this movie apart. I'll start with the one that disappointed me the most. I've found myself defending Mark Wahlberg to haters of the actor for many of his roles, but this is the first performance I've seen of his that just does not work. He's supposed to be this born troublemaker with the most checkered of a past, but we never find out why. His Bobby also tries too hard to be ghetto, to be tough, and the effort does not work at all.  Gibson is the best of the bunch as Angel, but it's still not a great performance. Hedlund is a talented actor on the rise, but his James Dean impression is awful. One half of Outkast, Benjamin doesn't make much of an impression as Jeremiah, the one brother that seemingly amounted to something.

So with four main characters, none of them actually redeeming in any way, we've got a list of supporting characters that are ripped from the Screenwriters Cliche Guide textbook, stock characters used to death in the 1970s and ever since. Howard is the cop with mixed emotions, trying to balance his duty with what he believes is right. Charles is his crooked partner (no reasoning/explanation provided). Sofia Vergara plays Angel's girlfriend, Sofi, a character that requires her to be a fiery, hot-tempered Latina.  Stereotype much? The worst though is Chiwetel Ejiofor as Victor Sweet, the ridiculously over the top local kingpin, so hammy and over the top you can't even take the character seriously. Ejiofor is a gifted actor, but whether it's his interpretation or just poor writing, this is a character that is simply beneath him.

The acting handicaps the movie almost from the start, but there's so much more that is wrong here.  The brothers lead their own vigilante investigation, making jumps from one thing to another without a reason given. More than that, nothing is ever established in stone as to exactly what's going on. There are bad guys and badder guys, and apparently they all wanted to knock off this sweet old foster mother. I think I know what was going on, but then again, by about an hour in, I just didn't care. Awful movie, couldn't be more disappointed. Stick with The Sons of Katie Elder.

Four Brothers <---trailer (2005): */****  

Fast Five

I'm a sucker for the Fast and the Furious series. There I said it. After watching Tokyo Drift a few summers back, I talked with my cousin about how cool it would be if a sequel brought together all the stars of the first three F and F movies. It seemed like a natural progression. Team up all those cool tough guys. Now, I'm not saying I can predict the future or anything, but 2011's Fast Five hit theaters April 29 to huge business with basically that premise. Bring together all the stars from the first four movies (including Fast and Furious) and let them go to work. If this early -- very early -- summer release is any sign of things to come, it's going to be a fun summer at the movies.

What's odd about the franchise (to me at least) is that by the end of the first movie, racing almost became a secondary thing. By this movie -- the fifth in the franchise -- that trend continues. It's funny because like so many movies, the first one was really good and could have served as a stand-alone, single movie.  That's not how things work nowadays, and four sequels later, here I sit writing a review. I liked 2 Fast 2 Furious, enjoyed Tokyo Drift, enjoyed Fast and Furious, and to my complete surprise, I L-O-V-E-D Fast Five. Loved it. It follows the same formula (cool cast, badass cars, exotic locations, gorgeous women, awesome soundtrack) and amps it up to 10 or 11. This sounds like some bad line you would see on a movie poster, but I haven't had this much fun at a movie in a while, maybe back to the Bourne movies.

After freeing Dom Torreto (Vin Diesel) as he's being transported to prison, former FBI agent Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and his girlfriend, Mia (Jordana Brewster), are on the run, hiding out in Brazil as countless law enforcement agencies track them down. Needing some sort of bankroll, they take a job robbing three high-end cars but find out they've messed with the wrong guy. Three DEA agents are killed in the heist by enforcers from the local kingpin, Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), but the murders are pegged on Dom and Brian. Things closing in on them, they know they have to take down one last epic job and fade away, but to do so they're going to need a ton of money. Putting together a team of specialists and drivers, Dom and Brian put together a job that will hit Reyes where it hurts most, his drug money. The job seems impossible though as he's put all his money -- over $100 million -- in a bank vault...in a police station. As if that wasn't enough, a hardcore FBI agent, Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and his team are hunting Dom and Brian down, and nothing is going to stop him.

If you're a fan of the previous movies (even casually), this is the movie for you. Everyone is back. A little more than 45 minutes into the movie when Brian says "We need a team" there was a genuine buzz in the theater, that sense of 'Here we go, this is gonna be fun.' Rounding out the team is Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (hip-hop artist Ludacris) from 2 Fast 2 Furious, Han (Sung Kang) from Tokyo Drift, and Leo (Tego Calderon), Leo (Don Omar), and Gisele (Gal Gadot) from Fast and Furious. Even Vince (Matt Schulze) from the original is back. It's Fast and the Furious, the reunion tour, back after a 10-year absence! All these characters were really cool on their own, and then you throw them all into one movie? Too perfect. This is a men on a mission movie for a younger, hip hop audience. It's that team pulling off that one last dangerous, even suicidal, but necessary last job. As the movie developed, I just kept smiling. A ridiculously cool cast, a team of specialists working together, and trying to pull of an improbable heist. I'm in movie heaven.

You don't head into these movies thinking you'll be hearing Shakespearean dialogue, words spoken so eloquently and beautiful that it gives you faith in writing and movies. Not this series, and not anytime soon.  To counter that, I will say that this is a well-written movie. No, I'm not talking Academy Award winning stuff, but director Justin Lin and screenplay writer Chris Morgan clearly know their characters and how to have them interact. Some of the movie's best scenes come from the cast just hanging out, talking, busting each other's balls, planning out the job. There is an ease to the scenes that never comes across as contrived or forced, just a genuine group of friends working together. There's some laughs, some male bonding, some possible love connections brewing, so basically a little bit of everything. Something to please everyone in the audience.

To the credit of the franchise, they've always tried to keep things fresh. And here Fast Five is no exception. If you're going to assemble this team of super criminals/crooks and drivers, you need an opponent who is equally as big and bad, imposing just standing there. Enter stage left...Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson looking like he lived in the gym for several months prior to filming.  This guy looks absolutely jacked, like he could rip a man's head off with ease. His FBI agent Luke Hobbs is a great addition to the series. And thankfully, he's not some clueless dupe for Dom and Brian and Co. to keep on taking advantage of.  He's a worthy adversary, always keeping up with them. And yes, his one-on-one knock down, drag 'em out, it hurts just watching the confrontation fight with Vin Diesel is appropriately epic.  Two heavyweights beating the crap out of each other is just one of many highlights of this flick. Oh, and sequels? Yeah, it looks like the Rock will be back for more. Stick around through the credits. Also joining the cast -- because the gorgeous actress category hadn't been filled enough already -- is Elsa Pataky as Elena, a Brazilian police officer working with Hobbs' team.

Okay, enough with all this talk about characters and plot and dialogue. You go into these movies for the action, the blow you out of your seat, crazy, ridiculous could never happen in the real world action. All other things aside as mentioned earlier, this movie is an incredible action flick. The opening sequence showing Dom getting busted out of the prison bus is quick and hard-hitting in its effectiveness.  A railway heist on a speeding train is classic. A later chase through the Brazilian favelas shows how to do a foot-chase with multiple chases going on at once through the crowded backstreets of Rio de Janiero. And in a throwback to the racing roots of the franchise, an epic, truly epic quarter mile race between Dom, Brian, Han and Roman through Rio...in stolen police cars at that...is a thing of beauty. Action, this movie has plenty of it. You may be disappointed about any number of things. But action? No way. Even better is that the movie is edited so you can actually see what's going on. It is edited in that hyper-quick fashion, but never to the point where they're just incoherent blurs. As a fan of the sometimes incomprehensible Bourne movies, I say thank you.

All those action scenes mentioned, they pale in comparison to the finale. Driving some souped up cars, Dom and Brian attach an immense bank vault to their cars and chased by basically all of the corrupt cups in Rio try to make away with over $100 million bucks. The movie itself is 130 minutes long -- by far the longest in the series -- and I'm thinking that longer running time is because of this sequence. We're talking a full 15 minutes of non-stop chaos and action through Rio as this vault tears the city and its police up.  It's an orgy of explosions, crashes and fast cars that rivals The Blues Brothers in terms of fullscale destruction. That's the movie. Ridiculous amounts of fun. It's great to look at (Rio even in its squalor is incredibly visual) and the montage of where everyone ends up (to Don Omar's Danza Kuduro) is a great wrap-up. As for that post-credit scene, it certainly leaves it open for another sequel with a not so great twist. Who am I kidding? I'll be seeing that one too. Hopefully, it's just as good as this one.

Fast Five <---trailer (2011): ****/****

Flight of the Phoenix (2004)

Certain movies just don't need to remade, plain and simple. Of course, that doesn't mean they aren't remade like the original The Flight of the Phoenix from 1965 starring James Stewart, Richard Attenborough and a really solid supporting cast. It's a minor classic in it's own right and a memorable story of survival in awful conditions. So fast forward almost 40 years, and what do you know, remake!

When it hit theaters in 2004, I was one of the few -- very few, the movie made just over $20 million and was out of theaters in two or three weeks -- who went and saw it. The trailer sucked me in, and it looked like a good old-fashioned adventure movie. Decent cast? Check. Desperate survivor story in exotic location? Double check. Gun-wielding desert nomads? Oh, yes, very much so. Maybe it made a difference, but I hadn't seen the 1965 original when I saw the remake, who knows, but the remake, 2004's Flight of the Phoenix, is definitely worth a watch.

Flying to a desolate oil drilling location in Mongolia, pilot Frank 'Shut it down' Towns (Dennis Quaid) and his co-pilot AJ (Tyrese Gibson) are supposed to pick up all crew and equipment with the well not producing enough results. On-site company rep Ian (Hugh Laurie) never told team leader Kelly (Miranda Otto) the news so the well being shut down is news to her and her crew. Towns takes off heading for home, but the cargo plane runs into a horrific sandstorm that causes him to crash-land hundreds of miles off course in the Gobi desert.

So with enough food and water to last a month if rationed correctly, Towns and the survivors decide to wait for rescue. But after days of no sign of help, one of the survivors, a mysterious man named Elliott (Giovanni Ribisi) who was an airplane designer back home, says they can build a new plane out of the wreckage and fly home, most importantly before their supplies run out. Unwilling at first, Frank decides to go along with the seemingly impossible plan. Can the survivors accomplish the impossible as supplies dwindle?

Where the original went more for the drama in this life-or-death situation, the remake went more for entertainment value. One example? While rebuilding the plane, the survivors dance to Outkast's 'Hey, Ya!' Water be damned! There is the obvious conflict as the group decides what to do, but one thing they can all agree on is that if Elliott wasn't so important, they'd string him up as quick as they could. Credit goes to Ribisi who steals the movie as the arrogant, egomaniacal Elliott as he goes toe-to-toe with Quaid's Towns in a power-struggle. If there was a villain in a story where everyone is supposedly working together, it would be Ribisi.

The biggest differences between the two movies are two additions, Miranda Otto's character (can't have an all-male cast) who is a good add to the cast, and the arrival halfway through the movie of a roving band of gun-wielding smugglers. The smugglers/nomads drop in and out of the story as necessary -- making a key appearance late in the movie -- and do provide the movie's coolest scene, a tension-filled confrontation as Ian, AJ and Rodney (Tony Curran, the tough Scottish roughneck, the coolest survivor) see if they can trade for supplies without knowing if the smugglers intend to you know, kill them. With Massive Attack's Angel providing the sountrack in the scene, it's a shadowy, eerie, beautifully shot scene.

With the script placing certain limitations on characters, the cast does the best they can with what's given. The original, based on a novel by Elleston Trevor, spent a lot of time developing Towns, his co-pilot and the crew. Quaid is as reliable as ever as Joe Everyman, the unwilling leader trying to keep everyone alive, as is Tyrese as his sidekick/co-pilot. Joining Otto and Laurie is Curran, rapper Kirk 'Sticky Fingaz' Jones, Jacob Vargas as the Mexican cook Sammi, Scott Michael Campbell as Liddle, the fella who just wants to see his family, and Kevork Malikyan as Rady, the wise Middle Easterner.

Comparing original to remake is tricky because it's the same basic premise, a pretty ingenious one if you ask me, that goes down a different road in the execution. The original keyed in on story, characters and conflict, and doing it all believably. The remake went more for some action, a few laughs here and there, and some cool if not well-developed characters. The surprising thing is, the original is a better movie, but the remake is more fun to watch.

Flight of the Phoenix <----trailer (2004): ***/****

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Where do you even start with a movie like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen? I'm not one to pass up a midnight movie so I went and saw this last night with a sellout crowd. You know going in what you're getting, lots of action, explosions, crazy CGI, all the makeups of the classic summer blockbuster. I mildly liked the first movie so I went in with modest expectations at best for the sequel. Somehow though, it didn't even live up those low expectations, and I'm not even sure where to start.

A plot for a movie like this is about as unnecessary as it gets. It needs something to push the action forward and let the CGI take over from there. Here, even getting to that point is slow-going. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is off to college after saving the world from the Decepticons in the first movie with Optimus Prime and the Autobots. Life's pretty good for young Sam, he's got a gorgeous girlfriend, Mikaela (Megan Fox), and things have settled in nicely. But as he's moving, Sam finds a piece of the cube from the 1st movie with the little splinter giving him these crazy hallucinations with weird symbols.

Things develop and next thing you know new Decepticon leader Starscream is leading a rescue effort for Megatron, buried deep in an ocean trench, all in the hopes of helping the Fallen, a disgraced Decepticon, get back to Earth and take over the planet. There's more going on there, but it doesn't matter. The story bounces along and around so much it's hard to keep track of what's going on. Suffice it to say, most moviegoers aren't plopping down $11 to see Transformers for its well-written script.

So where to start? Just like the first movie, I enjoyed parts of the sequel and hated others. I'll get the negatives out of the way first. At 147 minutes, it's way too long. The Sam-to-college intro takes far too long to develop and tries too hard to get laughs including Sam's extremely annoying mother buying 'special' brownies and downing a whole bag. It's the type of college that never really exists, frat parties with strobe lights, pounding bass, beautiful girls dancing on tabletops and of course...cake with a serving knife. Uh, yeah, right.

In general, the humor is just too much from start to finish. Some good one-liners are needed in a movie like this, but not every other line of dialogue. Sam's parents, Kevin Dunn and Julie White, serve no purpose at all and provide many of the more groan-inducing lines, the Mom more than the Dad. Two new Autobots have been added, Mudflap and Skids, and might be the two most stereotypically offensive, annoying characters ever. SPOILER I hope they died in the battle with the sand-eating Decepticon, but I couldn't tell for sure.

Now for the action, what people pay to see right? Some criticisms of the 1st movie said there wasn't enough robot vs. robot action. Well, Bay took that too heart and overdoes it here. I'll give props when they're due. The CGI in both movies is so ridiculously good that at times I believe there's actually an Optimus Prime fighting Megatron. It rarely looks fake like so many other big budget blockbusters. But the problem for me is that when it comes down to it, it's still 2 nameless robots beating the crap out of each other. They're so detailed it's hard to even tell what's happening until one or the other rips his opponent's arm or head off. The finale in Egypt goes on far too long as robots go to town on each other.

To the casting now, both the good and the bad. I didn't care for LaBeouf much in the first movie, thought his character almost ruined Indiana Jones 4, but came around some when I saw Eagle Eye. He's actually pretty good here, toning down some of his eccentricities from the first one. He still yells too much just to yell, but it was his storyline that kept me at least somewhat interested. That storyline is with smoking girlfriend Mikaela, the babely Megan Fox. By no means a great actor, she's believable here as Sam's girlfriend, their relationship in general is pretty believable. Bay of course know his audience and has Fox running in slow motion in a ton of shots as you can see above, I lost track after 7, and changing and undressing and posing on motorcycles. I am that audience so I'm not complaining, just pointing it out.

My favorite part of the first one was the soldiers, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese, dealing with the appearance of the Decepticons in the Middle East. It didn't seem as forced as the rest of the movie. Two years later in the sequel, they've been upgraded to the NEST program, a joint operation betwen U.S. forces and the Autobots to protect the Earth. Their characters aren't given much to do, but they're cool characters even if they talk in overused, well-known movie cliches like "This isn't going to end well" and "What the hell is that?"

John Turturro returns as Agent Simms and with new arrival Ramon Rodriguez as Leo, Sam's roommate, a conspiracy theorist, provide the most annoying pairing in the movie. Turturro, almost always dead on in his parts, provides most of the comic relief or at least attempts at it but is just too overdone to be enjoyed. Rodriguez is required to scream every few minutes and look worried before saying something stupid. Other than that, no big casting changes although Australian beauty Isabel Lucas is good in a small part as Alice, a fellow freshman with the hots for Sam.

That's the movie in a nutshell, well a big nutshell I guess. I realize that with summer blockbusters we're not looking for all-time classics, but I do want to be entertained. By the last 40 minutes or so, I was bored to tears hoping all the robots would just kill each other and be done with it. It felt to me like Michael Bay came up with all these great ideas, threw them in a blender and started filming. The movie's all over the place with no real sense of direction other than crazy, stupid action, and even Megan Fox's hotness can't save it although she tries her best. And brace yourself, there's a third one coming! GASP! Keep it in mind when we're supposed to think Sam's dead. Ooops, spoiler alert.