Fast Five Review

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Time for some more Fast and Furious action. This film really dials up the action and turns the series into more of an epic thriller. It’s a transition that works well for the series as it is easily the best film I’ve seen yet. The first 4 can’t touch this one. You’ll be at the edge of your seat for the whole movie and the fight between Vin and Dwayne that is hyped up for the whole film really ends up matching that suspense. It’s going to be tough to top this one going forward.

The movie starts off with showing us how Brian and Mia broke Dom out of prison. More specifically, they break him out of the truck driving him to prison. The gang then end up trying one more robbery to get some money but it turns out to be a trick to bump them off. Dom and friends escape but not before a few agents end up getting murdered by the villains. Naturally this turns into a frame up with the government calling in Hobbs, the greatest agent of them all.

Dom and Brian have big plans though and they don’t have time to flee. They want to take revenge on the mobster who framed them and what better way than stealing all of his money right? They’re going to pull off a heist but to do this they will need the best of the best. So they call in various characters from the first 3 films and prepare to race the clock. Can they get the money or will they be caught by Hobbs?

Right away this film is just so much more interesting than the others. I like when you’ve got multiple parties running around all aiming for different things and this film pulls that off really well here. You’ve got the mobsters, the heroes, and Hobbs’ group. Technically speaking while Hobbs is rather extreme, his group are the only heroes here. Dom and Brian are repeat criminals and if they weren’t betrayed in the first scene they would have gone through with the mission. This time they’re stealing from other criminals which is more of a gray area (Personally I’m cool with it. The criminals are basically officially sanctioned at this point so the only one who can stop them is Dom and the gang) but Hobbs and his group are official government agents who do their best to uphold the peace.

They may not look too much into the situation but then again that’s not necessarily bad. In this case of course Dom was framed but Hobbs is right that it’s not really their job to look into that. Odds are that being framed is rather rare and that’s something you wait for the courts to decide. Not everyone can be a vigilante or things would really start to go off the rails right away.

I also liked Hobbs group. For one thing they are shown to be highly competent. They have several fights with the mobsters and they manage to come out on top each time. Until the climax of the film they don’t even take any injuries and win quite cleanly. After seeing so many films where the agents lose to untrained thugs it was a nice change of pace. Meanwhile Hobbs has a lot of the best lines throughout the film.

One hype moment is when the translator Hobbs hired starts looking through the files and saying that it doesn’t make sense. Hobbs throws the papers away and says that this makes sense (The action of throwing it away) and it was just such an out of the box answer that I found it hilarious. Hands down it was my favorite line in the film. In general I also really liked the banter between him and Dom. Both of these guys are the definition of the “tough guy” character so they don’t tend to back off.

The fight between them was also the best fight in the series without question. They were throwing each other through walls and even leaving dents in the car with each hit. You can see how the characters were starting to get superhuman here. Throughout the movie there’s a lot of good action. You can’t really expect to see any big races here this time but the brief racing that we do get looks pretty solid. I liked the scene where all of the main characters have a big race although you won’t be surprised at how things turn out.

The effects are good as always and the character cast is also at its best. Hobbs aside, Dom is a great character as always too. He looks after his family first and foremost. The guy has a lot of drive and can fight with the best of them. He has a good conversation with Brian about his father. The two may not always see eye to eye but at the end of the day Dom always has his back.

As for Brian, he’s also a pretty solid character as always. He’s not quite as smart or capable as Dom but he doesn’t let this hold him back. He’s still the second toughest member of the team and comes in clutch when needed. Then you have Mia who also helps out a lot in the fights. It’s pretty tough for her since she’s expecting a kid soon but doesn’t let this hold her back.

Now for the rest of the heist crew, I wouldn’t say they’re the most memorable guys around but they’re okay. Roman and Tej get their moments as each person uses their specialty skill to help out. Gisele has a lot of confidence and keeps the others at bay although the way she manages to help out could have been handled a bit differently. You sort of know exactly how things are going to go down early on. Meanwhile that pretty much got rid of Han’s big moment so he didn’t have one here. It was nice to see him…but he ultimately didn’t really contribute. Elena was a solid newcomer to the series. She’s a cop who couldn’t be bought off the way that all the others were. That alone already makes her a pretty solid character and she also has a great motivation which helps make her such a tough character. Elena jumped into danger on multiple occasions and really ended up contributing.

So there’s a lot to like in this film. On the weaknesses side the film still jumps whole heartedly into the fanservice angle. The writing isn’t always great with the side characters making a lot of comments that make you want the villains to bump them off already. In a way maybe it’s for the best that we cut out the racing from these films since that’s all that really happens when the heroes get to the track. I found it pretty ironic that the actual race was cut out so we only got the atmosphere instead. If the writing could be tightened up a bit and we get past the unnecessary moments then the film will really make it into the great territory. Now, there are a lot of funny lines as well so don’t get me wrong but the film isn’t super consistent is what I would say. Tokyo Drift still has the best ending in the series but this one is very solid. It wraps everything up quite nicely.

Overall, This is the best installment in the series yet so it feels like things are moving up now. This is more like what I expect from the series just based on what I knew about it before actually entering the franchise. We get to see a lot of cool looking cars, rock songs, and an intense main cast. The fact that we’ve finally gotten into a lot of big hand to hand fights only helps. I would go as far as to say you could basically start with this film and you’re set since the first scene recaps the important part of the last film anyway.

Overall 7/10

Fast & Furious Review

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It’s time to continue to the Fast and the Furious series. This time we’re going away from Tokyo and back to the main plot with Dom. You’ll get your share of explosive race scenes here and a pretty good story. The film still holds itself back a bit with its reliance on fanservice but you will get some hype rock songs to keep you in the mix. I don’t think it quite tops Tokyo Drift’s soundtrack but that one still has one of the more iconic film end songs.

The movie starts out with Dom and the gang stealing some more gold as they take down a truck. He feels like it’s all getting a little too dangerous though and decides to put some distance between himself and the rest of the family. Things are quiet for a while but then his friend Letty is murdered by a gang lord. Everyone warns Dom that he shouldn’t pursue this since the guy is an incredibly infamous villain but that’s not going to stop him. You don’t mess with family after all.

Then you have the other main character Brian who has been put back on the task force. He has not had the best track record as of late so this might be his last shot. He barely captures someone after an extended chase scene but he gets some clues. At the same time as Dom, Brian finds out about a big race that is about to happen. The winner gets to transport some of the goods which means that it is the perfect time to find the gang lord. Only one person can win the race though so this is going to get close.

The movie does a good job of contrasting each of the characters’ theme music. In Tokyo Drift the main character had an electronic theme that fit in with the neon atmosphere of Tokyo. Here Dom always gets a fast paced Spanish song and Brian gets an intense rock tune. They’ve all got different ways of handling their business after all even if there are a good amount of similarities. The soundtrack is definitely on point and reaches the intense levels you would expect here.

Fast & Furious doesn’t hold back with the special effects either. It looks good throughout with a lot of fun cars involved. The action scenes are good and the pacing is on point so the film doesn’t drag out. If anything you just wish it could be longer at times since it’s all over in the blink of an eye. The first race doesn’t even happen til almost halfway into the film. It’s cool for setting up the action that is about to happen but it also means that you can’t expect too many different races. The climax has a lot of action though. There’s a lot you can do with cars and that’s really the appeal of these films. Whenever Dom uses the nitro I’m reminded of the various racing games for Gamecube.

On the flip side, as always the movie does tend to dwell on its own fanservice issues a little too much. The characters inevitably go to night clubs and such where everyone is acting really sketchy. One of the villains certainly has a pretty cringe worthy setup going for him before Brian brings in the cops. I could do without those scenes so we could focus more on the action. None of the romances are particularly impressive here either and could really be cut out without any issues.

As for the main characters, I still prefer Dom to Brian. Dom really gets the job done and feels like an experienced veteran when it comes to racing. While Brian did appear to have the edge in the race, Dom always makes up for this with his own creativity on the track. As he is in revenge mode a lot here, you can expect a lot of intense scenes with him breaking into places and taking people down. He’s certainly a strong fighter.

Brian is still a good character too though. He is pretty torn at the moment with his friends and also with upholding the law. His agency looks a lot less reasonable here though as they jump in before he gives the signal and one guy in particular was trying to give him a hard time. Brian didn’t let that slide though and I liked how he landed a pretty good combo right away. He’s no pushover.

Then you have some of the supporting characters like Mia who is still pretty upset at Brian for his choices when they first met. The guy did lead off with a lot of lies and deception so you can see why there would be some sore feelings there. She seems like a good character and will hopefully get to do more soon. Letty doesn’t get to appear for very long before things get dicey for her but she was not someone who would back down from a tough mission. She did her best to the end.

None of the villains are particularly memorable though. You have the guy who took out Letty and he acts as evil and petty as possible. There’s just nothing really making him stand out from any other gangster. You know that he is doomed the moment he messed with Dom’s family. There’s Gisele who seems rather high up in the villain ranks but she doesn’t really get to race here. Hopefully that’ll change soon.

Overall, Fast & Furious is a fun way to bring the cast back. I’d like the films to really start focusing more on the races and less on the nightclub kind of scenes. Once it does that I think we’ll be off to the races so to speak. I do think it beats the first two films in the series though. Does it beat Tokyo Drift? That’s a pretty close one but ultimately I would give it the narrow edge. Due in part to the end stinger but I also liked how much influence it took from the Need for Speed series. Dom is definitely a better main character than the last guy though. We’ll see how the series continues from here because I’m really looking forward to seeing when the series goes really off the rails with the stunts and everything.

Overall 4/10

Thunderhead: Son of Flicka Review

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Uh oh, it’s time to go back to the adventures of good ole Flicka. Let me tell you, this is not a story for the faint of heart. It has drama, intensity, and a lot of other horses. While the film is going for a much more dramatic vibe than the first film, it ultimately fails due to the same faults. As I said in my earlier review, perhaps this is just something that is extremely difficult to escape for any film based around a horse.

Many years have passed since the first film and Ken is not much more ready when it comes to having another horse. Time isn’t going to wait now though as Flicka has a kid named Thunderhead. Thunderhead is extremely wild of course and doesn’t want to live inside the farm cage. He wants to be a free spirit who can just run around as he pleases. Ken is determined to break-in Thunderhead which has always been a rather odd term but effectively it means to get him trained. The problem is that Ken isn’t very strong so he has to be careful not to injure himself.

In the more dramatic subplot, we learn that there was once a stallion of incredible power. He was as white as a sheet of snow and would often visit the various ranches/farms in order to steal a bunch of horses and have a bunch of kids. This guy even gets villain music and has a pretty unique design for a horse. For years he has continued to haunt the main characters but nobody could ever catch him. If they don’t do something soon, there will be no more horses to protect.

So as you can see, this is going to be a very difficult situation for the characters. It’s also a sub-plot that should raise a lot of red flags because for the horses who fight back against the Stallion, they can never win. Some brave horses try fighting back but are all promptly murdered by this beast. It’s a shame because they were just trying to do the right thing and paid for it.

I was surprised that the film had so much action. Naturally this even leads to a big climax battle with Thunderhead. Here’s the issue of course, you can’t have big animal fights without animal violence. It’s not going to happen and these fights get pretty brutal. At one point you even have Thunderhead stomping another horse to death. It’s off screen as you can only see the stomping and not the other horse but that was pretty brutal.

This installment definitely ramps everything up compared to the first film. So right off the bat this one couldn’t be salvaged but at least it is easier to find some silver linings here compared to the first. I liked the idea of a big race with the horses. It actually felt like this movie had more of a central focus compared to the first one as a result.

The main race is fairly quick but it made for a pretty intense scene. Ultimately it does show that Thunderhead is the fastest horse but being the fastest doesn’t always mean you will claim victory. As a main character while Ken may be ever so slightly improved from the first film, I still don’t like him. He quits rather easily and gets really upset at his horse the whole time. He’s not a very good leader nor is he someone you would want to follow. He wasn’t ready for another horse and is basically just a cheerleader in the climax as he watches the two horses fight.

The supporting characters have less of a role this time compared to the first film. For example the parents are still around but don’t do much. The Mom helps Ken by getting him a uniform and the Dad ultimately relents to him entering the race but that’s about it. Not a whole lot would change if they weren’t even in the film. Likewise the sister is mainly here to call in the grownups when Ken is messing up but that’s about it.

Thunderhead was a good horse though. He’s pretty tough and ultimately has some heroic traits like how he charged into battle. Thunderhead is quite free willed but I wouldn’t say he ever makes the wrong call except for randomly running into the field at one point instead of following the path. That felt pretty random and maybe even a bit forced but otherwise he was on point. Definitely a leader that you could follow into battle at any time.

As mentioned, the more interesting plot is with the mysterious Stallion even if you know that it’s not going to end well. I’ll give the film credit for having a real soundtrack this time. It’s not every day that you have a hype villain theme like what this film had. The writing is okay as well I suppose. It was nice seeing more of general society like the race track betters. I’d like to see more of that in future installments. Perhaps a change in scenery would do the film good. I’m not sure how you would squeeze the horses into a city plot like that but maybe you don’t. Make this more of a human based story instead.

Overall, Thunderhead, Son of Flicka ultimately loses to the first film. While it wins in some areas like the soundtrack and story, it ultimately doubles down on the horse deaths and showing that they live in a very dangerous world. I was rooting for Thunderhead to escape while Ken was trying to tame him the whole time. Thunderhead knows that he is destined to be a King and needs space to move around. In that way he is a lot like Spirit, king of his herd. Surprisingly Flicka barely has a role here at all. The whole jumping out from the water is probably her last big scene in the film. I suppose she already had a complete movie experience but I was expecting more moments. Either way you’re going to want to give this one a skip.

Overall 1/10

Dr Zagart vs Zeo

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Dr. Zagart may have some ambitious plans but he is no match for Zeo. To an extent you may feel bad for him. He has the kind of character motivation that can still be sympathetic even if you can’t abide by it since the end doesn’t justify the means. He isn’t really a fighter either so Zeo would be able to quickly crush him. For a brief time Zeo even became the most powerful Beyblader of them all even if he ended up being surpassed. Zeo wins.

Sujin Lee vs Mori Jin

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Sujin Lee is a character who I liked a lot in the earlier seasons but she dropped off hard towards the end. All you need to know is that she has slacked off a lot and is addicted to cheeseburgers. Nothing wrong with the latter I suppose but she is no longer on Mori’s level in the slightest. He would have no problem taking her down in a fight even when she activates her ability to block his powers. Mori’s speed and pure technique would still give him the advantage every time. Mori Jin wins.

Mujin Park vs Bass

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Mujin Park is a pretty big member of the GOH cast. The guy has big plans for the world and ultimately wants to be on top of it. With his abilities by the end of the series there are few who can match him so who better to take him on than Bass? Bass is the ultimate god slayer, a being above all others who would dare oppose him. Bass’ Darkness Overload attack would quickly take Mujin to the cleaners. His speed isn’t nearly enough to stop the Overlord of Darkness! Bass wins.

Brooklyn vs Andrew

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Brooklyn may have started out as a rather bland character without a lot of personality but he quickly ended up changing that. By the end he was an intense villain and Andrew would have his work cut out for him here. Andrew was the champ of Beyblade for a while but you have to wonder how few players actually competed in the school since the guy was as weak as you can imagine. Brooklyn would take him down in a single blow. Brooklyn wins.

Ray vs Lee

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Ray is one of the main Beyblade heroes and by the end of the series the guy is one of the best to ever play in the dish. He has given Kai and Tyson tough fights in the past, something that I highly doubt Lee would be able to do. The series was pretty rough on Lee fans but I wouldn’t say I ever liked the guy all that much anyway. Ray is the leader of the team for a reason and would quickly finish Lee off. Ray wins.

Ilpyo Park vs Mori Jin

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Ilpyo was my favorite character in the show but in the Webtoon he ultimately ended up falling quite hard. I’m not sure if I would even have him in my top 10 anymore. Still, he is powerful so there aren’t too many characters in the verse who could hope to defeat him. Naturally Mori is still one of those fighters though. A few quick combos would take Ilpyo down for the count. Mori Jin wins.

Mira Yu vs Xiaochen

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Xiaochen returns but now she is up against Mira, the main heroine of GOH. Mira was a fairly weak character for quite a while but the series turned this into an active plot point that was quite impressive. Her desire to get stronger became the complete focus of her character until she finally achieved such abilities. Right now Xiaochen would not stand a chance against her and just gets completely overwhelmed in speed, strength, and technique. Mira Yu win.