Fast And Furious 6

Thank you god for ensuring that my weekend was not completely ruined.  Thank you god for creating a director like Justin Lin who genuinely believes in the concept of raising the bar every single time he gets behind that lens.  That, is the only success formula for a hugely successful franchise that continues to enthrall audiences across the world every time they decide to make another one.

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen

It was quite obvious at the end of the first edition of Transformers in 2007 that the sequel was only a matter of time away. And 2 years from the original is near perfect timing for any sequel. Not a rocket scientist in these matters but it kind of gives enough runway for the movie to settle down in people’s minds and with the correct marketing that starts about 6 months before the sequel you have created a solid platform to cash in on the hype that is created. All of this of course on the back of a successful first movie of course. And Transformers 1 left quite a mark on most of its audiences with superb use of special effects and more importantly, a tech breed of super heroes which no one has seen before. And especially so in India where the Hasbro Toys probably went on sale only after the movie released. I am not sure if the comic books were in circulation before. I hadn’t heard about the Transformers till I saw the movie – probably a deprived childhood I guess ;).

Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen (TROTF) takes us back a few millennia where the ancestors of the current Transformers have been searching the universe for more sources of Energon - Energon is the life source of inhabitants of Cybertron in case you have forgotten, through something called the All Spark. The Dynasty of Primes as they are called – probably because they were the first few ones – built a machine that would go from planet to planet and harverst / drain the energy from the suns / stars of the respective planets and convert it to Energon which would power the All Spark. They also decide that all life bearing planets would not be used for this purpose. However, one Prime decided that it was a silly rule and constructed a harvester on earth. Needless to say, the rest of the Dynasty wasn’t too pleased with this and tried to stop him. Left with no choice, they take the Matrix of Leadership – the key to the harvester – and hide it in a secret location. To protect it further, they build a tomb around it with their own bodies thereby making it untraceable. The defector Prime has since been dubbed – The Fallen. The dynasty does leave some clues about its existence through some markings and that’s where our heroes Sam (Shia LeBouf) and Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) come in. The former to crack the code and find the matrix. The latter because only a Prime can kill The Fallen.

TROTF would make one believe that it has almost been inspired in Star Wars style where in Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back. Also clearly indicating in Star Wars style that there will be another one to follow where the “Jedi Return” in all probability. One would not be too far away from the truth but the essence of the 2nd edition, I believe is to familiarize people with what happened before and more importantly set you all up for a fantastic 3rd edition. Not a movie with stellar performances in any way. Just brilliant effects on lines of the first edition. Continued emphasis on sound which was the hallmark of the first edition and continues to be so even in TROTF. Whether the 3rd one turns out to be as good as part 1 or better remains to be seen. Transformers – Dark of the Moon releases today in India. Considering that the combination of Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg are still involved, I am betting on it being as good as the ones before. TROTF gets a 6 on 10 from my side. Little lower than the first part but quite solid.

Watch the trailer of TROTF at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2982019609/ and TDOTM at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi543989017/

Transformers

Four years since the first edition of Transformers too this world by storm if I were to put it very mildly. The world was introduced to characters which weren’t seen before and which were fascinating and unimaginable to say the least. Cars which converted themselves to robots which were larger than life itself and ditto for airplanes and cranes in fact anything to do with automobiles. We were introduced to the fascinating existence of Cybertron and its inhabitants – The Autobots led by Optimus Prime and The Decepticons led by the vicious Megatron. As the story goes, a war between the 2 major tribes or so to speak in a galaxy far far away leads the Autobots to flee with their immense source of power – the AllSpark – and hide it in our very own planet earth. The All Spark has the immense capability of giving life to all technology be it a mixer grinder or an air conditioner or a computer. All of this was over 150 years back. In the current day, the Autobots are back to claim what was rightfully theirs in the first place – The All Spark – and yet again, they are not alone coz the Decepticons have gladly joined the party. Fasten your seat belts folks cause if you haven’t seen this one then you have missed one of the best ever Sci Fi / Action movies made to date.

Steven Spielberg could not have picked up a better person to direct the first of his trilogy (to date and hopefully many many more to come). Michael Bay shot to fame with Bad Boys and then The Rock. It wasn’t surprising because not too often do you see a director of an action movie paying as much attention to detail as Michael Bay. He makes use of sound like very few other directors that I have seen – not that I have seen too many very honestly but the use of sound in Transformers especially when the Autobots actually Transform themselves is quite superb. The special effects with Michael Bay are unquestionable and without them it would obviously be impossible to get Transformers to life. All of this was from a bunch of toys which eventually got converted to a comic book series – Incredible!!!!

Don’t look out for much on the acting front although Shia Le Bouf is definitely quite solid. Wonder how they got Hugo Weaving’s voice to sound like it does through Megatron. Amazingly eerie. Megan Fox provides the required levels of eye candy (sizzling eye candy actually).

All in all, Transformers has shows right from the first release that there is room for a sequel and considering that Spielberg had the foresight to sign up Bay for 3 editions, we are on the verge of the release of Transformers Dark of the Moon tomorrow. Have a wonderful time folks. Transformers I gets a 7 on 10 from my side. Hope TDOM is as good.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi973209625/ and that of and TDOTM at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi543989017/

Fast 5 - Rio Hiest

And for the action geek, for those who thrive on speed, for those whose fix is a chase sequence in a movie that lasts for a good 7-10 minutes, for the ultimate action aficionado – there is one name which gets their juices flowing and rushing to the theatre with a willingness to spend whatever is put up as the price for the ticket. That one franchise from Hollywood which has regaled action freaks for exactly a decade now and promises to entertain for a few more typically has 2 words. One of them is called Fast. No points for guessing the other one. In its 5th edition, the makers have chosen to ignore the 2nd typical word and go with a more compact FAST 5. There are man movies and then there are more man movies and then there are those who scream out MAN MOVIE!!!! Fast Five is in the 3rd category without a doubt. And for those who genuinely have a doubt I suggest you watch Fast 5 and judge for yourself. If you still have a doubt, a serious brain over haul is recommended by this writer.


Replete with sequences of car heists from trains, stealing safes from banks and high speed car chases through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Fast 5 is a treat for even those who can tolerate action movies. Starting with the first sequence where our lovey dovey couple of Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) decide that they are not going to let Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) spend 25 years in jail. So they first get him out of the prison car in absolutely daring fashion. But Dom decides to disappear after that. The couple continue onto Rio where they are supposed to hook up with Dom @ Vince’s (Matt Schulze) place. Dom doesn’t turn up at the place but does appear miraculously in the train when they are jumping 3 cars. What the 3 of them are unaware of is that the cars are under supervision of the DEA and that the job is for Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) who owns Rio. When 3 DEA agents are gunned down, the blame of the killing falls squarely on our heroes. They need to redeem themselves and so get their strike team back together - Gisele Harabo (Gal Gadot), Han Lue (Sung Kang), Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Ludacris), Tego Leo (Tego Calderon) and Rico Santos (Don Omar). But there is one teeny weeny problem who goes by the name of Special Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Douglas Johnson) who has been deputed to bring our “killers” back home.

Fast Cars – really fast cars, Fast bikes, men with rippling muscles, hot chicks – correction super hot babes, Super sizzling woman on a bike, Extremely hot Brazilian cop, Awesome chases, great fights – especially one between The Rock and Vin Diesel, a absolutely apt background score to complement the action and did I mention sizzling babes (I must have) – the only thing that I can think of that was missing was acting. Now Now dears – whatever made you get your expectations up on that front. If that was present then Fast 5 would have reached the Oscars. Justin Lin has directed 3 movies in the franchise including this one. And I see no reason why he will not do so in the next one – yet again, please stay till the end credits – the 6th edition will have some even more sizzling babes – Eva Mendes and Michelle Rodrigues to begin with. As mentioned earlier, if you think you can tolerate action movies even a wee bit, you will find Fast 5 entertaining enough. 12 on 10 for the action. Overall rating of 6 on 10 from my side.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1723702553/