Way too long and it too often veers too close to "self-serious" territory, while also having some of the most outlandish concepts of the series yet. A real mixed bag, with Cena honestly being kind of disappointing and some goofy flashback stuff that I'm not totally sold on. I'm a lot less interested in the "mythos-heavy" F&F movies and this one is definitely all about the lore.
Like an alarming amount of blockbusters, this is Too Damn Long. However! This is dramatically off-set by the audaciously stupid and delightfully entertaining action set-pieces. What a bunch of incredibly implausible and utterly watchable horseshit! I'm just plumb tickled by a series return to unabashed stupidity a la the second film. Better yet, they get rid of Gal Gadot in extraordinary fashion, which really seals the deal for me.
Finally, I am experiencing the unhinged lunacy of the latter Fast and Furious films that I was expecting from Fast Five. Easily the best one after 2 Fast 2 Furious.
I know this one is beloved, has been since release, and I just do NOT get it.
Technically, I've seen most of this film twice before. However, without fail, no matter the circumstances, I fell asleep both times and never fully finished. Even this time watching the film—even with being more invested and having context I did not have during previous attempts—I fucking fell asleep, had to stop it and rewind in order to finish. And, boy howdy, this film…
This one is a total dud, the first outright non-starter of the series. It's so terrifically flaccid, completely lacking in style, and, in spite of a 99-ish minute runtime, it feels about three hours long. It took me, like, 3/4ths of a whole day to actually watch this because I kept pausing it and walking away to watch other, better movies and, like, run errands.
Surely it is no coincidence that this features the first appearance of Gal Gadot in…
This would be a full-blown five-star review if not for the third act that fucking drags and ruins the momentum. It's like the complete inverse of the first Fast and the Furious film, which finished so strong.
Otherwise, this is an actual masterpiece of trash cinema. It's a perfect time capsule of everything good and (mostly) bad about 2006, but accidently fraught with deeply closeted homosexual intent. Lucas Black, a genuine Alabaman in his early 20s at the time, plays…
"The Gang Stamps Out a Frontier Rebellion"
Ah, finally, after an origin story and an extended, tepid retread of Wrath of Khan, we're finally treated to an original Star Trek story (well, as far as I know, since I haven't seen but a handful of Voyager, TNG, and DS9 episodes). And it's pretty good, relatively speaking.
The screenplay is, at it's best, light and fun, with some solid emotional beats and some touching tributes to the late Leonard Nimoy and…