A few years ago, if you’d told me that I’d be listing a Vin Diesel picture as one of the best films of the summer, I would have laughed in your face. The actor is not known for his dramatic chops, and his films are hardly Oscar bait. His street-racing Fast and Furious franchise, where he stars as ex-con Dom Toretto, is a prime example of fare praised only for its cheap thrills, if at all. But then, in 2011, something strange happened. I walked out of that summer’s Fast Five, which saw the series’ protagonists pulling off a ridiculous bank heist in Rio, with a big, stupid grin on my face and the pieces of a rave review already coming together in my head. Against all odds, Fast Five had vindicated the series from the repressive car-porn confines of its predecessors, turning it into something much more interesting, complete with intense gun fights, jaw-dropping brawls between Diesel and new addition Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and a new air of zippy fun.
This summer’s Fast & Furious 6 was the same kind of high-octane popcorn pleasure. Playfully ludicrous but never plain dumb, the movie pushed the series further away from street-racing with a globe-trotting, action-packed plot. In the film, Diesel’s gang of car-racing crooks teams up with Johnson’s DSS agent Hobbs to take down essentially their evil doppelgangers – a crew of mercenaries led by Owen Shaw (Luke Evans, enjoyably menacing). The draw? Toretto’s presumed-dead girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is alive and working alongside Shaw.
Stuffed to brim with eye-popping action sequences, Fast & Furious 6 succeeds by never taking itself too seriously or getting bogged down by matters of plot. Director Justin Lin knows what audience members are there to see, and his film delivers more than any other installment in the series. A London-set car chase early in the film is loopy, fiery fun. Rodriguez and MMA fighter Gina Carano trade blows in a harrowing subway-set brawl as savage as it is exhilarating. A Spanish highway becomes a battleground as the crew takes on the tank-toting Shaw. And the film’s climax, set on the world’s longest airplane runway, is a dizzying, hell-for-leather, no-brains-attached masterpiece of action cinema.
Despite myself, I’ve grown to care about the badass adrenaline junkies at the center of this series, and this film gives me a lot of hope for their future. Though it’s frivolous and sometimes over-the-top, Fast & Furious 6 is also the best blockbuster of the 2013 movie season, mixing spectacle, humor and heart in tremendous ways no one ever could have expected from this franchise.
[h2]Limited: Redemption[/h2]
Jason Statham, though often typecast in blustery and bombastic action fare, really can act. This indie thriller, the directorial debut of Dirty Pretty Things screenwriter Steven Knight, is potentially the most thoughtful film the actor has ever done, and it’s certainly one of his most gripping.
Redemption, released in the UK as Hummingbird, follows Joey Jones (Statham), an ex-Special Forces officer hounded by his experiences in the Afghan war. Returning to the streets of London, Joey falls into alcoholism and drug abuse, only getting another chance at salvation after a random twist of fate. With the help of comely nun Christina (Agata Buzek), he attempts to get his life on track and become a good man.
No Jason Statham film would be complete without action sequences, and Redemption has its fair share, especially when Joey goes looking for the twisted white-collar serial abuser who killed his young working girlfriend. The film deserves credit for never overstepping with its violence, only allowing Joey to crack skulls when he has no other option. Most of Redemption is a character piece, exploring Joey’s fractured psyche and conflicted morality. This the film does very well. Statham showcases a vulnerability and range that we rarely see from him, and his performance is positively mesmerizing.
Redemption also captivates visually. Set mostly at night, the film revels in the grimy darkness of London’s seedy criminal underbelly, and an atmosphere of decay is palpable in every shot. Cinematographer Chris Menges inflects every shot with deep meaning and fully brings to life the film’s nightmarish urban landscape.
Exploring heavy ideas of war, poverty, class inequality, crime and guilt, Redemption has a lot on its mind and raises some truly thought-provoking questions. Its ideas and execution will stay with you long after the credits roll. For an exemplary performance by Statham, its gritty feel and philosophical quandaries, Redemption is certainly worth your time. It was one of the most unexpected pleasures of my summer.
— Isaac Feldberg