A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord. From: IMDb.com

A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Gary Fleder

Starring: James Franco, Jason Statham, Winona Ryder and others

Current release date:  November 27, 2013

A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord. From: IMDb.com

A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Gary Fleder

Starring: James Franco, Jason Statham, Rachelle Lefevre and others

Current release date:  November 27, 2013

A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Gary Fleder

Starring: James Franco, Rachelle Lefevre, Jason Statham and others

Current release date: November 27, 2013

All of these Jason Statham movies sort of start to blend together after a while. He always looks the same, he always sounds the same and he just always plays the same sort of character, in all of his movies. To some extent, that's also true for this movie, though at the same time it's also still being a different enough movie. Different, in this case, doesn't equal good however.

This movie definitely feels more British-like than American-like. With that I mean that it's being a more subtle and quiet type of 'acton' movie, that's more about its characters and underlying themes and emotions. So it really isn't an overblown Hollywood genre flick, with tons of explosions, shootouts and chase scenes, though I definitely wouldn't have minded this movie being just a tad bit more Hollywood like, with its action, story and characters at times. That way, I would have most likely been entertained more, as I was with the current movie.

It's not necessarily a bore- or snorfest but it still definitely is a bit of a too slow movie at times. 30 minutes in and the movie still hasn't really picked up a good main plot line. For the longest time it's actually hard to tell where the story is heading at, since it makes all kinds of jumps and turns. And not the type of jumps and turns that add to the movie its mystery or tension but the jumps and turns that feel kind of pointless and confusing instead.

I can definitely see what this movie was trying to do and achieve with its story approach and atmosphere but unfortunately it failed, on most levels. First and foremost, it fails to delver an engaging enough story. There isn't really any good mystery, there isn't any good tension and the Statham character never becomes an interesting enough one, despite all of the movie its hard efforts.

Not trying to sound too harsh abut this movie, since it's definitely still a 'watchable' enough one. It never gets terrible, though some people are most definitely still going to feel bored with it. However those who are more able to like and appreciate a slower and more subtle type of action movie, there still is some enjoyment to take out of this movie.

Not the worst movie you'll ever see but not exactly the most effective one either.

5/10

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It's good to see that the series is improving and maturing with basically every new movie but it still has a long road to go!

Maybe, just maybe this is my favorite movie out of the series, as of yet. Reason why I liked it was because it had some more depth and decent emotions to it, as the characters have clearly matured more over the past few years.

As an action movie, it's on to par as well with other modern recent genre flick, such as "A Good Day to Die Hard", "The Expendables" movies and "Olympus Has Fallen", just to name a random few, that come to mind. Movies that are not all that great story-wise but still movies that serve their purpose and beside offer some well executed and fine looking action moments in it. Movies that still have plenty wrong with them but remain watchable enough ones, for what they are.

And sure, once you really start analyzing this movie, it's a pretty far fetched and dumb one, that often doesn't make any sense but if you decide to just go along with it, chances are you will be having a pretty good time with it. It doesn't really ever slow down and features plenty of (long) action sequences in it to enjoy. And no, not just car related stuff but plenty of other action elements as well.

Still it seems obvious to me that the writers for these movies are constantly struggling to find a way to incorporate all of the many different characters in the movie and give them something useful and interesting to do. Half of the characters who appear in this movie could have easily been left out and it wouldn't have changed the movie its story or main plot. It's just to please the fans of the series and I'm just not a big fan at all. I would have preferred seeing the movie focus better and more on just two or three characters, instead of a whole group of people, who I can't even remember the names of.


It's also getting somewhat annoying to see how characters keep changing alliances in the series. Good guys turning bad, bad guys turning good. Good guys helping out bad guys, bad guys helping out good ones. make up your mind already! And when someone dies in one movie, stop bringing them back for the sequels, especially when their death left no room or whatsoever for any form of debate or doubt.

I have to say that Dwayne Johnson is a truly great addition to the franchise, as he already showed before in the previous installment; "Fast Five". I truly hope he'll take over the whole franchise one day and become the one main focus of it. He's charismatic, he's funny and he of course handles all of the action very well. Besides, he's truly turning into a pretty good actor as well, much better than Vin Diesel anyway. It's also enjoyable to see Luke Evans as the main villain in this but they truly could and should have used him better and some more at times.

A silly and most certainly not great movie but it's good enough for what it is!

6/10

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Agent Hobbs enlists the aid of Dom and team to help bring a rival gang, led by Owen Shaw, to justice. In exchange for clear records, they must put an end to their schemes, no matter how personal the cost. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Justin Lin

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and others

Current release date: May 24, 2013