Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew of fast-driving, gun-wielding criminals are back for the sixth installment of the increasingly popular "Fast and Furious" series. After the impressive Rio heist allowed Dom and his group to retire, he heads of to the Cayman Islands with best friend Brian (Paul Walker) and his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster).
But Dom doesn't get the peaceful life he imagined while in retirement. Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) pays him a visit, telling him to reunite his team for an offer that he simply can't refuse--all around pardons. What's more, Hobbs has information that Dom's one true love Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who he believed was dead, is in fact alive and possibly working with the group of "mercenary drivers" wrecking havoc in Europe that they're tasked to capture.
Director Justin Lin returns for the sixth installment of the series and doesn't fail to disappoint. The film opens up with the signature car racing scenes that have made the franchise popular but then continues to deliver with action-packed stunts that are sure to have audiences at the edge of their seats.
Lin does action and he does it well. The director, who joined the franchise in 2006, outdoes the work from "Fast 5" in the danger-level shown for each car-flipping stunt scattered in the film. While the car stunts in the beginning of the film are spectacular by themselves, they don't compare to the crazy stunt work Lin weaves in later in the film involving Dom's fast cars and one giant car-crushing tank.
But "Fast and Furious 6" isn't just about jaw-dropping car stunts, as Lin successfully manages to inject both sentimental and comedic moments in the storyline. Diesel's Dom is all about family and a man's code and his friends and family are sure to live by that very same code.
Dom's new enemy Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), the Ex-Special Forces soldier turned global security threat, also lives by his own code, which involves destroying all those who get in his way. Letty, Dom's one true love and a member of Shaw's team of hired killers and racers, connects the two and drives Dom's motivation to capture Shaw.
At the same time, Tyrese Gibson's Roman and Ludacris' Tej provide the perfect amount of comedic relief. The duo's antics are exceptionally funny and much needed to smoothly move the story along. Not to be left behind is Johnson's Luke Hobbs, who while not intentionally funny comes off that way in his extremely strict mannerisms.
Those that worry that "Fast 5" left the bar too high will not be disappointed by the franchise's latest installment. While the film's storyline is a tad mediocre at best, the action sequences more than make up for it. Fans can also expect several plot twists, including the end that will catapult the series to a future installment.
"Fast and Furious 6" hit theaters today, May 24. The next installment in the franchise, "Fast and Furious 7" is slated to premiere in 2014 according to IMDB.