Fast and Furious 6 - 2013 - Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson.

Ridiculous beyond belief.

The Fast and Furious franchise returns following Dom (Vin Diesel) and Brian's (Paul Walker) Rio heist that left their crew with $100 million. The crew has dispersed all around the globe lapping up the lifestyle they now lead, whilst still watching their back for the cops and wishing for something that would bring the 'family' back together. Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) has been tracking an group of elite mercenary drivers, whose mastermind (Luke Evans) has the help of the love Dom believed to be dead, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez). Hobbs asks Dom for the help of him and his crew in exchange for full pardons, something that would allow his family to become whole again.

Director Justin Lin definitely brings an addition to the series that will be enjoyed by all die-hard F&F fans. However, for the neutrals such as myself, Fast and Furious 6 is painfully disappointing with action and dialogue that is farcical. During one scene a tank is driving down a highway demolishing every car in sight, every car until the car of one of Dom's crew members, who has plenty of time to get saved. Also in this scene Vin Diesel gets propelled from his car and catches Rodriguez mid-air at high speed and lands on a car windscreen. This action is just completely ridiculous with the greatest laughable action sequence coming at the end of the movie where the crew is chasing down a plane preparing to take off from a runway; a perfectly good scene with great action, other than the fact that the plane takes a good 25-30 minutes to get down the runway! I'm all for trying something new but try and make it believable.

Screenwriter Chris Morgan also delivers an extremely poor script, and when combined with below par performances from the cast, it just becomes horrible to watch. Diesel seems to be getting more deadpan with the more films that he does. When deciding its time for him to give a little grin, it just feels out of place. With regards to Walker, I simply forgot he was there. Dwayne Johnson puts in a better performance than both put together, yet his size is slightly off-putting; his huge stature simply takes up the equally huge cinema screen.

For any petrol heads the film has the shop talk and the chases to keep you interested and keen for the next instalment, but for the neutral like myself, the movie just disappoints with its woefully unbelievable action sequences and dialogue.

J.Henderson.

4/10. 

Iron Man 3 - 2013 - Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley.

Solid sequel, the end of Downey Jr. as Iron Man?

Shane Black takes over from Jon Favreau as director in the third instalment of this Iron Man trilogy. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) finds his world left in ruin at the hands of a villain, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), whose resources show no limits. This journey to save all he cares about will leave Stark to his own devices, having to rely on himself instead of his machines in order to progress.

Director and co-writer Shane Black deliver a strong addition to the franchise, creating great humour in the script tied with action and plot twists that will definitely capture the attention of the audience. Saying this however, Black takes longer than usual to get the film settled and rolling, with this only coming quite a way into the film once Stark has hit rock bottom and seeks the help of a young child in Tennessee (the very good, Ty Simpkins). What sets this film away from the others in the series is its move to a darker atmosphere, going down the root of Christopher Nolan's superhero giant and doing it well. The darker, more serious story is extremely fashionable at the minute, with Man Of Steel (2013) looking to be going a similar way.

It feels like the characters have grown up, becoming serious in their approach as Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Tony produce considerably more than just their repartee of banter and are now a true partnership that sees Pepper as the head of Stark Industries. Acting throughout the film is extremely strong with Ben Kingsley completely capturing the eye; his ability to control the screen reminding me of that of Heath Ledger's Joker. Robert Downey Jr. is given a script that allows him to continue his quick fire wit that has become something of a trademark of his. Moving out from the directors chair Jon Favreau takes up more of an acting role as Happy Hogan, creating a sincere lovable humour.

A solid superhero movie, but nothing on The Avengers (2012) or Nolan's Batman Trilogy (05-12).

J.Henderson.

7/10.