May 25, 2013 -- If you've seen the previews to this film you might be wondering if the action scenes in the film are as ridiculous as they seem to be in the trailers. In fact, they are, but strangely enough, they work pretty well. Those previews are best avoided, by the way, since they contain spoilers.

Probably the most ridiculous action scene in the film involves two people flying out of cars at high speed, colliding in the mid-air over a canyon and landing on another car on a bridge, resulting in no injuries. I'd say you have to see it to believe it, but you still won't believe it. The scene still works in this movie, somehow. It is actually kind of romantic in a weird way.

Say what you want about Hollywood, but there is probably nowhere else on earth where this kind of movie can be made this big, this silly and this entertaining. Its got beefy muscle men like Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson of “Fast Five” and it's got hot women with guns and fast cars, like Jordana Brewster and Elsa Pataky. It even has tough gals, like Michelle Rodriguez of “Avatar” and former mixed martial arts competitor Gina Carano of “Haywire.”

This series of films started in 2001 with “The Fast and the Furious,” which was an unexpected hit. It had a weak story but very slick visual effects. Since then, the five fast and furious films that followed have helped keep the uneven careers of Paul Walker and Vin Diesel alive, along with Rodriguez. Lately Rodriguez has had strong resurgence of her career and Vin Diesel's career is looking better, too. Diesel's second sequel to “Pitch Black” opens soon. These three, along with Jordana Brewster, starred in the original 2001 one film that started it all. They've been getting back together to reprise those roles ever since.

In this latest film, special crimes unit officer Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson of “Fast Five”) shows up at Dominic Toretto's place (Diesel of “Fast Five”) with an unusual request. He wants Toretto to reassemble his crime team to help him take down a skilled team of drivers who are a threat to national security. His incentives include full pardons for the team of criminals and a chance for Toretto to find his old girlfriend he thought was dead, Letty Ortiz (Rodriguez).

The targets for Toretto's team (which was introduced in the previous film in the series, “Fast Five”) are Letty and Shaw (Luke Evans of “Immortals”) a psychopathic international criminal, who has his own high-speed team of drivers and robbers. Shaw's plan is to obtain powerful computer components which will enable him to create internet mayhem on a global scale. He is very close to his goal when he runs into Toretto's team.

The two high-speed teams clash in an escalating series of road battles which end with a final action sequence involving cars chasing a cargo plane down a runway that seems to go on forever. Letty, who has lost her memories, is a part of Shaw's team, but Dom (Diesel) wants her back. There is a very nice scene between these two as Dom explains to Letty that she may not remember it, but he has known her ever since she was a teenager. This is preceded by a sort of romantic car chase, of course.

There are a lot of car chases in the film, involving not just cars, trucks, motorcycles and aircraft, but a tank, too. It is excessive and silly, but fun. A little bit of the plot is actually character driven. At the end of the film is a scene setting up the next sequel in the series. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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