Worst movie in the series. 20 minutes of CGI tunnels, basically white holes, at the end of the movie. How did he go from this crap to the amazing fast five and furious 6? it's like a quantum leap in direction.
shareThis is the weakest entry in the franchise, I agree. They made it too much about the CGI and it wasn't even very good back then when this came out. Good thing fast five saved it, although to be fair I wasn't a big fan of F6. I seem to only like the odd numbered ones for some reason, not sure why. I think the ambitions and budget were just too big for Lin, but by the time 5/6 came out he had a team around him that could help use it correctly. Just a guess...
'Get yourself a real dog. Any dog under 50 lbs is a cat and cats are pointless' - Ron Swanson
I'm surprised this entry is as popular as it was. It ranks fairly high in the series from an IMDB rating POV and was a big box office hit. I thought it was mostly dull. The opening had a couple of good thrills but the CGI at the end of the scene was the first sign this was going down the wrong path. The chase through the tunnel was an okay idea in theory but not idea in practicality. Not only does it appear to be almost entirely CGI, it's also too dark to fully comprehend on a simple visual level.
One problem that permeated the whole film was Lin's decision to shoot this film like a gritty crime thriller, not unlike a Michael Mann film, with the dark and grainy cinematography. This doesn't have the quality acting and writing to support its attempted gritty style. This was a light series that was supposed to emphasize fun and thrills, which is really lacking in this film.
Kind of amazing how the series was able to reinvent itself after this one. Fast five's vault chase finale was an amazing setpiece. So was the opening train sequence, and the fight between Hobbs and Dom was pretty good (shot a little too darkly at times and I didn't like Dom winning against the utter beast that is Hobbs).
It was actually his most well-directed movie in the series, bad cgi has nothing to do with the director's story -
shareEven if the CGI was perfect and undetectable, it wasn't the problem with those tunnel scenes. Even if the CGI was perfect, it would STILL look unrealistic - and that is 100% the director's fault. Also partly the writer's too I guess. The tunnel was too narrow and they were driving RIDICULOUSLY too fast for that tight a road with those corners. It was just a stupid idea all around and went against everything this series was about - over the top but still plausible driving sequences in flashy neon cars. It was just BAD and there's nothing anyone could say to change that FACT - not opinion, it's a definite FACT.
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