Author: Crossfire

Universal Pictures

If you are planning on seeing Fast and Furious then you are likely to have already seen the previous flicks in the series; The Fast And The Furious, which features the same cast, 2 Fast 2 Furious where we saw Paul Walker’s character take to the streets and reunite with an old friend and The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift which featured an all new cast and setting. Some see Fast and Furious as the forth instalment of the series, others such as myself disregard the third and see this one as a direct sequel to the second.

This instalment of the fast moving, gun shooting and car chasing action franchise sees Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Dom (Vin Diesel) reunited when a close friend is murdered. Cop and criminal team up on a revenge rampage, fuelled by rage, one determined to take the murderer in for his crimes and the other out for blood.

Director Justin Li wanted to keep the street racing image as real as possible in this film and has done an amazing job. He has been able to stay true to the subculture while keep an audience on their toes with explosions, flipping of cars and racing at the speed of light. There is some difference in the driving ability of Walker’s character here as he seems much more rugged as he races, taking back streets and driving off side roads. The aim of this film wasn’t to show as many brightly coloured and flashy cars as the previous flicks implied. Design may have been the most important factor for the films predecessors, but here, it is what is under the hood that counts, with both Walker and Diesel’s characters working on their own creations.

This is probably made out to be a male orientated flick due to its gun fire and fast cars, however much this may be true, the ladies are going to love it too, if not for the fast cars but for the actors. Paul Walker‘s boyish good looks and charm is great return to the big screen, after all it was The Fast and The Furious that gave him great success. When he changes from good cop turn bad cop, it gives a sense of a bad boy and drives all the ladies crazy. You probably wouldn’t expect much comedy from an action flick, but with the on screen partnership played out between Diesel and Walker there are some guaranteed comical remarks and a few funny nudges. Walker couldn’t help but let a few gorgeous smiles slip through, but somehow Diesel keeps a straight face as he makes a few funny comments.

This film made a viewer very anxious as it builds up the anticipation. You are left on the edge of your seat with shivers travelling though your body as the race is on to catch a murderer and the leader of a drug trafficking ring. No matter your age or gender or culture, Fast and Furious is an action packed movie not to be missed.

Michelle Moore

Metrodome

So-called crime thriller Fifty Dead Men Walking is a movie adaptation loosely based on the autobiography of Martin McGartland.

The movie is set in a period of time from 1987 until 1991, during this time Martin (Jim Sturgess), a street hustler from Northern Ireland, is recruited by the British police to infiltrate and spy on the IRA. When his true identity is revealed, the IRA is less than impressed and Martin is captured, tortured, escapes but ends up paying the price at the end. The film takes its name from a claim McGartland made in his book that he saved up to fifty lives during his time as an informant for the British police.

The settings and scenery to the film are very real with visions of beautiful open countryside’s and then streets with filthy phones boxes and building sites. There is gunfire and the occasional fighting scene but to be classed as a crime thriller you would have expected a bit more action and many more thrills. There is nothing that is able to fully engage you with the storyline. The shots move from one “job” to another, a quick in quick out succession and doesn’t fully establish an extensive scene so it is a little difficult to connect with anyone or anything. As Martin goes through some tough times there are some moments when you feel sorry for the character. He is doing what he thinks is best, trying to save the lives of the people he comes across on the streets, but ends up in a bad way for it. It is when Martin is tortured for being a traitor that you really start to feel for him, even so these scenes could have made much more of an impact if they had been extended.

Probably the worst thing this film has to offer is Rose McGowan‘s fake Irish accent as she plays Grace Sterrin. Even though there may be a few other cast members that had to adapt to the accent for the occasion, McGowan isn’t able to let it roll off her tongue as well as everyone else and she isn’t able to escape that American twang. Fifty Dead Men Walking is not one of the more gripping films released this year, but is certainly worth a watch nevertheless. The DVD will also feature commentaries, on set filming, deleted scenes as well as exclusive extracts from the book.

Michelle Moore