Fast & Furious 6

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Fast & Furious 6 – After the Rio heist left them with $100 million, Dom Toretto’s crew are now scattered around the world. Agent Hobbs tracks Dom down and tells him that his former lover, Letty, is still alive but working for an organisation led by criminal mastermind, Owen Shaw. If Dom and the crew can help him stop Shaw, they will all receive full pardons so they can return home to their families. Working to their strengths, the team work at street level to stop Shaw’s potentially devestating plan and bring Letty home.

Fast & Furious 6 (2013) – Director: Justin Lin

Is Fast & Furious 6 appropriate for kids

Rating: 12

Running Length: 130 mins

Starring: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans

Genre: Action

REVIEW – FAST & FURIOUS 6

The sixth instalment of the ‘Fast and the Furious’ franchise (which has gone through a variety of name changes along the way) sees the cast return to cause mayhem on the streets of London.  The gang are back together to face off against their deadliest threat so far, Owen Shaw (played by Luke Evans who proves that an English accent can instantly make you more evil). Shaw’s motley crew of men and women of different nationalities are a force to be reckoned with and could possibly prove to be more than a match for Toretto’s team. Sadly, the need to have Toretto’s team take centre stage means that Shaw’s crew are somewhat pushed out of the picture. With the exception of the excellently choreographed martial arts scene where Roman and Han lose miserably against Jah, very little screen time is given to the members who aren’t Shaw or Letty.

With the majority of the movie being set in London, it is a shame that the English people are treated with mild derision, harking back to action films of the 1980’s. They are either walking stereotypes (a salesman arrogantly accusing the casually dressed Hobbs and Tej of being “the help” at a prestigious car event who then take great pleasure in humiliating him later) or are completely ineffectual when physically threatened or attacked by Hobbs and Toretto. However, walking stereotypes are somewhat of a staple of the series and so perhaps this was to be expected.

That being said, ‘Fast & Furious 6’ is an enjoyable action flick. There are plenty of exhilarating car chases and the tank and plane scenes will keep audiences on the edges of their seats. Considering the money thrown at these set pieces, it is somewhat bewildering that the official trailers have watered down the tension due to essentially giving away the results of these clashes but when the enjoyment stems from the spectacle rather than the storyline, this doesn’t actually ruin the movie. So sit back, fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride.

CONTENT – IS ‘FAST & FURIOUS 6’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Surprisingly, there is very little content to write about in terms of ‘Fast & Furious 6’ not being appropriate for kids. The majority of the action sequences revolve around car chases which never become too violent. There are a few instances of cars being crashed into, flipped into the air and rolled over but these never appear to result in deaths. The tank scene may be a little more disturbing as civilians are deliberately attacked. The tank rolls over their cars (in a manner which would clearly kill any occupants) but there is no blood or gore (nor on-screen visable deaths) and there are enough shots of people jumping out of the way and running from the carnage to show that any death here is minimal.

There are a number of fights where lots of punches are thrown. These are generally not prolonged or too frightening. While there are quite a few of these punch-ups, they never become any more violent and therefore if a child is ok with one, the rest should not cause any upset. There is one brief fight in a prison where make-shift knives are used but this does not result in any blood or gore. Another man is stabbed (non-fatally) but the camera doesn’t show anything. This character shouts out in pain and is at the mercy of his attacker but he continues to be threatening and therefore this part should not be overly distressing for kids.

It is likely that the amount of bad language will be the deciding factor on whether ‘Fast & Furious 6’ is appropriate for children. There is frequent mild and moderate cursing throughout and a couple of stronger words are also used once each. There are also a few shots of women wearing bikinis or short/low cut clothes. Towards the beginning of the movie, there is a 5 second shot of a couple lying in bed and the sheets barely cover the woman’s body.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?
VERDICT – IS ‘FAST & FURIOUS 6’ FOR KIDS?

‘Fast & Furious 6’ is a solid action movie with plenty of exciting scenes to keep its audience happy. While there are a few plot holes and some unrealistic characters (the women in particular are extremely understanding thus nicely making the men’s actions guilt free), this movie doesn’t have to be believable all the way through. Sometimes, all an action movie needs is to be fun and adrenaline-fuelled and ‘Fast & Furious 6’ certainly delivers. We feel that this movie should be appropriate for kids aged 10 and over, however please be aware that children who are sensitive to loud noises and close-to-camera action may be best to wait until ‘Fast & Furious 6’ is released on home media.

  • Violence:  3/5 (numerous fight scenes and car chases but there is minimal blood and no gore. One character is shot in the shoulder but is barely seen to suffer. The wound is seen for a split second but no blood is visible)
  • Emotional Distress: 2/5 (an established character is killed and mourned by people who loved and cared for them)
  • Fear Factor: 2/5 (Shaw’s crew are very threatening and appear to enjoy wreaking havoc)
  • Sexual Content: 1/5 (some mild nudity and women wearing revealing clothes) 
  • Bad Language: 5/5 (frequent mild to moderate cursing as well as a couple of stronger words which are used infrequently. Some mild and one moderate use of blasphemy)
  • Dialogue: 2/5  
  • Other notes: Deals with themes of family, friendships, doing the right thing, fighting against evil.

Words by Mike Record

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2 replies
  1. Beverly
    Beverly says:

    I haven’t seen the film, but after reading a number of articles about it, I cannot understand why my daughter allowed my grandsons, ages 5 and almost 8, to see it. From what I have heard from adults who have seen the film, children even younger have been in attendance. I appreciate how some reviews have included discussion questions as a follow-up to viewing the film. Still, this site suggests the film for ages 10 and up, so how can one justify letting five and seven-year olds attend? I wish more parents who take the view of “What is right with it?” rather than “What is wrong with it?”

    Reply
    • MikeandLor
      MikeandLor says:

      Thank you kindly for your thoughts.

      We appreciate that different parents have different standards, and sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what standards are being applied by some. We aim to write our reviews so that anybody can take away the information they need in order to make a decision they can be happy with. We also find adding a general ‘recommended age’ helps give a informal benchmark to work from using our opinion and experience, but not all will agree, of course.

      Research is always key, and please feel free to share our services with people you think might benefit from it.

      Reply

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