Justin Lin
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Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
influenced Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Plot
This is far from a glowing endorsement as the pic isn't remotely an overall action masterpiece, and it does lose some forward momentum when it starts to turn into something akin to a far less clever or smart version of "Ocean's Eleven."
The plot's also a stunning "Ocean's Eleven" ripoff, and action stops being cool once you laugh at the absurdity of it—like Dom and Brian driving off a cliff without getting a scratch.
Call it a cash-grab or a no-brainer beginning to the 2011 summer movie season, but taken on its own simple merits, and divorced from the stupidity of its four predecessors, the handily-titled Fast Five is an upgrade that does sequelizing right: it sticks with just enough of the established formula to keep the old fans happy, it brings back "a lot of the old gang" in an affably pleasant fashion, it borrows (and quite liberally) from popular heist movies like Ocean's Eleven and The Italian Job, and (best of all) it seems to actively avoid "churning up the same old wake."
The point, of course, is that this advances the story so that it can turn into a less clever hybrid of Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and The Italian Job (2003).
Something like Ocean’s Eleven and its various numerations, except with muscle cars and knuckleheads and without the laughs.
Who cares if, in its place, we get a shoddy Ocean’s Eleven heist knockoff, the kind in which someone says things like, “We need a bisexual Martian who can pick locks and do improv,” and then someone else says, “I know a guy,” and then those requested talents never get used?
(The precedents include 1993’s The Joy Luck Club, 2004’s Memoirs of a Geisha, 2006’s Letters from Iwo Jima, and my favorite in this list, Justin Lin’s sizzling 2002 teen-rebel movie, Better Luck Tomorrow.)
The Joy Luck Club is the most full-throated chorus about the heft of immigrant parent expectations, the theme that's become a maybe too stubbornly inescapable throughline in Asian American output, from Justin Lin's not-your-model-minority 2002 debut Better Luck Tomorrow to Master of None to the most recent Pixar short .
While that sentiment holds largely true, it’s not wholly accurate; those behind the labeling likely forgot about “Better Luck Tomorrow,” the 2002 curio from director Justin Lin (of the “Fast and Furious” and “Star Trek” franchises) about overachieving high schoolers.
Need for Speed (2014)
Directed by Scott Waugh
influenced by Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011)
Plot Themes Characters
It isn’t about hopped-up racers as in the gimmicky Fast & Furious franchise, or cars that suddenly and disconcertingly climb walls like The Transporter.
The cast doesn’t have the sassy swagger of the “Fast & Furious” crew.
“Need for Speed” makes the “Fast & Furious” films look ready for the dean’s list and is strictly for those who don’t mind sitting though a 130-minute Mustang ad and paying extra to see it in 3-D.
Need for Speed, I’ve seen all the Fast & Furious films.
Tobey’s pit crew mirrors the tokenistic ethnic diversity of Fast & Furious — the black guy (Mescudi), the Hispanic guy (Ramon Rodriguez), the Arab guy (Rami Malek) and the cute blond dead Pete (Australia’s Harrison Gilbertson) — each with one quirk, none with distinctive appeal.
They don’t have the immediate endearing nature of the characters in “Gone in 60 Seconds” or the humorous misfit conglomerate we see in the secondary cast of “Fast Five” and beyond.
An underlying theme in the pair of movies directed by the now Star Wars-engaged J.J. Abrams, 2009's Star Trek and 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, was the militarisation of science and exploration.
J.J. Abrams stepped down from the conn to direct his revamped Star Wars, relegating himself to a producer’s role.
It's the 13th feature film pulled from the hallowed Gene Roddenberry TV series, the Cold War-era phenomenon that believed in ideas and the democratic ideal, as opposed to its cultural bookend, the vastly more influential "Star Wars" universe, which from its inception was driven by merchandise and nostalgia.
From its earliest days Star Trek distinguished itself from that other great sci-fi behemoth, Star Wars, with its more intellectual, optimistic emphasis on reason, mixing interstellar shoot-outs with introspective reflections on destiny, mortality, and tolerance.
Bad Boys for Life (2020)
Directed by Bilall Fallah
influenced by Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011)
Plot Visuals Themes
Oh yeah, Bad Boys for Life is straight up copping the Fast & Furious formula (complete with their own #JusticeForHan storyline).
Sure, they're copping licks from John Wick, Mission Impossible, Fast & Furious, and Fury Road left and right, but they're having a good time doing it.
Action movies now belong to long-running franchises like Fast & Furious and Mission: Impossible , a PG-13 landscape where characters are borderline superheroes.
Bad Boys for Life doesn't manage to follow in Fast & Furious' footsteps and reinvent an older action franchise for an era where superheroes and world-building reign supreme, yet it proves there's still room for two everyman Miami detectives who're just trying to make the world a better place.
The brand of over-the-top action that Michael Bay’s films once provided have been usurped by the Fast & Furious and John Wicks of the world.
It’s only a matter of time before their different ideas of family pull these once-inseparable partners in opposite directions (yes, it does occasionally feel like the best “Fast and Furious” movie since “Fast Five”).
The second half of "Fast Five" elaborately and humorously plays out the back-and-forth tactics that ultimately lead to a stunning finale chase sequence spanning much of downtown Rio, and seems inspired in part by a similarly spectacular scene in "Bad Boys II."
If you're capable of finding that sort of collateral-damage-disregarding nonsense amusing (and I am, in the same way I find the "Bad Boys II" car chase amusing), I have good news: "Fast Five" is kind of a fun surprise.
Convinced that more of the same won’t cut it at this point, the film thus goes for safe reinvention, turning itself into the perfunctory love child of Bad Boys II and Ocean’s Eleven .
But if you know big-studio action cinema at all, and know how good it can be when it is good, you'll understand that this film is like the improbable offspring of " Bad Boys II " and Soderbergh 's "Ocean" films -- the visceral violence and vengeance meshing perfectly with the clockwork cleverness of the caper.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Directed by J.J. Abrams
influenced Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Plot Themes
But in the end it's mostly a good big-budget sci-fi action movie that's been marinated in "Star Trek" flavor packets—and thus not terribly different from the 2009 "Star Trek" reboot or its sequel, " Star Trek Into Darkness ."
The overall inconsequential nature of “Star Trek Beyond” stands in stark contrast to 2013’s sprawling “Star Trek Into Darkness,” in which rising Starfleet leader Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) at one point loses his job, and at another briefly loses his life.
An underlying theme in the pair of movies directed by the now Star Wars-engaged J.J. Abrams, 2009's Star Trek and 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, was the militarisation of science and exploration.
“Beyond” is the third film in the rebooted “Star Trek” franchise, which launched in 2009 and continued with 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness.”
Clearly, Star Trek Into Darkness falls into the latter category, having expensed natural drama in the name of high-grade throwbacks.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Directed by Nicholas Meyer
influenced Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Characters Plot
They hated how director J.J. Abrams reworked major themes and reintroduced bad guys from 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the franchise’s crown jewel, making them less clever and resonant in the process.
Kirk, as he did in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, is starting to get a little bored.
The previous installment, 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, even made an ill-received rehash of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, easily and arguably one of the most beloved of the Trek films.
The crew is starting to feel the weight of time and the sameness of routine, particularly Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), who is so desperate for a change of pace that he is considering a promotion to admiral, which will raise his stock but keep him grounded for the rest of his career (this plot point and the fact that it is his birthday both recall 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which remains a perennial touchstone for the franchise).
Things to Come (1936)
Directed by William Cameron Menzies
influenced Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Visuals
(It recalls the futuristic metropolis of the 1936 Things to Come .)
Point Break (1991)
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
influenced Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Plot
Paul Walker is Paul Walker; if you saw him in The Skulls, you know what to expect (but then again, Keanu Reeves emerged from Point Break a bona fide action hero, so you never know).
As the original movie borrowed heavily from Point Break (1991), so Fast Five borrows from the various Ocean’s movies (take your pick) and all the other variations on the “one last heist” scenario that requires assembling a crack crew of experts that will work together as a perfectly tuned symbiotic whole, which is essentially what returning screenwriter Chris Morgan (who penned the last two sequels) does by raiding the previous films for their surviving characters.
Paul Walker is Paul Walker; if you saw him in The Skulls, you know what to expect (but then again, Keanu Reeves emerged from Point Break a bona fide action hero, so you never know).
Peninsula (2020)
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho
influenced by Fast & Furious (2009), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Visuals Plot
Most action sequences are in Tokyo Drift style car scenes, and I missed the more hand-to-hand combat with everyday items.
Following a former army captain and a small family surviving in Incheon, Peninsula combines components from I Am Legend , Mad Max , and the Fast & Furious series for a nonsensical joy ride that, while entertaining, lacks the sharpness of its predecessor.
At times it recalls two different “Mad Max” films (“The Road Warrior” and “Fury Road”), George A. Romero’s zombie sequel “Land of the Dead,” and, refreshingly, the “Fast & Furious” movies.
The older one drives like Vin Diesel in a Fast & Furious movie, while the younger one uses a light-filled remote control car to draw zombies away.
Sorry not sorry for the hyperbole, but Peninsula is Land Of The Dead , Mad Max: Fury Road , World War Z , all mixed in a blender with Fast & Furious franchise DNA (the later sequels).
Then there’s the Fury Road-inspired car chases through the streets of Incheon that feel like the natural next step for the Fast & Furious franchise (forget about going to space, Toretto and the family should fight a zombie outbreak next).
Lin also borrows from Andrew Davis' classic "The Fugitive" - Dwayne Johnson turns up as a relentless, order-barking U.S. fed in Rio to find Diesel, leading to a massive bald-head-and-biceps smackdown.
They're pursued by Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), even more muscled and sweaty than Dom, and expressing a lack of concern for his prey's sort-of innocence far less wittily than Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive .
At first alone in the woods, Scotty comes across fierce survivalist Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), a pale-faced warrior apparently inspired by Jennifer Laurence’s individualistic teen in “Winter’s Bone.”
The answer doesn’t come without some help, namely from alien Jaylah (played by Sofia Boutella and inspired by Jennifer Lawrence’s character in Winter’s Bone ; even her name is basically a form of J. Law).
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Directed by James Cameron
influenced by Fast & Furious (2009)
Themes
However, if you’re going to hate on “family” as a theme in Avatar: The Way of Water, then you have to extend your disdain to every Fast & Furious movie, two Incredibles movies from Pixar, and, heck, even The Godfather trilogy among many more rock-solid films that celebrate and emphasize family love for dramatic hold.
And then there’s that aforementioned battle-royale finale, which puts an auto shop-class spin on an earlier “Moby Dick” reference.
The most surprising moment in Fast & Furious 6 comes when someone mentions Moby Dick.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Directed by J.J. Abrams
influenced Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Visuals Characters
If you think that's not worth something, see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, where Abrams elevated the concept to the level of pop art.
As played by the French Algerian actress Sofia Boutella — under a patina of black-and-white face paint that makes her look like an angry street mime — Jaylah gives Daisy Ridley’s Rey of “ Star Wars: The Force Awakens ” a run for her money.
The third film in the revitalized, sorta-reboot-sorta-sequel-sorta-prequel-sorta-remake Star Trek franchise, it amounts to something of a changing of the guard after 2013’s rather less than beloved Star Trek Into Darkness; director J.J. Abrams, who helmed the first two installments, departed to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens (he’s credited as a producer), as did the first two installments’ screenwriters, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtman (Orci also gets a producer credit here).
Abrams departed for another nice little space franchise (perhaps you saw “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the most-successful movie of all time), turning over the director’s chair to Justin Lin, best known for some of the “Fast & Furious” franchise.
And like Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the film shows an appreciation for practical effects, with complex, visually striking make-up designs that avoid coming off like obvious rubber masks.
The cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle (“Slumdog Millionaire”) never goes for those adrenaline-charged images that inspire other racing movies from “Grand Prix” and “Le Mans” to the “Fast & Furious” series.
The plot lacks the grease-stained poetry of better gearhead clashes (such as the extraordinary 2010 documentary Senna ); cynically, Rush seems to be courting a video-game crowd impatient for another CGI-heavy Fast & Furious.
Well, Hollywood has been giving us its version of this story for years now, and it’s called Fast & Furious.
Bathed in warm cinematography—almost identical to that used in Howard's underrated genre bender The Dilemma (2011)—and making unexpected use of avant-garde framing techniques, it's easily his most visually ambitious work to date, though the computer-generated race scenes pale in comparison to Justin Lin’s pulsating Fast & Furious films.
Sonic is produced by Neal H. Moritz, whose Original Film banner helped create Fast & Furious , 21 Jump Street , xXx and the TV series Prison Break.
More like sequences where Sonic shellshocks a turtle by letting him “burn rubber” for once, or pop culture references to Fast & Furious movies, or the film’s bountiful Olive Garden references (seriously, that product placement probably paid for Sonic 2.0).
Uncharted doesn’t exactly chart a new territory in the action adventure genre, in fact it’s basically a variation of the franchise movies I’ve mentioned, combined with the preposterousness of the Fast & Furious flicks.
The “Fast & Furious” films are probably to blame, or thank, for the propensity of today’s action films to stretch toward increasingly absurd heights.
With a pair of bejeweled crucifixes literally symbolizing all the double-crossing that transpires along this convoluted journey, Nathan and Sully get into all sorts of death-defying, CGI-requiring, green-screen-heavy adventures, ranging from the slick and relatively grounded to airborne stuff straight out of one of the more ludicrous (or should we say Ludacris) “Fast & Furious” adventures.
Set pieces are so hectic and slathered in CGI that you’d eventually trade a Spanish galleon full of gold for a single clear wide shot, which is all the more frustrating because the film’s small handful of action sequences are conceived with more imagination than any recent “Fast & Furious” movie has been able to muster.
And knowing that audiences are now all too ready to accept gravity-defying, belief-suspended set-pieces, Fleischer has crafted some ridiculously entertaining spectacles within that more than owe their execution to the gradual insanity of the Fast & Furious series; the climactic sequence which features pirate ships being carried over oceans and throughout island structures by attached helicopters is truly a wild ride.
Yet here, for all the money hosed into the production, there’s a surprising lack of zest, even an uncertainty about tone, going from National Treasure to Fast & Furious in the blink of an edit.
The bare bones of the plot definitely possess the potential to deliver a strikingly original globetrotting epic, but the final product feels like an undercooked and underwritten slog that echoes superior films like Inception , The Matrix , Netflix’s The Old Guard and even the Fast & Furious franchise, and Infinite doesn’t bring anything to the table that either action or sci-fi fans haven’t seen done before, and much better.
The high-speed, Fast & Furious -style opening takes place in the Mexican capital in “The Last Life.”
And chase it they do, in a fun highway romp through Mexico City that rivals a Fast & Furious movie, but the film isn’t about any of the people we meet in this opening scene.
Fuqua and Wahlberg have both proven themselves elsewhere, but here their overall disinterest is almost palpable as the former auditions for a Fast & Furious gig while the latter sleepwalks through the entire film.
A little Mission: Impossible here, a little Fast & Furious there, a sword fight on a tumbling aircraft, a car chase through a police station (which sounds cooler than it plays).
Sure, these lucky souls could be writing symphonies or curing cancer, but it’s more exciting to watch Wahlberg ride a motorcycle off a cliff and land on the wing of a low-flying cargo plane — a plausibility-bending stunt not even the “Fast & Furious” franchise would dare.