The Tank Attack In Fast & Furious 6 Is The Best Action Scene Ever
(Welcome to Best Action Scene Ever, a column dedicated to breaking down the best, most effective action sequences throughout the genre. In this edition, let's put the pedal to the metal and the NOS to the maximum to highlight the high-flying joys of the tank sequence in "Fast & Furious 6.")
The time has finally come. Ever since we first started this column, the "Fast and Furious" franchise has been patiently waiting in the wings, biding its time before unleashing the full force of its absurdity for arguably the most inevitable edition of "Best Action Scene Ever" yet. As much as some may look at this overall series as a bit of a punching bag, there's no denying that when these movies commit to a bit ... they commit, hard. That's never been more true than with the copious amount of action set pieces littered throughout the 9+ movies (and counting), bending both physics and our suspension of disbelief to the breaking point.
If you've looked at Twitter lately, there's been a rabid discussion surrounding the moment when "F&F" finally abandoned all pretenses and embraced its inherent fantasy elements without apology. Although I'd argue this turning point happened much earlier than you might think (two words: ejecto seato!), there's one solid contender for when a (relatively) grounded action franchise turned into something else altogether. Although "Fast Five" carries the distinction of its incredible go-for-broke set piece involving towing that massive vault across the streets of Rio de Janeiro, the true winner has to go to "Fast & Furious 6." No other scene encapsulates everything there is to love about this franchise than the tank chase that culminates in one of the most hilarious — and effective — stunts the franchise has ever seen.
The scene
Until this point, the "Fast" franchise has made no pretensions about being anything other than what they were: intentionally cheesy action blockbusters about family and fast cars. Sounds like a simple enough formula for success, no? It wasn't until the sixth movie in 2013 (the first to debut in a post-"Avengers" landscape, mind you) that things began to take a turn toward actual super heroics.
"Fast & Furious 6" begins by playing off the post-credits reveal from "Fast Five," which introduced the twist that franchise mainstay Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) had actually survived being killed off — entirely off-screen, weirdly enough — in 2009's "Fast & Furious." This soon becomes the impetus behind the most thrilling sequence in the entire franchise and, dare I say it, cinema as a whole. (Okay, guns down, that last part's a joke, folks.) Having inexplicably survived her near-death experience after going undercover to infiltrate a drug cartel and having her cover blown, an amnesiac Letty returns as a lackey to the main villain Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). Desperate to win her back, Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto and the rest of his close-knit team of drivers accept a mission to take down Shaw and take back one of their own. That, of course, proves to be much more complicated than they figured.
Hellbent on stealing an invaluable military chip containing the codes to a secret new military weapon, Shaw baits Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and the rest of the Diplomatic Security Service into loading the hardware onto a convoy. Sensing his intentions, our fambly assembles for another typical, spectacle-infused, vehicular chase sequence on a highway in Spain ... until Shaw deploys a freaking tank and completely changes up the franchise's rules on a dime.
Why it works
Similar to last week's edition covering "Iron Man 3," it'd be terribly easy to wax poetic about the practical nature of this sequence. Enhanced with VFX work to transform a fairly traditional road into a much more tense sequence dangling our heroes on an elevated highway hundreds of feet in the air, the production team nonetheless carried out much of the action with the use of an actual tank that smashed through barriers and demolished cars in real-time.
But the real magic of this sequence comes from director Justin Lin and second unit director Spiro Razatos; Not just in going to such lengths to capture such carnage in the first place, but with a consistently clear sense of geography and stakes at all times. Coming up with a creative set piece on paper that's worthy of the "Fast & Furious" name is only half the battle. Knowing how to pull it off from a storytelling point of view, editing it in such a way as to carry through momentum with each shot, and constructing the sequence with a thrilling series of escalations for the characters we've grown to know and love is a different matter entirely.
Thankfully, the team behind "Fast & Furious 6" is more than up to the task. Upon earning their big "wow" moment with the tank reveal, they waste no time getting right to the fun. The dastardly Shaw suddenly turns sociopath, smashing cars and their hapless drivers for no real reason other than the fun of it. Our attention is divided in multiple ways as the "Fast" team narrowly escapes death in half a dozen different ways. And all throughout, the main tension comes not from who lives or dies ... but whether Dom can recover his lost love, Letty.
The key moment
Call it the mid-air catch heard 'round the world. By a franchise has reached its sixth film, fans will have long decided whether or not they're on board with how a long-running series goes about its. With an IP like "Fast & Furious," reinvention is the name of the game, and although the movie would almost immediately go on to unveil the never-ending runway sequence right after this highway set piece, I'd be hard-pressed to find any other more singular moment in the canon than when Dom and Letty both go airborne and, simultaneously, the franchise goes full soap opera. It's one thing to say that a major theme of these movies is how the love of family can save the day ... but it's another to actually show that in action.
After failing to slow down Shaw's tank, our family of expert drivers improvise a wild plan to weigh down the war machine with a wrecked husk of a car and knock it between both lanes of the suspended highway. With the anchor in place and the line rapidly running out of slack, even Shaw realizes he's fast approaching the end of this little joyride. As the tank stops short and Letty is thrown into the air, Dom drives his car into the wall and defies all known laws of physics to catch his girlfriend, and lands safely on a car windshield. Later asked how he knew that safe landing spot was even there, Dom earnestly answers, "I didn't."
And that's how director Justin Lin managed to successfully sneak a "Love conquers all" message into the most testosterone-injected franchise ever, bending reality around the central romance between Dom and Letty. "Fast & Furious" obviously went even bigger after this, but I'd argue it was never better.