Sticks and Stones may break my bones.

I went to see Fast and Furious 6 a few weeks ago and enjoyed seeing the characters back together. In terms of story well, I mean you mainly want to see the action, fast cars, explosions and so on.. so its a pretty basic storyline. As said we want to see the action.. well most of the female audience also something else (can’t deny it ahah); however, the action is usually good when credible.. I know its fiction but its not like we don’t have the technology now to make things seem a bit more real; unfortunately some are just way over the top.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the Fast and Furious films but in the last movie there was one particular seen where you’d laugh or say “what the hell” [*SPOILERS throughout the piece*]. The chase is getting even more tense, as Don tries to follow the tank on the bridge in order to save Letty.. and there Don flies out of his car right over the over side and catches her in mid air landing on a car on the opposite side of the bridge. Ok yeah, it doesn’t sound really good, that’s why you should watch it.

It did seem pretty unrealistic.. I mean nearly impossible! It is funny when you re-watch the scene. Probably an impossible stunt. I actually can’t imagine how they manage to do most of the film stunts in general and most really just show that you can fall down some stairs but still get back up, with maybe a few bruises. Just like the fighting scene in the underground metro between Letty and the female police officer.. wow they really fly down those stairs. I can’t even last much when playing with my little sister at the park LOL [clip 9]. However it is still satisfying watching the actual making of most stunts (see video).  The whole scene on the bridge with the tank is pretty amazing, the coordination, the precision you need to achieve the director’s vision.. I guess it is different acting while being in bed, sitting down or standing to begin on a moving car followed by a tank ahah.

But hey if you want a great movie effect you got to get your hands dirty... or cut, fractured and swollen. There is a good documentary on ‘film stunts’ written by William Kronick which gives an insight to the way stunts are per-se performed and guided. Its interesting to see how in various genres stunts differ in danger or effect, for example there is an introduction to comedies, westerns or how the ‘car chase scene’ has become a very recurrent stunt to pull off in certain movies.  It was actually used more due to the fact that you could come up with lots of different ways to articulate a ‘mind blowing stunt scene’ with cars. It must really be tough to be a stunt double, especially for comedies! The comedies where the character repeatedly falls or trips and even though you think “that must hurt”, at the same time you can’t help laughing; but then thinking that they are actually doing so for us (the audience), for our entertainment.. other than the fact that they do it for a living. Most of the stunt men/women interviewees admit that putting their life in danger or even just the feeling is what makes it fun, they’ve experience but know there will always be that one time when you do get hurt, some pretty bad but managing to get back on their feet and start again.

“I felt that if I wanted to make any big money that I was going to have to do something that would put my life on the line”.  -  Hal Needham

AG

Links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgoJafeKo3w  Documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DHO7rOltsI  Transporter 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JZKEN_vpzY  Fast and Furious 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afEB9k2QXlU  The making F&F 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zrr3T4WTeQ Movie clips F&F 6 – clip 9