Rocky was released from jail on Friday pending the verdict, with President Donald Trump celebrating the news on Twitter. "It was a Rocky Week, get home ASAP A$AP!" Trump said.
The rapper landed back on U.S. soil Saturday, leaving behind him the looming verdict in an episode that has led to unexpected tension between the U.S. and its European ally.
According to the letters, obtained by NBC News partner Aftonbladet, the U.S. special presidential envoy for hostage affairs wrote to Swedish prosecutors urging them to release Rocky.
"The government of the United States of America wants to resolve this case as soon as possible to avoid potentially negative consequences to the U.S.-Swedish bilateral relationship," Amb. Robert O'Brien wrote in the letter, dated Wednesday.
In response Sweden's prosecutor-general, Petra Lundh, defended the independence of Swedish courts and said he therefore had to deny O'Brien's requests.
"No other prosecutor, not even I, may interfere with a specific case or try to affect the prosecutor responsible," Lundh wrote in a letter dated Thursday.
The letters marked the latest intervention by U.S. officials in a case that has commanded the attention of figures ranging from the president to Justin Bieber.
Trump said he spoke to Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven asking for his release and "offered to personally vouch for his bail."
Löfven responded to Trump's public pressure, saying the rapper would not get special treatment and that the judicial system was free to act independently without political sway.
The two-time Grammy nominee was in Stockholm headlining Smash x Stadion, a two-day hip-hop festival. He was forced to cancel a flurry of shows on his European tour since his July 3 arrest after a judge determined he would remain in custody because he was a flight risk.
O'Brien attended the hearings this week where Rocky told the court that he tried to handle the dispute peacefully and reason with two men who had confronted him before a brawl erupted.
The U.S. envoy stressed that Washington was "grateful that I got to attend and observe the judicial process" in Sweden.
Following closing arguments on Friday, a judge ordered Rocky be released from jail pending the verdict.
Despite the U.S. offering assurances that Rocky would not leave Sweden if released, the judge ruled that the rapper could leave the country in the interim.
Rocky shared an emotional post on Instagram after his release, thanking fans for their support during this "very difficult and humbling experience."
A final judgment in the case is expected to be reached Aug. 14.
American rapper A$AP Rocky landed in Los Angeles late Friday night after having been detained in Sweden since July on assault charges linked to a Stockholm street fight.
The 30-year-old rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, departed Stockholm Arlanda Airport earlier Friday. Los Angeles television stations reported the artist was among a group of people shown emerging from a private airplane at Los Angeles International Airport later that night.
The Stockholm District Court released A$AP Rocky, David Rispers Jr. and Bladimir Corniel until Aug. 14, when a verdict is expected. In an Instagram post that had nearly 3 million likes early Saturday, the rapper thanked his supporters and the Swedish court for him and his friends “Bladi” and “Thoto”’s release.
“THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART TO ALL OF MY FANS, FRIENDS AND ANYONE ACROSS THE GLOBE WHO SUPPORTED ME DURING THESE LAST FEW WEEKS I CANT BEGIN TO DESCRIBE HOW GRATEFUL I AM FOR ALL OF YOU THIS HAS BEEN A VERY DIFFICULT AND HUMBLING EXPERIENCE,” A$AP wrote before departing Sweden.
“I WANT TO THANK THE COURT FOR ALLOWING ME BLADI AND THOTO TO RETURN TO OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF THE LOVE AND SUPPORT.”
President Trump also championed the news of A$AP’s release in a pun-riddled tweet Friday.
"A$AP Rocky released from prison and on his way home to the United States from Sweden. It was a Rocky Week, get home ASAP A$AP!” Trump wrote.
After urging from first lady Melania Trump and celebrities, including Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West, President Trump tried unsuccessfully to negotiate A$AP Rocky’s release before trial, including a phone call with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven in July.
Along with David Rispers Jr. and Bladimir Corniel, the rapper is accused of beating 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari on June 30, outside a fast-food restaurant in central Stockholm. Rocky, who had been jailed since his July 3 arrest, pleaded not guilty at the start of the three-day trial Tuesday, affirming that he acted in self-defense when Jafari and another man would not leave them alone.
One of the witnesses to the assault revised her story from initial police reports, testifying Friday that she didn't actually see Mayers hit Jafari with a bottle — a key focus of the trial. She and a friend, testifying anonymously at Stockholm District Court, both maintained that they did see Mayers and his partners assaulting Jafari, though. Robert O'Brien, a U.S. special presidential envoy sent to monitor the court proceedings, stressed that Washington was "grateful that I got to attend and observe the judicial process" in Sweden.
A$AP Rocky's saying good riddance to Sweden FOR GOOD and never looking back ... assuming everything goes according to plan.
Rocky left Sweden hours after the judges in his assault case decided to let him out of jail while they noodle on their decision, which is expected on August 14. A$AP returned to the U.S., and he won't have to return for the reading of the verdict, because it will be a written ruling.
All signs point to Rocky being acquitted. Prosecutors tried to keep him in jail pending the verdict, because they said he was a flight risk. The judges could have ordered him to stay in Sweden but they gave him the all clear to leave the country. That smells like a not guilty verdict.
Our sources say if the verdict comes in as expected, Rocky will never go back to the home of IKEA.
The rapper said during his testimony he won't seek any money from the Swedish government for wrongful prosecution, because he can easily earn back his profits from canceled concerts. Smart move ... more incentive for the judges to find him not guilty.
On Friday, Disney Channel memorialized Cameron Boyce with an emotional tribute video at the end of the premiere broadcast of “Descendants 3.”
“Tonight’s premiere of #Descendants3 is dedicated to #CameronBoyce and is a celebration of his talent and the joy he brought to the world. You’ll always be in our hearts, Cameron,” the network said in a post on Twitter shortly after the film concluded.
The video features footage of various interviews with Boyce, outtakes and bloopers, candid footage, as well as praise and admiration from those he worked with. “Everything you are, every smile, every laugh, every dance, every hug, every moment, everyone you touched, you mean everything to us,” reads the message that flashes onscreen during the video.
Boyce, who was born on May 28, 1999, was found unresponsive in his home on July 8. “He passed away in his sleep due to a seizure which was a result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated,” a Boyce family spokesperson told ABC News the day after. “The world is now undoubtedly without one of its brightest lights, but his spirit will live on through the kindness and compassion of all who knew and loved him.”
Boyce starred in Disney’s “Descendants” franchise, in Adam Sandler’s “Grown-Ups” movies, as well as on TV’s “Jessie,” among other series and films. Watch the tribute video below:
15 Top Grossing Documentaries at the Box Office, From 'They Shall Not Grow Old' to 'Fahrenheit 9/11' (Photos)
Documentaries are rarely big money makers, but they can have the power to influence change and motivate people to action in a way narrative films cannot. So when a documentary does make a splash at the box office, it's an even bigger surprise. This list of the top-15 grossing documentaries ever is an interesting mix of political, nature and concert docs, and several of them likewise went on to win Oscars and critical acclaim. All numbers are domestic totals via Box Office Mojo.
Warner Bros./National Geographic Films/Paramount Classics
15. "They Shall Not Grow Old" (2018) - $17.9 million
Director Peter Jackson went to painstaking lengths to digitally restore and transform 100-year-old archival footage for his powerful documentary on World War I. Jackson restored color and sound to the Great War, something that was previously only known through black and white silent film. The documentary performed well in part because of a release that even transformed the footage into 3D.
Warner Bros.
14. "Oceans" (2010) - $19.4 million
You'll see a lot of Disneynature documentaries on this list. Pierce Brosnan narrates this 2010 documentary filmed across the world's oceans.
Disneynature
13. "Bowling for Columbine" (2002) - $21.5 million
Michael Moore's provocative documentary about American gun violence (and one of his best) won the Oscar for Best Documentary and broke international box office records for a documentary in 2002.
United Artists
12. "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" (2018) - $22.8 million
Morgan Neville's portrait of Fred Rogers and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" proved to be a crowd-pleasing hit in the summer of 2018 because of the absolute niceness at its heart. Neville in his film explains that Fred Rogers was the rare person who really did not have a dark side, and in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" it shows.
Jim Judkis / Focus Features
11. "An Inconvenient Truth" (2006) - $24.1 million
Davis Guggenheim's documentary spotlighting former Vice President Al Gore's plea to alert the world to the effects of global warming and climate change went on to win two Oscars and earn a sequel.
Paramount Classics
10. "Sicko" (2007) - $24.5 million
Another Michael Moore movie to crack the list, "Sicko" was Moore's look at the healthcare industry in America compared to other nations, with Moore sailing sick veterans down to Cuba to receive the care they couldn't have had at home.
Lionsgate
9. "Katy Perry: Part of Me" (2012) - $25.3 million
This 2012 concert movie followed Katy Perry on her California Dreams World Tour.
Paramount Pictures
8. "One Direction: This Is Us" (2013) - $28.8 million
"Super Size Me" filmmaker Morgan Spurlock directed this concert doc about the then wildly popular British boy group.
TriStar
7. "Chimpanzee" (2012) - $28.9 million
Tim Allen narrated this Disneynature doc about a three-month old chimp separated from his flock and adopted by another grown male.
Disneynature
6. "Earth" (2007) - $32 million
The first of Disneynature's documentaries, "Earth" was a theatrical version of the popular "Planet Earth" miniseries from 2006. "Earth" was finally given a stateside theatrical release in 2009.
Disneynature
5. "2016: Obama's America" (2012) - $33.4 million
Dinesh D'Souza's anti-Obama documentary speculated about where the country would be if Obama won a second term in office in 2012.
Rocky Mountain Pictures
4. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" (2009) - $72 million
The footage in "This Is It" comes from a behind-the-scenes look at preparation for Michael Jackson's 50 shows at London's O2 Arena. It wasn't originally meant to be made into a film, but it provided an intimate look at Jackson in his final days.
Sony
3. "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" (2011) - $73 million
The Biebs holds the spot for the highest-grossing concert film ever and the documentary with the biggest opening weekend of all time.
Paramount Pictures
2. "March of the Penguins" (2005) - $77.4 million
People sure love penguins. Morgan Freeman narrates the nature documentary that opened on just four screens but soon spread into a nationwide hit.
National Geographic Films
1. "Fahrenheit 9/11" (2004) - $119.1 million
Michael Moore's scathing documentary about President George W. Bush and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks is the highest-grossing documentary of all time and it isn't even close. The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Opening at over $23 million, the movie at the time opened higher than any other documentary had ever grossed in its lifetime. Moore followed up the film with a documentary about the 2016 election and Donald Trump, titled "Fahrenheit 11/9," which refers to the day after he was elected.
Miramax
1 of 16
Michael Moore, Disneynature and several concert films top the list
Documentaries are rarely big money makers, but they can have the power to influence change and motivate people to action in a way narrative films cannot. So when a documentary does make a splash at the box office, it's an even bigger surprise. This list of the top-15 grossing documentaries ever is an interesting mix of political, nature and concert docs, and several of them likewise went on to win Oscars and critical acclaim. All numbers are domestic totals via Box Office Mojo.
8:13 AM PT -- R. Kelly has just officially entered a plea ... not guilty. He's also been denied bail.
R. Kelly's racketeering and sex trafficking case is underway in NY ... he's set to appear and officially hear the charges and enter a plea.
Kelly's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, tells us the singer will plead not guilty at the arraignment. No major surprise ... Kelly has continued to battle the mounting charges and cases against him, denying all the allegations. Kelly flew to New York Thursday for the hearing.
TMZ.com
Just like in his federal case in Illinois, Kelly's 2 girlfriends -- Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage -- are there for moral support. As we told you, they flew from Chicago to attend the arraignment ... and stuck to their phones as they walked in.
There's also a group of Kelly supporters that have gathered outside the courthouse ... one wearing a "Free R. Kelly" t-shirt.
TMZ
As we reported ... the feds slapped Kelly with a 5-count federal indictment ... which includes racketeering and kidnapping. This is separate from the 13-count indictment in Illinois federal court. The indictment out of the Eastern District of NY also includes several violations of the Mann Act and allegations of forced labor.
Kelly denied the allegations ... blasting his alleged victims as "disgruntled groupies," this according to docs in which he asks the judge to release him pending trial. He's been behind bars since he was denied bond.
According to the federal indictment ... Kelly and others engaged in a scheme to coerce minors to participate in sexually explicit acts on camera. The feds say the purpose of the scheme was to "promote R. Kelly's music and the R. Kelly brand and to recruit women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity with Kelly."
The feds also allege "Kelly and his crew traveled throughout the United States and abroad to recruit these women and girls." Further allegations include Kelly made "threats of force and physically restrained the women" to obtain their labor and services.
BTW ... the Mann Act prohibits the transportation of anyone across state lines for illicit sexual purposes. Four of the 5 counts against Kelly are violations of the Mann Act.
The judge ordered that the singer remain in custody pending his trial.
Kelly appeared in court Friday sporting a full beard and wearing orange sneakers, an orange t-shirt and a navy, short-sleeved prison uniform. Flanked by his attorneys, the R&B singer occasionally glanced around and nodded at his supporters in the courtroom.
Kelly was charged last month in the Eastern District of New York in an indictment that also accused him of violating the Mann Act by coercing and transporting women and girls across state lines to engage in illegal sexual activity as far back as 1999.
The indictment details alleged incidents in four states: Illinois, Connecticut, California and New York. Five Jane Does are referenced throughout the document, including three minors.
The indictment also alleges Kelly, 52, exposed at least one person to a sexually transmitted disease without disclosing it.
Kelly has vehemently denied allegations of sexual misconduct in the past.
The singer, who was already in custody in Illinois, landed at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport from Chicago on Thursday and was transferred to Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, his attorney, Steve Greenberg, told CNN.
He was arrested in Chicago last month on two separate federal grand jury indictments in Illinois and New York. The indictments allege Kelly recruited women for sex, persuaded people to conceal that he had sexual contact with teenage girls and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying back missing videotapes that showed him having sex with teenaged girls.
Kelly pleaded not guilty last month to 13 federal charges stemming from the separate federal indictment in Illinois. A judge there had denied him bail because he is considered a flight risk and a danger to the community.
Kelly faces one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography, four counts of producing child pornography, five counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, according to the indictment released last month in the Northern District of Illinois.
The indictment accused Kelly of videotaping himself having sex with at least four girls under the age of 18 beginning in 1998.
Kelly is due back in a Chicago court on September 4 for a status hearing on the Illinois charges.
The singer has faced accusations of abuse, manipulation and inappropriate encounters with girls and young women for more than two decades.
The documentary series "Surviving R. Kelly" that aired on Lifetime revived interest in the case against Kelly.
In February, Kelly pleaded not guilty to Illinois state charges -- 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four alleged victims, including three who prosecutors say were underage girls. The charges -- a class 2 felony -- span from 1998 to 2010. If convicted, Kelly faces three to seven years in prison for each count.
He posted the $100,000 bond but was arrested and jailed again in March for failure to pay his ex-wife $161,000 in child support.
A grand jury later indicted him in May on 11 additional charges pertaining to one of the four accusers, including aggravated criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual assault.
CNN's Nicole Chavez, Dave Cera, Steve Almasy, Sonia Moghe and Darran Simon contributed to this report.
As of last week, I had never seen any movies in the Fast & Furious franchise. I probably missed the first one in 2001 because I was planning my wedding or something else equally pedestrian. Then, before I knew it, there were seven more, and I had no chance of catching up.
But now the franchise has lasted longer than any of our president's marriages and has just birthed its first spin-off feature. So I have taken it upon myself to shotgun all eight movies in four days and report back to you what they have taught me about cars.
For the uninitiated, F&F more or less follows the car-crashing bromance of two shredded dude-bros played by Paul Walker and Vin Diesel. The former is a cop-turned-crook-turned-cop-turned-vigilante secret agent. The latter is a street-racing crook who eventually—well, look, there isn't really a job description for what these guys end up doing by the end of the series. When not racing or knocking heads, their relationship consists of Diesel dispensing blue-collar wisdom in a monotone while Paul Walker stares adoringly.
In order to truly understand their relationship, I've ordered the movies below by following the series' internal chronology. Yes, this differs from the release dates. Just because these movies go real fast doesn't mean they always move in a straight line.
Car vs. car: The Fast and the Furious (2001, dir. Rob Cohen)
The single-minded devotion of the first two films to their meathead aesthetic is astounding. Every car gleams. Every man spends as much time at the gym as the women spend waxing. The world is bereft of body fat or ugly people. The only sentences that don't end with "bro" end with "man" or "dude." Everything is "by Christian Audiger." (Not just the clothes; possibly the dialogue, too.) One of Vin Diesel's jacked homeys wears two tank tops at the same time. Hip-hop and jock jams blast continually from every orifice.
The Fast and the Furious is tightly paced and plotted, which is to be expected for what is essentially a remake of Point Break. Just replace the cars with surfboards and Vin Diesel with Houston's own Patrick Swayze (did I ever tell you I went to junior high with his cousin?).
Stand-out vehicles
Sure, Vin Diesel uses a 1993 Mazda RX-7 FD for his heists, but that's not where his heart is. He's all about family and community—which means American muscle cars like the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T his father left him. It's no surprise that Walker's undercover cop is so drawn to VD: the cop has no past, no roots, and no relationships. As such, Walker prefers foreign cars, including a 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS that gets machine-gunned by gangsters and a 1995 Toyota Supra Mk.IV JZA80 that he gives to Vin Diesel as a part of a previously established bro-code that I won't spoil for you (spoiler: it's utlra bro-y). The dichotomy presented in the movie is true for all cultures across all time: do we stick with our traditions, no matter how ungainly, or do we become more adaptive, agile, and fuel efficient? Dude, heavy.
What I learned about cars: Going fast will turn your ride into a light cycle from TRON.
The hot rods in The Fast and the Furious are tricked out with tanks of magic juice—like, liquid Schwartz or something. The juice makes them go so fast that the world gets all blurry. Maybe it's cough syrup? Whatever the stuff is, I'll see if I can pick some up later at AutoZone for my 2001 Corolla.
Car vs. boat: 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003, dir. John Singleton)
2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII and 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GTS.
And now we come to 2 Fast 2 Furious, the most ridiculous (and therefore best) title for a sequel. It joins Electric Boogaloo as a punchline for all potential sequels from now until the heat death of the universe. Possible examples include 2 Call 2 Name, 2 Temptation 2 Christ, and The Passion of Joan of Arc: Tokyo Drift.
The plotting in 2 Fast isn't as tight, but this is also the most whimsical of the series. It has to be—it's called 2 Fast 2 Furious. The trash-talking chemistry between Walker and singer-turned-actor Tyrese is a delight, and Tyrese's knowledge of different ways to say "bro" ("brah, "breh," etc.) is encyclopedic. When Walker and his old frenemy Tyrese reunite for the first time, director John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood) shoots their graceless scuffle in a Buster Keaton-esque longshot while an FBI guy has a snack. They eventually agree to go undercover for the Bureau in exchange for having their criminal records cleared. Remember that phrase "criminal records cleared," because you'll only hear it 1,584,925 more times in the next 13 hours.
Stand-out vehicles
Even as Walker reluctantly hints at his past, he still prefers slick, modernist cars from far-off places. That includes the 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 he drives to feed his racing addiction and the 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII that he uses on behalf of the FBI. Being his friend from Way Back, Tyrese also goes Japanese, although he prefers a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GTS convertible in "look-at-me!!!" purple. And when the time comes for "the Dukes of Hazzard shit" stunt Walker pulls at the end, he drives a 1969 Yenko Camaro SYC, perhaps in tribute to Vin Diesel.
What I learned about cars: Yelling makes you go faster.
No, yelling at the car doesn't make it go faster. That would be ludicrous. (Though that would be fitting, since Ludacris co-stars.) I mean yelling while you're driving. Despite being in different cars and often miles apart, Walker and Tyrese can't stop shouting smack at each other. It's wonderful.
Car vs. mountain: Fast & Furious (2009, dir. Justin Lin)
When Paul Walker showed up for his henchman audition in 2 Fast 2 Furious, he wore shorts and a West Coast Choppers T-shirt. But when we first see him in Fast & Furious, he's wearing—groan—a suit. WTF? Does removing all the definite articles in the movie's title grant instant sophistication?
Turns out Fast & Furious was intended as a "soft reboot." Parts one, 2 Fast, and three are all about street-racing and cranking the bro-speak dial to 11 (we're skipping part 3 for now, stay with me). Meanwhile, characters still occasionally have to pay for things. But with Fast & Furious, the franchise shifts to multimillion-dollar heists around the globe, while Our Heroes can seemingly pluck cars, guns, and computers from the nearest tree.
In Fast & Furious, Walker (who skipped Tokyo Drift) reunites with Diesel (who skipped parts two and three) and helps him seek vengeance for VD's murdered love interest. That role is played by Michelle Rodriguez and—spoiler alert!—she has one of the least-convincing off-screen deaths in cinema history. Drug dealers, FBI guys, and vehicular mayhem ensue. And Ludacris has gone from being a neighborhood mechanic to a world-class hacker. (I assume Luda's character runs mv bitch regularly.)
Stand-out vehicles
The indistinguishable American '70s and '80s muscle cars that Vin Diesel drives in Fast & Furious can be best described as "GRRRR MANHOOD!!!" Paul Walker has the 2002 version of his beloved Nissan Skyline GT-R as well as a 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STi GH.
What I learned about cars: Sometimes you don’t have time to roll down a window.
Despite tricking out his dad's 1970 Dodge Charger (and then tricking it out again after it gets wrecked), Vin Diesel never installs power windows. Either they slipped his mind or blah-blah-blah "staying true to your roots." So when he urgently needs the driver-side window down during a car chase, he puts his elbow through it. His arm is fine. Meanwhile, I bumped my foot on my AC adaptor while typing this and now I'm bleeding.
(BTW, can you picture anyone calling him "Vin" or "Mr. Diesel"? I imagine he's always "Vin Diesel" to everyone all the time, the way no one ever said "John" or "Mr. Wayne.")
Maybe my brain was turning to car-crash mush by this point in the marathon, but Fast Five left me dizzy in the backseat with its bonkers plot. Vin Diesel has collected enough sidekicks to fill an NBA starting lineup. The movie has as many plot points as The Dark Knight or Heat, and it has more heists than those movies combined (I know comparing Fast Five to Heat is unfair because comparing anything to Heat is unfair). Also, I think someone gets pregnant, but I can't be sure.
Remember in 2 Fast 2 Furious when Our Guys spend a solid 30 seconds saying "ouch!" after they've just crashed their car into a yacht? I can't imagine Fast Five taking the time for such a great throwaway bit.
Maybe decrying a movie with "fast" in the title for being too fast makes me a philistine. Sue me. At least Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson finally makes his F&F franchise debut. I remember that part. I like The Rock.
Stand-out vehicles
PW and VD levitate their way out of 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport after driving off a cliff (rad). Then there's the 2010 Dodge Charger SRT-8 LX: given a good chain and a heavy object, two of these can apparently level a city.
What I learned about cars: Regular cars work fine for off-roading.
So you bought a Jeep or a dune buggy or a pickup with huge tires to do some off-road driving? You chump. Turns out your average muscle-car or Hyundai Elantra can tear-ass across the desert at full speed without getting a scratch. Go get your dumb money back.
Car vs. tank: Fast & Furious 6 (2013; dir. Justin Lin)
Enlarge/ Heavily customized Formula 1. It reminds me of a platypus.
To the surprise of absolutely no one who has ever seen a movie or turned on a television, Michelle Rodriguez didn't really die in Fast & Furious. Turns out she just had amnesia.
Coincidentally, so do I. The plot conceit here, about her work for a globetrotting villain, might be sophisticated and nuanced. I didn't really digest it. Maybe I was too busy imagining the whole yell-to-drive-faster thing working out for my next drive to HEB.
Stand-out vehicles
I went Googling for more info on the cars of Fast & Furious 6, and I ended up at Maxim. Because of course. The site describes the villain's cuckoo-bananas getaway car thusly:
Essentially a Formula 1-type chassis with a large metal plate where the windshield should be, it allows the driver to both outrun their pursuers as well as destroy anyone fast, and foolish, enough to keep pace. You also have to love the sound of that sequential gearbox revving to the limit.
What I learned about cars: What a single car cannot accomplish, many cars working together can get done.
Just as we once fantasized about filling a garage floor-to-ceiling with Apple IIs to reach the power of a single Pentium, F&F6 shows that, with enough sports cars working together, you can take down a tank or a jumbo jet.
Car vs. adolescence: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006; dir. Justin Lin)
Either a 1997 or a 2000 Mazda RX-7 Type RS FD. The Internet offers differing opinions, and the Internet knows all.
I am from Houston. Actor Lucas Black is from Decatur, Alabama. That is close enough that everything he does or says is 100% convincing to me.
Like Halloween III, Tokyo Drift is only tangentially related to the rest of the series. After watching F&F get progressively busier and more overstuffed throughout parts four, five, and six, it's refreshing to watch a movie that's just about the kid from Sling Blade learning that he doesn't have to keep wrecking cars to impress girls. Think of it as a palate cleanser: by bringing the stakes back down to Earth, Tokyo Drift is allowed to breathe and have more personality. It lets us enjoy the simple pleasures of a car-repair montage or watching drunk people make out at a party.
Stand-out vehicles
Now that we're in Japan, Japanese cars symbolize hometown pride and not alienation. The film's Tokyo villain prefers the 2002 Nissan Fairlady Z Z33 and a 2000 Mazda RX-7 Type RS FD. Meanwhile, Our Hero rocks a heavily modified 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo while stateside. Until he trashes it. But unlike Vin Diesel, he adapts to his new circumstances and drives variations of the Nissan Silvia S-15 until the final confrontation. That's when he returns to his roots by renovating his dad's 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback, as one does.
What I learned about cars: You can make a whole movie out of turning.
Do y'all remember when drifting was first getting big in the States? Man, the 2000s were something else.
Car vs. skyscraper: Furious 7 (2015; dir. James Wan)
Enlarge/ Lykan HyperSport. This particular vehicle belongs to the Abu Dhabi Police.
This is when director and human cash machine James Wan joins the series. Before helming Aquaman, he was the man behind the Saw, Conjuring, and Insidious franchises. Everything he touches turns into a pile of money.
Also, Jason Statham is in this. The Stath hunts Our Heroes from continent to continent because they put his villain brother in a coma.
Furious 7 is the best in the series in part because it takes a page from the last three Mission: Impossible films: it has just enough plot to tie together the explosions and spectacles. (Furious 7 even shares a film editor and a cinematographer with Mission: Impossible II.) Motivations are clear. The cast is kept to a manageable size. The stunts are given enough space and well-timed slow-motion so that they have weight.
Also, by not overwhelming us with plot and side characters, parts seven and eight have the leisure time to show us The Rock doing a Samoan war dance with his daughter's soccer team and respecting workplace boundaries with his attractive female coworker. I wonder if he'll be my friend.
Also also, the jock jams are back. Sweet.
Stand-out vehicles
The only ride that matters in Furious 7 is the $3.4 million Lykan HyperSport. It's apparently made of ground-up unicorns, and Our Guys trash it. They trash it good.
What I learned about cars: Cars are safe and so is jumping out of them while they are moving.
Over the past 14 hours, we've seen vehicles flip over, plow through walls, crash into trains, tumble down cliffs, fly between buildings, burst into flames, race while on fire, parachute from jumbo jets, and hit each other head-on at half the speed of sound. But in all that time, as best I can tell, only one named character is killed in a car. Everyone else walks away. If F&F has an overarching lesson, it's that you're not just more badass inside of a car than anywhere else—you're safer, too.
Oh, and rolling out of a car while it's doing 90? Suuuuuuuper easy.
Car vs. submarine: Fate of the Furious (2017; dir. F. Gary Gray)
Enlarge/ This is preferable to getting your car towed.
My boss says that no matter how pudding-adjacent my brain is now I can't just copy and paste my description of Furious 7 here. So. In Fate (F8?) a villain's villain with questionable dreads blackmails Vin Diesel into joining her evil scheme to steal the cyber. She's played by Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, and she does this thing that villains have been doing lately where they try to convince the good guy that everything is their fault when it's clearly not. It's like gaslighting, except the gaslighter really believes it, too.
Stand-out vehicles
Uh, the submarine?
What I learned about cars: It’s better to obliterate your car than have it taken away from you.
Blowing up your ride and hurling its flaming wreckage into Havana Harbor is infinitely superior to it getting towed. Because there will always be more cars.
Now that that's done, let's all pour out a 40 for Paul Walker. He died during a break from filming Furious 7 and gave the kind of low-key, unfussy performance that is perfect for anchoring the howling insanity that is Fast & Furious.
If all these movies haven't sated your lust for dude-bros smashing hot cars, you're in luck: the F&F spin-off movie, Hobbs & Shaw, comes out today. I haven't seen it yet because I'm still recuperating in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber hidden away in an underground fortress, but it's got The Rock and The Stath and Princess Margaret in it and that sounds pretty great to me. Plus Cars Technica editor Jonathan Gitlin saw it and he liked it, and that Jonathan is a stand-up dude with reasonably OK taste in clothing and entertainment.
