Credit: Fast and Furious
Plenty of people get by with accepting ridiculous movie plots by telling others not to take it so seriously and just get into the movie. I can agree with that since thinking too hard about something and how it defies all laws of physics and reality can be kind of a downer when trying to enjoy a movie. But there are those movies that take things well beyond the pale when it comes to the things that are allowed to happen within their boundaries. The Fast and Furious franchise has a lot of people picking sides when it comes to whether or not certain things could or could not happen as they’re shown in the movie. Some are kind of obvious since, of course, they couldn’t happen, as movie magic and plot armor explain a lot of the stuff that reality simply can’t. But while some folks are comfortable in stating that it’s not that big of a deal, that it should just be allowed to ride as is, there are others that have grown a bit tired of seeing this franchise get away with just about anything and everything that it can when it comes to the characters and the many situations they find themselves in from time to time.
With that in mind, here are five of the most ridiculous moments from the Fast and Furious movies.
5. Jumping between Skyscrapers in a Car
Credit: Fast and Furious
The fact that people will argue about the reality that they believe some of these scenes are based on is ridiculous enough, but driving a 3,000 lb. car from one skyscraper to another on the premise that going fast enough should be able to allow the car to bridge the gap is, well, enough to make many physicists see red. The mere fact that gravity would likely be tugging as hard as it could on the car and that the actual speed needed to bridge such a gap couldn’t possibly be reached is enough to make this feel as though it would be the death of two of the main characters. Even if they could reach those speeds, it feels that it would undercut their reaction time and the possibility of survival when it came time to bail out.
4. Dragging the Safe
Credit: Fast and Furious
The one thing to note is that most of these stunts have been tried, when possible, to see if they could work. This one in particular, though, has been tried with so many different variables that trying to say that it could work in real life is kind of tough. The weight of the safe, the friction that would prevent the safe from moving in the way that was desired, and the fact that the safe might crush an untold number of things in its way would have to be factored into the stunt, as it likely was. But quite simply, it’s ridiculous since it shows that Dom and his crew have no regard for anyone else and are somehow able to defy physics left and right.
3. The Submarine Popping up through the Ice
Credit: Fast and Furious
It’s easy to think that a submarine in the water could have kept a steady pace but might not have kept up with the cars on the ice above. But seeing Cipher using the sub to play a strange game of jack-in-the-box with the cars, and keeping up with them no less, stretches credibility in a tremendous way. Could a sub break through the ice? Yeah, it’s possible, as many have stated, but the risk here would be breaking through the ice over and over, thereby risking serious damage to the prize that Cipher had come for. This is a lady that was never taught how to play nice with her toys.
2. Catching Letty in midair.
Credit: Fast and Furious
First off, tanks don’t typically get up to freeway speeds, since their top speed is often 30 mph. Second, a headfirst dive through midair isn’t like a guided drop from a great height. By comparison, it’s like being shot out of a cannon with the loss of all control other than hard you might want to flap your arms, as well as a few involuntary acts that I won’t get into. On top of that, if Dom missed, then they’re both roadkill, but even if he caught her and landed on another car all the way on the other side of the bridge, the speed they were traveling at and the impact that was waiting for them would be more than even Dom could handle, without plot armor anyway.
1. Dom vs. Shaw
Credit: Fast and Furious
A street racer/thief vs. a world-class assassin that can take out a hospital full of guards just to see his brother, now that’s a tough one. In a race, it’s fair to think that Dom would own Deckard more often than not. But in a street fight, the edge usually goes to the guy that knows how to kill a person in more ways than he has fingers, especially since Dom’s freakish strength could be used against him in a very big way. One reason this is irritating is that it’s assumed the ‘good guy’ is going to win no matter what. But the other point of frustration is that because of the story, Deckard had to hold back.
Follow Us
