by Brian Hughes ’15

We live in an era when the movie-making business no longer cares about an original storyline or leaving a lasting impact on its audience. To some extent, it seems that most moviegoers don’t seem to care either, paying to see almost the same thing again and sometimes again and again. Movie series’ like “Fast and Furious” and “The Hangover” are taking full advantage of the trend, making money without giving its viewers anything worthy in return.

“Furious 6,” as it is called in the opening credits, and “The Hangover Part III” both repeat the structure of their previous films, only slightly altering the plot in the new ones. “Furious 6” doesn’t stray from its theme of family loyalty, while also including as many hard-to-believe driving stunts as it can, some of which just become so ridiculous that viewers will lose interest. “The Hangover: Part III” is a tad more different than it predecessors, as it is more about seeing where a crazy start to a few crazy days will lead rather than running around to fill in the holes of a drunken night.

“Furious 6” convinces the brain to skip right past the logic and go straight into the fun, but that doesn’t work for any viewers who require just of a dose of realism from the films they see. Stunts director Justin Lin thinks he can bypass any rational reasoning, which makes a few parts of the film absurd. Towards the beginning, Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) is chasing antagonist Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) but ends up separated on a highway onramp. Without hesitating, he tells his new partner, Riley (Gina Carano), to take the wheel as he jumps out of one moving object onto another at least 20 feet below. Another example is the tank scene, in which Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is thrown off the tank’s roof, finding herself falling through a gap between adjacent bridges. But someone has to save the day, so Dom (Vin Diesel) jumps from his car, catches her mid-flight, and lands on the hood of a car on the opposite side, perfectly safe.

All loyal “Fast and Furious” fans should know the drill by now. Turn your brains off; it will only bring to light all the plot holes in the movie. Just don’t think about the irrationality of the stunts, enjoy the one-liners here and there from various crew members, and feel the adrenaline rush from watching the gang triumph once again.

Part III in “The Hangover” series tiresomely offers the same kind of humor as the first two parts. This time, Alan (Zach Galifianakis) is the key to the film. The plot revolves around his issues as a juvenile 42-year-old, and the comedy only occurs when he says something stupidly funny to break up a would-be dramatic scene. Doug (Justin Bartha) is separated from the group once again, and is the Wolfpack’s motive for carrying out their task.

Both series’ provide a cliffhanger in post-credit scenes, but only “Fast and Furious” has decided to follow up, planning to release a seventh film next year.