Publisher's Synopsis
Triple bill of action films. 'Fast and Furious' (2009) is the fourth instalment of the car chase laden action franchise starring Vin Diesel. When a crime brings them both back to LA , fugitive ex-con Dominic Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker). But as the two men find themselves facing a common enemy in the form of a major heroin importer, they are forced to give in to an uncertain new trust in order to infiltrate his operation and outmanoeuvre him. 'Gladiator' (2000) draws its inspiration from Anthony Mann's 'The Fall of the Roman Empire' (1964) and Stanley Kubrick's 'Spartacus' (1960). Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning take on the Roman epic lavishes the genre with the very latest in computer-generated effects technology. After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) betrays the Emperor's beloved General Maximus (Russell Crowe) and takes the throne for himself. Maximus is sold as a slave and then trained as a gladiator, keeping himself strong with thoughts of revenge. Eventually he is taken to the Colosseum, where he prepares to fight in a contest presided over by the corrupt Commodus. Will he suffer the ultimate humiliation and die for the entertainment of his enemy or will he survive the rigors of the arena and find a way of exacting his revenge? 'Wanted' (2008) is a slick, fast-paced action thriller in which a mundane office worker is transformed into a lethal assassin. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy)'s life is one of dull routine. Trapped in a dead-end office job, unappreciated by his boss, and cheated on by his girlfriend, Wes has accepted that he's never going to amount to much in life. But all that changes one day when he meets the enigmatic Fox (Angelina Jolie), a member of a secret society of assassins named The Fraternity who want to recruit Wes into their ranks. Dealing out death as ordained by fate itself, the society's leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), tells Wes that the father he always thought was dead was actually one of their top assassins, and that following his recent murder, he must now avenge his father's death by releasing the dormant powers he has inherited. Although reticent at first, Wes quickly warms to both the task and the icily-sexy Fox, as he discovers his natural aptitude for the job at hand whilst despatching the bad guys with supremely energetic efficiency.
