Just as fast and furious as men

So you think that only big men like recent visitors Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson can claim to be fast and furious (far faster and more furious in the smash-hit franchise’s latest, the sixth, installment)?

Think again. Think Michelle Rodriguez and Gina Carano who prove to all and sundry that, yes, they can be just as fast and furious as, if not even more so than the two guys, and other muscled speed-maniacs in FF6 which is now showing nationwide (produced by Universal Pictures and released locally by United International Pictures [UIP] through Solar Entertainment Corporation, with Justin Lin on his fifth stint as director).

“Action is the genre where I fit in,” admitted Michelle during the movie’s junket in Manila two weeks ago, “and I don’t really mind.”

A Fast & Furious veteran (she was in the 2001 and 2009 releases), Michelle in FF6 plays Letty Ortiz, the character believed to have died in FF5.

“I love the character,” said Michelle. “She comes from the streets and I love that. She’s cool. I can identify where she comes from.”

Born Mayte Michelle Rodriguez on July 12, 1978, in San Antonio, Texas, Michelle has been typecast as action star since her 2000 breakout role in Girlfight, followed by more tough-girl roles in such action blockbusters (Resident Evil, S.W.A.T., Avatar, Machete, Battle: Los Angeles, Resident Evil: Retribution and others.

Despite her screen image, Michelle is definitely feminine, just like co-star Gina who looks more like a beauty queen than an action star. Check out Michelle’s background and you will see that she has consistently landed in the lists of sexiest women, to wit: Stuff magazine’s 102 Sexiest Women In The World, Maxim magazine’s 100 Sexiest Women, People en Espanol’s 50 Mas Bellas and FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women In The World 2009.

Told that she could easily blend into Filipino milieu, Michelle reacted amused.

“But when Spanish people asked me where I’m from, I say, ‘Spain’,” she laughed. Actually, when Michelle was eight years old, she moved with her mother to Dominican Republic, lived there until she was 11 and then settled down in New Jersey. “Yes, I do look like Filipino. I love the Philippines. I’ve been here, I went to Amanpulo, and I loved it!”

Gina plays Riley, a member of Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) led by a special agent played by Johnson, a role that cements her screen persona as a “toughie” (evident in the films Blood and Bone, Haywire and In the Blood; in the TV series Fight Girls, American Gladiators and I Am Bruce Lee [a docu]; and in the video games Ring Girls, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 and Fatal Femmes Fighting: Asian Invasion).

Born Gina Joy Carano on April 16, 1982, Gina began her career in Muay Thai and established herself as a martial-arts champion in various competitions. In 2008, she was named Hottest Woman In America by Big Biz magazine and ranked No. 5 on Yahoo’s Top 10 Influential Women; in 2009, ranked No. 6 in Maxim magazine’s Hot 100 List; in 2012, became the first recipient of the Chuck Norris Best Female Action Star Award by ActionFest.

Unlike other actresses who are mere decorative in action films, Michelle and Gina are on equal footing with their male counterparts, playing characters that champion women empowerment.

So what’s their stand on equality of the sexes?

It made Michelle laugh louder.

“That’s a funny question,” she said. “Let’s see…five thousand years later, where are we? Still in the same place, you know, in many ways. As far as work goes, you would think women are getting ahead especially in the West, in a place like America. But the top jobs for women are mostly secretary jobs, nurse jobs and waitress jobs,” overlooking the fact that some strong women are assuming high positions (heads of state and banks, etc.). “But women are getting there,” she qualified.

Agreed Gina, “Men and women are learning from each other, finding their way together, so things are getting better.”

In one scene in FF6, the two femme fatales engage in a bruising fight that must have drained them completely but they never complained even if they apparently hurt each other unintentionally in the process, something local actresses can learn from — you know, not (never!) to make an issue when they get even slightly hurt accidentally during a shoot. (One actress nearly got her actor-boyfriend into a fight with her actor co-star when she made sumbong that a flower base hurled by the co-star hit her foot.)

“That was a difficult scene to do,” admitted Gina.

“But we enjoyed doing it,” seconded Michelle, dismissing the post-shoot aches and pains as part of the trade. “It took us two days to perfect that scene.”

Asked briefly how they keep themselves fit and fabulous, Michelle said, “For the movie I trained three months in advance. I wanted to make sure that I was in tip-top shape.”

And Gina: “I love martial arts, especially Muay Thai and that keeps me in good shape.”

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