Gisele Yashar
Fast & Furious character
An image of a woman with brown hair and dark clothes looking towards the camera.
Gal Gadot as Gisele Yashar
First appearanceFast & Furious (2009)
Created byChris Morgan
Portrayed byGal Gadot
In-universe information
AliasGisele Harabo
GenderFemale
Occupation
  • Liaison
  • Weapons expert
  • Former CIA operative agent
  • Former Mossad agent
NationalityIsraeli
AffiliationCrew members:
StatusAlive

Gisele Yashar[a] is a fictional character portrayed by Gal Gadot who appears in the Fast & Furious franchise. Introduced in the film Fast & Furious (2009), she helps Dominic Toretto and later his team in Fast Five (2011), where she forms a romantic relationship with Han Lue. The character was supposedly killed in Fast & Furious 6 (2013), until Fast X (2023) which confirms that she is still alive. Gisele was Gadot's first major film role, and American director Justin Lin hired her due to her past military experience. Gadot performed her own stunts while shooting the films.

Media outlets characterized Gisele through her sexuality. Reactions to the character were mixed: some critics praised the representation of Gisele's sexuality and her relationship with Han while others felt her character was either unrealistic or represented a part of the franchise's poor treatment of women. Gadot's performance received positive feedback, and several commentators requested she reprise the role in a future film.

Appearances

In Fast & Furious (2009), Gisele Yashar (Gal Gadot) is introduced as a liaison for drug trafficker Arturo Braga (John Ortiz). She develops romantic feelings for Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), but he rejects her advances. She advises him about the dangers involved in smuggling heroin across the Mexico–United States border to complete a deal with Braga. The drug exchange results in an ambush instigated by Braga, with Toretto protecting Gisele. She helps Toretto by providing him with the location of Braga's hideout in Mexico.[2]

Gisele becomes part of Toretto's team as a weapons expert in the 2011 film Fast Five. She is later revealed to be an ex-Mossad agent. She helps the team with a heist, during which she works closely with Han Lue (Sung Kang), and the two develop a romantic relationship. Following the completion of the mission, Gisele and Han are last shown speeding down the Autobahn, with Gisele sitting in his lap in a Lexus LFA.[3]

At the start of Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Gisele and Han are living together in Hong Kong. Toretto recruits the couple to prevent a heist planned by Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), which could potentially kill millions of people. For the mission Gisele draws on her Mossad experience with interrogation, weapons, and retrieval. While attempting to stop a plane, she is left hanging from the back of a Range Rover. Han attempts to rescue her, but Adolfson (Benjamin Davies), a member of Shaw's gang, uses the opportunity to try and kill him. Gisele lets go of Han's hand to shoot Adolfson, and apparently falls to her "death". Han later kills Adolfson in revenge for Gisele's death. At the end of the film, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) says a blessing in Gisele's honor during grace.[4]

In Furious 7 (2015), a photo of Gisele is shown in Han's personal belongings, and it is later placed in his coffin as part of his memorial service. A deleted scene revealed Gisele had found Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) after she was nearly killed by Fenix Calderon (Laz Alonso) and took her to the hospital. Letty asked Gisele why she saved her, and Gisele responded: "Maybe you are the one saving me."[5]

F9 (2021) reveals that Gisele had worked with the team's future government contact "Mr. Nobody" (Kurt Russell) during his time running drug operations for the CIA in South America. After her death, Nobody tracked down Han in Tokyo to ask for his help with a vital mission, reasoning that Gisele's faith in Han was enough for Nobody to be assured that Han could be trusted in turn.

At the end of the Fast X (2023), Gisele is revealed to have survived her fall from the vehicle in Fast & Furious 6, as she appears in a submarine to rescue Letty and Cipher (Charlize Theron) from the Agency's Antarctica prison.

Development

A man is waving toward the camera while smiling.
Justin Lin cast Gadot as Gisele

Gisele Yashar was Gal Gadot's first major film role, and the actress felt that it had a major impact on her career.[6][7] She said that her unsuccessful experiences when trying out for Bond girl Camille Montes in the 22nd James Bond film Quantum of Solace (2008) had led to other auditions, specifically the one for Gisele.[8] Gadot was cast by American director Justin Lin. The actress said that her background in the military helped with the audition, explaining: "I think the main reason was that Justin really liked that I was in the Israeli military, and he wanted to use my knowledge of weapons".[9] In 2017, Gadot also thanked Diesel for his input over her selection for the role.[7] Vanity Fair's Yohana Desta identified Gisele as "a breakthrough part that gave Gadot some mainstream recognition".[8]

When discussing her initial response to the Fast & Furious franchise, Gadot said: "We don't do those kind of movies [in Israel], with those kind of standards".[6] She performed her own stunts during the films, saying: "The adrenaline was just incredible and I enjoyed being able to do the stuff that in real life you can't."[10][11] Gadot explained that she wanted to feel like a "tough girl" while shooting her scenes.[10] For the character's return in Fast & Furious 6, Gadot told Lin that she wanted Gisele to "be more of a badass", and was given more stunt work for the film.[1] Some of the stunts involved jumping from a moving motorcycle onto a Jeep, being suspended in a harness, and riding a Ducati Monster motorcycle.[1][11] Media outlets also characterized Gisele through her sexuality;[12][13][14] Fuse's Bianca Gracie referred to her as "sensual and intimidating",[13] and The Stranger's Erik Henriksen called her a "villainous seductress".[14]

Following Gadot's return in Fast X, Rodriguez commented that Gadot had previously filmed cameos in previous films after her character's "death" in the sixth one, though none of them made it into the final cuts, with Diesel admitting that "we have shot other things a long time ago that might not have fit that specific movie as a finale. Doing tags is a very tricky thing because you want your great talent but at the same time you have to be very careful to maintain the emotional state of your audience at the end of the movie. So that’s what you’re juggling".[15]

Critical reception

A woman is smiling while looking toward her right.
Gadot received a positive response for her performance.

Gisele Yashar has received a mixed response from film critics. Decider's Meghan O'Keefe praised Gisele as a new type of female character for the Fast & Furious franchise, writing that she provided a more "sophisticated, and unapologetically femme vibe" when compared to the rougher Ortiz. O'Keefe responded positively to Gisele's use of her sexuality and femininity as a tactic to manipulate men, as well as to her romance and partnership with Han.[12] Nerdist News's Sydney Bucksbaum also identified the character's relationship with Han as a highlight, writing that they became "one of the most iconic couples from all the movies".[16] Some commentators had a more negative response to the character. The A.V. Club's Tom Breihan felt that Gisele's transformation from "a drug lord's envoy to a former Mossad agent and a badass killer" was part of how the franchise gave "implausible makeovers" to certain characters.[17] IndieWire's Kate Erbland included Gisele's death as an example of the franchise's poor treatment of women; she explained that female characters, such as Gisele, "primarily exist to round out the storylines of the films' male characters, often as love interests" and are rarely brought into focus as individuals.[18]

Gadot's performance received positive feedback from critics. In a 2017 article, Heavy.com's Brendan Marrow listed Gisele as one of Gadot's best performances prior to her starring role as Wonder Woman in the 2017 film of the same name.[19] O’Keefe of Decider described Gadot and her character as the "secret weapon" of the Fast & Furious franchise, praising the actress for her "totally kickass contribution to the bonkers, high-octane, super-charged [films]". O'Keefe described Gadot's performance as "balanc[ing] unbridled badassery with unabashedly feminine charm".[12] Joe Reid, also writing for Decider, recommended that Gisele should be revived for future installments of the franchise, but questioned if the producers could afford to have Gadot return for another film.[20] Bucksbaum campaigned for the character's return, and wrote that she could likely be featured in a future film through a flashback sequence.[16]

Notes

  1. ^ The name Gisele Harabo was used in production notes for the sixth film.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Production Notes" (PDF). Visualhollywood.com. April 1, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  2. ^ Justin Lin (director) (2009). Fast & Furious (Film). Universal Pictures.
  3. ^ Justin Lin (director) (2011). Fast Five (Film). Universal Pictures.
  4. ^ Justin Lin (director) (2013). Fast & Furious 6 (Film). Universal Pictures.
  5. ^ James Wan (director) (2015). Furious 7 (Film). Universal Pictures.
  6. ^ a b Marrow, Brendan (June 2, 2017). "'Wonder Woman': A Look at Gal Gadot's Best Performances Before Diana Prince". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot thanks Vin Diesel for giving her a chance in Hollywood". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. May 10, 2017. Archived from the original on May 16, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Desta, Yohana (September 8, 2017). "The Pre-Wonder Woman Roles That Almost Made Gal Gadot a Star". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018.
  9. ^ Stern, Marlow (July 29, 2014). "Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman: A Hamas-Bashing, Ex-IDF Soldier and Former Miss Israel". The Daily Beast. IAC. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Truong, Peggy (June 6, 2017). "10 Things to Know About Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Granger, Katie (October 23, 2015). "Gal Gadot Proves She Has What It Takes To Wear Wonder Woman's Bracelets In Batman V Superman". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  12. ^ a b c O’Keefe, Meghan (June 2, 2017). "Before Gal Gadot Was 'Wonder Woman,' She Was The Secret Weapon of The 'Fast & Furious' Franchise". Decider. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017.
  13. ^ a b Gracie, Bianca (March 7, 2017). "Future Women's History Month: Gal Gadot Reinvents the Superhero Status Quo". Fuse. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Henriksen, Erik (April 1, 2015). "Fast & Furious 101: Go Hard or Go Home". The Stranger. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016.
  15. ^ Malkin, Marc (May 22, 2023). "Vin Diesel Says 'Fast & Furious' Spinoffs Are in the Works, Including a Female-Led Movie". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Bucksbaum, Sydney (April 10, 2017). "7 Fast and Furious Characters That Should Miraculously Return to the Franchise". Nerdist News. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017.
  17. ^ Breihan, Tom (October 6, 2017). "The best Fast & Furious movie charted a path for the series—and got The Rock in on the action, too". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017.
  18. ^ Erbland, Kate (June 30, 2017). "Michelle Rodriguez Is Right: 5 Ways the 'Fast and Furious' Franchise Should Position Its Female Stars". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017.
  19. ^ Marrow, Brendan (June 2, 2017). "'Wonder Woman': A Look at Gal Gadot's Best Performances Before Diana Prince". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017.
  20. ^ Reid, Joe (January 13, 2018). "'The Fate of the Furious' on HBO: Which Cast Members Should The Series Keep?". Decider. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018.
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