Elsa Benitez

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's Raul Castro is marking his 82nd birthday in another reminder that time is running out for the aging generation that has led the country since the 1959 revolution.

The sixth installment in the Universal Pictures franchise looks to successfully transition from street racing to heist action and kicks off this weekend in the United Kingdom today. It’s opposite Warner Bros’ The Great Gatsby (including Thursday previews) and the second week of Paramount’s Star Trek In Darkness. But Fast & Furious 6 is set in London and had its world premiere there. It opens in North America and 59 international markets day and date on May 24th with what no studio has ever dared to do: change the genre of a successful franchise. But chairman Adam Fogelson and co-chairman Donna Langley put Chris Morgan – the screenwriter of Fast Five as well as The Fast And The Furious 3: Tokyo Drift,  and Fast & Furious 4 — on the script for the sixth installment, and the whiz at the crime-thriller genre (Wanted) set up Fast Five to intro a Fast Six plot revolving around a major robbery. Universal’s intent was to freshen the franchise. Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) is back as a federal agent alongside Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and of course director Justin Lin (behind the camera for the 4th time) and longtime producer Neal Moritz. It also stars Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Elsa Pataky plus newcomers Luke Evans and Gina Carano.