Fast Five is the last film from the Fast and Furious series starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson. Director Justin Lin, who directed two of the previous films, Fast and Furious (2009) and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), brings to theaters a top notch action movie with superior visual effects and cinematography.
The story connects where the first movie ended. Brian O’Conner (Walker), his girlfriend Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) and her brother Dom Toretto (Diesel)are fugitives hiding out in South America. After a job goes wrong, the crew find themselves in more trouble than before. They are being hunted by a relentless FBI agent, Luke Hobbs (Johnson) and worse, the most powerful drug lord in Brazil (Hernan Reyes) wants them dead. The only way out is to do the ultimate job that will bring in enough money for the crew to retire from the criminal life and virtually disappears off the radar. Thus the elite team is created and the race begins.
Although Fast Five is an overall entertaining film there are some hits and misses. The misses in this film were in the story line, which I found to be rather weak and predictable. There are also a few unrealistic/unbelievable scenarios that really didn’t make any sense, even for an action movie.
And the hits, there’s plenty of car racing, explosions and eye candy to keep you entertained for two hours. The action scenes are really cool to watch, especially one scene that involves a train, a car and a cliff, that will leave you at the edge of your seat. The film’s comic relief comes mainly from Tyrese Gibson and rapper Ludacris who both starred in 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), and are part of the team.
What makes this an enjoyable film to watch is that it’s character driven. Yes, they are criminals and the last time I checked, stealing cars is illegal, but there is something about these guys that you can’t help but root for them. Everyone in the film has their own story and motivations. We know their lives, their wants and needs. We especially love the fact that no job is too big or dangerous for them. They live for the thrill and we the audience is along for the crazy ride.
If you’re an action movie buff, Fast Five is worth checking out but don’t expect to see a movie with an intricate or original storyline.
Fast Five receives a PARL
Rating system:
P …Horrible
PA …Tolerable
PAR …Good
PARL …Excellent
PARLÉ …Classic
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