Director: Justin Lin (Fast & Furious, Tokyo Drift, Annapolis)
Screenplay: Chris Morgan
Producers: Vin Diesel, Michael Fottrell, Neal H. Moritz
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Joaquim de Almeida, Dwayne Johnson, Elsa Pataky
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 130 min.
(4/5)If, when I first saw The Fast and the Furious, anyone had told me that 10 years later the movie would have spawned no less that 4 sequels and become a solid franchise, I would have laughed in your face. Don’t get me wrong, I would have been thrilled at the prospect but I never would have believed that it could happen, especially after the disaster that was 2 Fast 2 Furious.
The franchise stepped away from any of the familiar faces (likely because no one wanted to be associated with the disaster that was the second movie) with Tokyo Drift which took the racing to the streets and parking lots of Japan for some mean drifting action. For the fourth instalment, the team was brought back together and Justin Lin, who took over directing duties on Tokyo Drift and writing partner Chris Morgan essentially started guiding the franchise to its return and by the fourth instalment, 2009’s Fast & Furious, the team was essentially back together but the movies had changed. No longer was the franchise about street racing (though that’s still a strong component) and the heist played a much bigger role in the story. With Fast Five it’s official: this franchise has morphed from hot cars, hot girls and street racing to hot cars and big ass heists.
Taking place immediately after the events of Fast & Furious, Dom (Vin Diesel) is broken out of prison before he even gets there by O’Conner (Paul Walker) and his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster). On the FBI’s most wanted list, the trio make their way to Rio where they meet up with Vince (Matt Schulze) who is making his return appearance since the first film, who offers up with an “easy job.” Strapped for cash, they take on the job which ends badly and now the trio is wanted not just by the FBI who has sent out Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to hunt them down, but also by a Brazilian mobster named Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). Dom brings the entire crew, spanning over 3 films (since the events in Tokyo Drift take place much later) for a grand heist of $100 million dollars. It’s here that shit gets interesting and this turns from action movie to crazy heist film.
Enter typical heist film checklist. The team comes together, we see them prepare, run into trouble, change the plan and eventually pull off a heist which includes dragging a vault through the streets of Rio de Janeiro while being chased by the entire police force and a couple of heavily armed mobster types. There’s much more to the story, Morgan manages to cram quite a bit of story into the movie and combined with the action sequences, the Lin/Morgan duo deliver a 2 hour action packed extravaganza that simply doesn’t take a break. We have the usual cheesy sombre moments which we’ve come to expect from the franchise but man, it’s mostly non stop action from opening to closing frames.
The actors have played these characters so often that they’re second nature and having the entire crew together was a nice treat, particularly the inclusion of the suave Han (Sung Kang), by far my favourite of the gang. Also surprised to see that Walker, by far the most awkward in the franchise, has finally found his footing here and is a character I’m really starting to warm up to. What I wasn’t expecting here was a history lesson, subtitles, a great foot chase through a barrio, and an assault on the team from all sides.
And of course, there’s what the franchise is known for: the cars. The sweet, sweet cars. There’s Dom’s favourite 1970 Charger which has made an appearance in all 5 films, a couple of classics including a Pantera (god I love this car), a GT40 and a Corvette Grand Sport, lots of new Chargers (both the 2010 and the newly designed 2011 model) along with a few mouth watering new beauties like the 2011 Challenger, the Nissan 370Z and not one but two Koenigsegg’s. It’s a car lover’s wet dream. I certainly had a few “Holy crap did you see what that was?!?!” moments.
I didn’t just like Fast Five, I loved all two hours of this action packed extravaganza which speeds by at breakneck speed though never feels like it’s out of control. The action sequences, both on foot and in cars, are well choreographed and I never felt lost amidst the action. Even the usually annoying reveal didn’t piss me off. It’s good fun and easily the best of the franchise since the original. Will there be a part 6? Most definitely. Be sure to stay through the credits for a sneak peek at the action. And I hope you believe in ghosts.
Click “play” to see the trailer:
Links:
IMDb profile
Official Site
Flixster Profile for Fast Five
I’m Sold. I’m dragging my girlfriend to this weekend.
They definitely cut some great trailers, enough to make me interested in the film. Your review might have pushed me over the edge. I’ve got to ask though, having only seen the first movie (and that was many years ago), is the five-quel accesable to those of us not learned in the Fast & Furious mythology? Or would I be better off indulging in a DVD marathon before checking out the latest entry?
Definitely accessible without having seen the other movies. Only carryover are the characters and you get the sense of their roles when they’re introduced (or re-introduced). I think you’d enjoy a marathon though. The second one really is bad but the rest all have their merits and 3…it’s so off the rails I couldn’t help but have a good time with it.
Ha! Awesome. I haven’t seen any of this series but the trailer for this one looked macho awesome. Why am I not surprised Marina ate it up?
This is great news. With multi-plexes having nothing to offer over the past few weeks, I look forward to checking this one out. I trust you on this one Marina. Nice to see a good ol’ popcorn film again that doesn’t insult me.
“Fast & Furious mythology”
Sorry, just reading those words made me chuckle. I’m such a snob. Somebody get me a monocle.
What’s worse Jonathan is that first two paragraphs are about the franchise. I could have written 2,000 words on this since I seem to have a crazy sort of love affair with this franchise.
@ Agent Orange – that’s how I roll
Ahhhh. From this to Jane Eyre. It’s a good day when I can watch these back to back.
I can comfortably say this is one of the worst films ever made.
If that’s true, it’s probably now worth seeing even more.
Matt, did you like/enjoy any of the previous installments?
This coming from the man who highly recommended THE MECHANIC which I barely stayed awake through. This may not have the awesomess of Ben Foster but it’s much more entertaining and fun.
I haven’t seen any of the F&F films, but like the other threads discussion of Michael Bay films, is it now a ‘thing’ to watch films because they bring big-budget inanity to a pinnacle? Is this the primary reason why people watch Bay-formers and F&F5?
Not especially. One was tired, two was terrible, three was stupid and I didn’t waste my time on four.
This was like watching the car chase sequence in The Rock for 2 and a half hours as they “drifted” over plot hole after plot hole.
This is a movie made by idiots for idiots.
I haven’t seen any of the F&F films, but like the other threads discussion of Michael Bay films, is it now a ‘thing’ to watch films because they bring big-budget inanity to a pinnacle? Is this the primary reason why people watch Bay-formers and F&F5?
Yes, and without a hint of irony.
Certainly not the reason why I watch them. It started because I love cars. It continues because they’re fun. And unlike Transformers, they don’t give me a fucking headache.
This coming from the man who highly recommended THE MECHANIC which I barely stayed awake through. This may not have the awesomess of Ben Foster but it’s much more entertaining and fun.
The Mechanic is competently made. Fast Five is a fucking disaster of story telling, editing and directing. Plot lines are dropped for no reason, character motivations are changed on the fly, chase sequences defy the laws of physics then defy their own newly set laws three seconds later, the dialogue is purely driven by exposition and so on and so forth.
The only thing different between this and some shitty Thailand action flick shot on video and starring a porn actress is Fast Five can throw $150 million at the problem to gloss everything up and drench the Rock in dew so it is platable to morons. And hey, if it sells a couple more Under Armor shirts in the process, bonus!
“chase sequences defy the laws of physics then defy their own newly set laws three seconds later,”
This is not a problem, rather a benefit.
1. Can’t recall a dropped story line.
2. Laws of physics: none of the movies in the franchise have ever fit within the laws of gravity. Not sure what new law they devised that they then broke. Would be swell to see a MYTHBUSTERS episode on some of the stunts.
3. They totally should have hired Sasha Gray as some LA contact and intercut her scenes into the movie in no particular order and for no reason. BONUS POINTS.
Fun camp. We’re all entitled to it. I happen to like mine with stupid driving action and great cars.
I really don’t want to see this, but its the only new thing showing at the local multiplex right after work….. well there is that robert Patterson movie…… OK, so Fast Five it is. Gawd I hope I have gravol in the truck.
You should be OK Leeny. Only sequence that might make you a bit ill is the barrio chase.
I was more worried about the acting making me sick Marina… Buzinga!
LOL
Better take a little hurl bag just in case. It’s not that bad but there are a few lol moments.
“The only thing different between this and some shitty Thailand action flick shot on video and starring a porn actress is Fast Five can throw $150 million at the problem to gloss everything up and drench the Rock in dew so it is platable to morons”
heh. This is awesome. I wasn’t planning on seeing this, but I find a lot of these types of films (torque anyone?) seem to be getting by on this alone.
Aaaaaaand my review:
http://youtu.be/mGWWWQFWFHc
Well said sir. Well said.
LOL LOL LOL
That’s kind of how I felt afterwards but it was too late for a burger.
Never saw Torque. Crotch rockets aren’t really my thing.
I actually like Torque. Probably because you could make a passable argument that it is satire.
one word description of this film…. ridiculous. Just not in a good way.
Both my girlfriend and I enjoyed the movie. And I can’t get her to see any action films, she usually only watches Art House and Indie flicks. The action was fantastic, and the story is borderline at best. But the “Charger Vault Scene” alone is worth the price of admission.
As for The Mechanic, I agree with Marina it was really boring. And only Jason Statham can make Paul Walker look like a great actor.
Paul Walker was surprisingly decent in “Running Scared.”
Mmmm… hockey puck to the face!
The base plot was ok, although the execution was ultra lame and childish, the motivation of quite a few characters with the constant change of mind set of what was appropriate was stupid.
I had hard time to cope with almost perfect shootouts but with no blood and gore, such a waste of piros.
With no doubt, this movie is tended for teens and those with IQ bellow 100.
P.S.
Action was quite cool, with no believable physics included though.
I enjoyed the “car crash festival” at the end, even if that was a copy paste of “Terminator 3″ crane chase scene.
I thought this was pretty good fun. Physics? The word shouldn’t even be mentioned. It’s a Fast and Furious movie. I thought all of the action was great and intense and it’s full of hot chicks and awesome cars. If you have a beef with that, then so be it.
The one girl looks (and sounds) EXACTLY like Monica Belucci if she was 40 lbs lighter and 20 years younger. Hard to look away. The rest of the cast is perfect for this sort of movie. Shitty acting, but still jumping in with both feet and giving their all. I thought it was a blast.
The stinger after the credits had some people in the audience gasping and OMG’ing. lolz.
Monica Belucci sounds Hispanic?
Or are you meaning the Israeli woman? You know, the country across the bloody sea from Italy.
(All Things Scottish reference anyone? Anyone?)
Yup, the Israeli girl. It’s like Belucci’s younger clone.
Loved the movie!!! Wish
the haters would go away!!!
Loved the Hobbs vs. Dom fight!
Loved Brian & Dom’s father talk that night!!
Explain the €10,000,000 euro bet at the end???!
It takes $14,000,000 USD to make €10,000,000;
so did the heist net $140,000,000 or $140 Mil / 10?
Is the simple answer they netted $150 to $160 mil
and hopefully had a few million left over after the €10 million euro bet.
That’s kind of sick to blow all that money one spin!
At least the other members took care of their money a whole lot better.!!
I liked all 5 F & F Installments even Tokyo Drift!! Tell the haters to watch something else!!
Loved the belief in Ghosts line!! Can’t wait till Fast
Six (6) comes out!! I’m just a true F & F fan sorry