Director: Justin Lin
Screenplay: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson
Producer: Neal H. Moritz
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson
Year: 2011
Country: U.S.A.
Duration: 130 min
Physics? We don’t need no stinkin’ physics! And neither does “Fast Five”, the fifth installment into the dramatically revered cinema that is Fast and Furious. Ok, maybe not dramatically revered but box office revered for sure, and as rare as it is, the fourth sequel breathes exciting testosterone charged life into the series. Here is a film that knows who it’s audience is, as cars and people do things that the laws of nature tell us otherwise that we can’t do. Director Justin Lin doesn’t take the effort to hide the films lurid sensationalism, but with absurd brilliance puts the pedal to the metal achieving a cut above the rest in this years action films.
“Fast Five” has a blazing opening as Vin Diesel and Paul Walker return to the roles once again that made them famous and kept them famous. Walker’s Brian O’Conner and his girl/ Dom’s lil’ sis’ Mia (Jordana Brewster) rescue Vin Diesel’s Dominic Torretto from a prison bus taking him to his 25 year sentence with no parole. Once out Brian and Dominic take a heist gone wrong that has them running in Rio De Janiero from a awesomely 80’s typical South American Drug Lord and the awesomely jacked up slash oiled up Dwayne Johnson as the Old Testament tough guy elite officer Hobbs on their trail. If you’re wondering if the Rock and the Diesel get into a rockin sweaty no-holds-barred man fight of the ages, the answer is hell yes!
My new wife (hold your applause) had never seen a “Fast and Furious” film before, and throughout the film she would ask me plausible questions of “why” and “what” and I politely replied, “shhh baby, hubby’s watching cars go vroom vroom and big men beat the crap out of each other.” “Fast Five” becomes more of a ethnic “Ocean’s 11” heist film than the drag car race films of it’s predecessors, and that works as well.
For the most part everything is fast in this film, even the subtitles. Where Lin could have improved is to take out about 20 or more minutes out the 130 minute running time. You can’t really improve Paul Walker’s acting, it just is what it is. Walker has as much expression to his O’Connor as Ben Steinover dosing on NyQuil. The finale is just as blazing and has one of the most impossible car chase sequences known to film. It could have turned out they had to use the flux capacitor to make their escape, and I wouldn’t of batted an eye.
“Fast Five” works on most of it’s much used cylinders and when Fast Six comes out (and you know it will) lets hope it’s just as furious.
Lets hope “this” is just as furious.
Fast Five:
movieswithmitch.com/ Mitch Hansch
I should check this out really. I never followed the sequels to The Fast And The Furious as the reviews were pretty horrific, but it sounds like this one is a lot of fun. I certainly love a good car chase movie.