I had previously stated that I am a huge fan of the Fast and Furious franchise and that I was very excited about the upcoming Fast Five, because I thought it was the end of a great series. However, last week I reported that the green light was given to begin writing the script for Fast 6ix so I knew going into Fast Five this was not the end like I expected and let me say that I’m very glad it’s continuing on.
Fast Five directed by Justin Lin continues on with the story line of the previous 3 (Tokyo Drift happens way after the 4th and 5th and probably 6th film) with Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) on the run after Brian and Mia break Dom out of custody.They end up meeting up in Rio de Janeiro and reuniting with Vince (Matt Schulze) to do a simple job for some fast cash, however, things take a turn for the worse. In order to gain their freedom and try to clear their name they must pull off the biggest heist of their lives. To accomplish this task they must assemble an elite team of friends which include some from the previous films, Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), Rome (Tyrese Gibson) Han (Sung Kang) and Gisele (Gal Gadot), along with a few new faces. The group knows their only shot of getting out for good means confronting Drug lord, Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) who wants them dead. On top of all of this a ruthless federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and his team have been assigned to the case and are determined to bring them down. While racing through Rio, Hobbs learns he can’t separate the good guys from the bad.
Overall the film was very entertaining and fun to watch. If you are a fan of the series you will greatly appreciate the homage they pay to the prior films and the little hints at events in the future (Tokyo Drift). I was a little skeptical when I first heard The Rock was going to be in the film, but I must say that I was very impressed with his performance, especially the fight scenes between him and Vin Diesel. It wouldn’t be a Fast and Furious film without some of the cheesy dialog but it’s all in good fun and everyone gets a good laugh. Also, Tyrese and Ludacris’s characters work great on screen and they bring the humor to the film. I really wouldn’t mind watching these guys do their own film because they are very entertaining together and have great chemistry.
In regards to the cars and racing aspect of the film, there really isn’t as much as there used to be in the films. It seems they are trying to get away from the street racing aspect and make the film more about the heist and everyone gaining their freedom once and for all. I’m not saying there aren’t bad ass cars and street racing scenes but there was much less then what you will be used to seeing in the film. Personally I think this made the store more interesting and have a little more depth than the previous films because it wasn’t masked by the cars and racing.
Make sure you stay for after the credit, well not the whole credits, but about 5 minutes after the credits start. There is an additional scene that sets up an idea of what we will be expecting from the sixth film and without spoiling anything, let me say that it will catch you off guard and leave you wondering how they will pull it off.
Rating: Great entertaining film. Don’t go in with high expectations and you’ll end up leaving very satisfied (8/10)
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