Fast Five

Starring: Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang, Matt Schulze, Gal Gadot, Sung Kang, Eva Mendes (cameo)
Directed by: Justin Lin
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Crime
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Brian (Paul Walker) and Dom (Vin Diesel) bring their whole crew together for a massive heist. However, they are tracked by a relentless federal agent (Dwayne Johnson) determined to bring them to justice.

Review:
Tim: After the surprisingly good Fast & Furious, I was interested to see where Justin Lin and this franchise went with the fifth installment. Luckily, they went all out, bringing back everyone. That is clearly the best aspect of the film, and I'll go into more detail later. I also believe this film is noteworthy because it's changing the scope and focus of the franchise. Up until this point, the Fast and Furious movies have been about fast cars, with some other subplots around them. This movie changed that focus to make this much more of a heist movie than anything else. I can't think of another franchise that tried to reinvent itself this late in the game.

But, the first area to focus on is the cast. This franchise absolutely needs Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in the films. This is only the third time they're both together in a film here, but it makes the movies so much better. I loved that both of them were here. In addition, we get to see Jordana Brewser (from FF 1 & 4), Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris (from FF 2), and Sung Kang (from FF 2 & 4). It's pretty awesome to see all these different characters from the different films represented here. I love that, and can't think of another franchise where this was done. That's absolutely the best aspect of the film- all these characters on screen together. And yet, perhaps the most exciting actor is a new one here- Dwayne Johnson. Johnson is pefect for this franchise. He plays a relentless federal agent trying to hunt our outlaw protagonists down. This is cool itself, but even more amazing is that we get to see Dwayne Johnson verses Vin Diesel. That alone is truly incredible.

Surprisingly, the transition away from racing cars to a heist movie was almost seamless. I give director Justin Lin a great deal of credit for making it such an easy move. The movie wisely pays tribute to the fast cars and we do get several nice racing/car chase scenes. This connects the themes for all the movies, but the heist is the main plot, and the racing is a subplot. This made a great deal of sense, and is the logical next step for the franchise to take. It was necessary to either end this franchise or have it evolve, and the producers chose to take the more financially lucrative route. Luckily, this is a good movie, so I'm happy with the decision as well.

Now, I admit that I enjoyed Fast Five, but I have to admit it wasn't a great movie. There are definitely some major flaws here. The primary one is that the heist at the heart of the movie isn't exactly original. I appreciate the attempt at inventiveness, but as far as heist movies go, Fast Five is middle of the road. I felt like the movie tried too hard to emulate the Ocean's Eleven movies. Those films (especially the first) are much better.

The cast mostly work well together, but there are a few sketchy actors here. Believable character work has never been the strong suit of these films, and those issues are present here, as well. The movie does feel a bit all over the place. I love that this film tried to connect this film to the previous ones, but the car/racing scenes occasionally felt out of place and forced. That hurt the movie a bit.

What is impressive is that this franchise started strong, then gave us two weak entries. In almost shocking fashion, the movie rallied and the quality improved with the fourth film. That momentum carries into this movie, which is another good movie (and about on par with the previous one). I love that this franchise reinvented itself and reversed the downward trend in the quality department. I actually enjoyed this movie. The end of the film features a fairly shocking cliffhanger, which perfectly sets up the next film. I am shocked to say that I'm actually looking forward to another Fast movie. I don't anticipate that it will be memorable or truly great, but if it's as solid and entertaining as this one, that's okay with me. Bravo for this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Ronin, Timeline, A Man Apart, XXX, The Faculty