Fast Five

For my fifth review this month, I've picked a film called Fast Five. It's the fifth film in The Fast and The Furious franchise which involves cars that are fast and furious. For further analysis, read on.

In the end of the last film, Fast and Furious, illegal street racer and thief Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) found himself on a bus to prison. As this one opens, his motley crew stages an elaborate stunt to bust him out. Sometime later, they're back in business staging a car heist aboard a train in Rio de Janeiro.
They find out the hard way that the cars actually belong to crooked businessman Herman Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). His minions peg them for murdering a few federal agents, which results in lawman Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) coming after them. To get back at Reyes, Dom decides to swipe all of his assets and retire early. This plan involves cars, a few alumni from the previous films, and an assault on a police station.

What the franchise is best known for is staging big stunts with fast cars. There's plenty of stunts in Fast Five, up to and including the wild ride of a steel vault down Rio. These scenes, staged by director Justin Lin, turn the film into an entertainingly over-the-top spectacle.

Not lost in the confusion is any semblance of plot. Aside from the chases, the film's story is actually comprehensive. Some familiarity with past events is recommended, but fortunately, screenwriter Chris Morgan doesn't leave franchise neophytes wholly in the dark. The only real flaw is that it finishes at an unusual over-length of 130 minutes.

But still, Fast Five is the film that's supposed to signal the arrival of summer. In that regard, it has surely crossed the finish line in flying colors.