Fast Five Review

Justin Lin (Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious) returns to direct Fast Five and moves the series further down the road. Usually, when a movie series wants to change genres it is met with a number of problems, but Lin has decided to keep the series’ trade mark of fast cars and beautiful woman. Fast Five also sees the return of many of the cast members from prior movies. This time they are in Rio facing corrupt cops, a powerful drug lord, and the Rock. Let’s see how well this movie transitions from street racing film to a heist film.

The Good

The Action: I’ll start out with the best thing about this movie, the stunts. Excuse the language, but Fast Five has some of the most bat-shit insane bullshit action I have ever seen in a movie and it is awesome. I have no problem admitting that I love these dumb action movies. Fast Five is really one of the best movies to show off why summer blockbusters can be so much fun. Justin Lin clearly loves to see things explode, get crushed, and get damaged. This movie is full of over the top action packed moments. The final chase scene of the movie is so insane that you just have to go with it. I don’t want to spoil anything about the action scenes in the movie, but they are all well directed and planned out.

Minimal use of CG: Most critics seem to agree that 2 Fast 2 Furious is the worst of the franchise. While there are a number of reasons (the dumb name being one of them) the major complaint about the second movie comes from the overuse of CG. For some reason director John Singleton decided to use CG for most of the stunts and car chases. Lin learned from Singleton’s mistake, and in Fast Five (as well as the previous two films) there is not a lot of  CG. Real cars or models are used for nearly all of the action and it makes the movie look more realistic (as realistic as this kind of movie can feel at least) and doesn’t pull you out of the experience.

The Bad

Acting/Plot: The movie has its share of stupidity, but unlike other movies (Transformers 2) it never feels like it is trying to insult you at every turn. However, the plot lacks substance and the acting is rather bland. No one in the movie is a particularly good actor. I don’t want to harp on either of these cons too much. You should never go to a summer blockbuster expecting a good plot or good acting. Paul Walker is probably the worst actor on hand. He lacks emotional expression, his vocal tones don’t change, and he is just there to reprise his role from the previous films. Vin Diesel and the Rock definitely steal the show. Both actors hog the stage at times, especially when they try to out-macho each other. Despite all of the complaints I have had, everyone involved looked like they were having a blast. Their excitement and enthusiasm translated well on screen, which made the movie even more enjoyable.

Conclusion

I walked out of the theater with a big grin on my face and I laughed to myself at the insanity that was presented throughout the film. With most of today’s movies, I couldn’t say I would have walked out with the same feeling. You should know if you are the type of person that will enjoy this movie or not. If you can’t turn off your brain for two hours and just go with whatever a movie throws at you, then Fast Five isn’t the movie for you. If you like explosions, fast cars, insane stunts, looking at hot woman, and everything else a good summer blockbusters can bring; then Fast Five is worth the price of admission. Overall, I highly recommend it to action enthusiasts looking for a highly entertaining summer blockbuster.

Fast Five Review by Derangel