The Summer Begins Now!

Rating: 8/10 (29 April 2011)

Well, color me surprised. The Fast and The Furious has not been a series known for it's intelligence. Indeed, it's always been big, loud, and dumb. The original hit the right notes at the time of its release, appealing to many as a street racing film where few films has treaded before it. However, it's lackluster sequels failed to deliver. With the adrenaline rush of the original over and poor writing and acting all around, the sequels were nothing more than a series of poor imitations that could never recapture the thrills of the first film. So, it's with some surprise that Fast Five is arguably the best film in the series.
Fast Five ditches the street racing that made it's name in favor for being a heist film. In this particular case, we pick up right from where we left off, with Dom being busted out of his prison bus. They then flee to Rio where they take on a heist that goes haywire and eventually leads to the penultimate heist of the film. In the meantime, ruthless Agent Hobbs, who specializes in tracking and capturing people, arrives to catch out trio of outlaws. The film does a good job of not wasting any time and most of the serious moments are kept to a minimum in favor of heist scenes or action. And in the action department, the film delivers tenfold. Far bigger, louder, and more exciting than any F&F film before it, action junkies should find themselves thrilled by the impressive set pieces and testosterone-laced mix of car and foot action.
Now, don't get me wrong, this is still a F&F film. This means that the script is still pretty laughable and the acting leaves much to be desired. However, with that said, it's still a bit improved here. Vin Diesel still can't play up emotion very well, making his attempts at the more serious scenes here a bit laughable. Paul Walker doesn't fair much better and, unfortunately, even as a main character takes a back seat to Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. As action stars though, these three do a great job. In particular, the eventual confrontation between Diesel and Johnson is fantastic, with it being a brutal, WWE-esque rumble. The climactic scene alone is worth the price of admission. Though laughable, it's still an exciting, eye-popping scene that will leave you a little stupefied.
Certainly, you have to suspend much of your disbelief with your film. If you can't do that, you'll just find this entire film laughable and of poor entertainment value. For those who can though, this is a very entertaining film. And for fans, you'll certainly enjoy the film, with a well rounded cast from throughout the entire series coming together to pull off the impossible. It's definitely surprising to see that the fifth film in the series is the best, but I suppose that it's merely the evolution of F&F. With enough money, talent, and by pulling out all the stops, the franchise has finally capitalized on the over-the-top aspects that they had always seemed to go for. Suffice to say, action fans with enough suspension of disbelief will enjoy this immensely.