Too Stupid, Too Fun

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2011)

Some films can be so idiotic that an audience will become insulted by their ineptitude (see The Last Airbender or Sucker Punch). But some films can be so idiotic that an audience will start giggling at how ridiculous the whole thing can be. Thankfully, the fifth outing in the decade-old Fast and Furious franchise falls in the latter category as an enjoyable, popcorn-munching thrill ride.
The film begins with where the last one left off: Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is carted off to jail but is busted en route to prison by his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and her boyfriend / Dom's now friendly rival, Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker). After escaping the US, the trio find themselves in Brazil but end up pissing off the kingpin of the favelas in Rio, Hernan Reyes (Joaquin de Almeida). Even with a brutal DSS agent (The Rock) on their tail, the Torettos and O'Connor decide to get back at Reyes and pull off a heist with a cash winnings of $100 million. So they recruit nearly all their friends from the previous four movies (including Ludicrous, Tyrese Gibson, Don Omar, Sung Kang, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon, Gal Gadot) to ban together and pull off an insane robbery plan.
From this little plot summary, you can already tell this is really not the most serious action film out there. And thankfully, the actors and director do not take it so seriously either, that they start to have so much fun with what they have. It does seem that the film tries a little too hard to make you like your main characters even though they are all thieves. For instance, Dom is frequently portrayed as a church-going, fiercely loyal friend despite being able to wreck anybody that gets in his way. But it's par for the course and it allows to confidently root for him and his team, even when their villain is so cartoonishly evil that he can't be taken seriously. But as I said, seriousness is not the order of the day. Fun is all there is on the menu, and the actors are able to support that fun just the same.
The dialogue is peppered with pretty silly lines for the three leads, but they each deliver them with such deadpan seriousness that you almost begin to wonder if they are intentionally trying to make you laugh. However, the dialogue does fall flat many times, and I was kind of hoping with such a ridiculous premise that dialogue could keep up with it. Sadly, that didn't happen. The middle of the film also drags on a bit with a notable lack of action, but this is made up with some funny exchanges between the characters who have some great chemistry.
Meanwhile Tyrese Gibson and Ludicrous have fun exchanges throughout the film, as do Don Omar and Tego Calderon. Gal Gadot and Matt Schulze don't add much to the mix, but they're fine with what they are given. I was really wishing to see more of Sung Kang as Han from Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift (the ONLY good part about the movie), but even he delivers some fun lines as well. But no exchange was making my audience crack up more than watching The Rock and Vin Diesel trying to out-Man the other guy. Even more so when their big fist fight in the film disregards physics.
Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure the director, Justin Lin, must really enjoy flicking off pictures of Isaac Newton, because physics do not exist in this world. In this film, he has two guys drive off a steep cliff into a river and somehow survive the impact of the fall and bare men can break through the walls of favelas. The film then leads to a spectacular sequence involving two cars dragging a large safe through the streets of Rio while using it as a wrecking ball against their pursuers. It gets so ridiculous that it achieves the Bad Boys 2 effect: a film that is so aware that it's dumb, that it becomes a fun ride for all.
While Fast Five cannot be called a great film with hokey dialogue and some flat characters, it does manage to entertain its audiences with the cast having great chemistry and over-the-top stunts leading the way throughout the film. Give it a look if you have an afternoon free, and enjoy the ride.