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Rating: 7/10 (30 September 2014)

Action packed with plenty of awesome cars!
Fast Five is the fifth and most recent addition to the Fast and Furious series. Written by Chris Morgan and Gary Scott Thompson and directed by Justin Lin, this is the third Fast and Furious movie starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster. Set in Rio De Janeiro, former FBI agent Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and his now friend Dominic Toretto ( Vin Diesel), facing 25 years to life in jail, are on the run from authorities and plotting a crime involving fast cars and a large sum of money. Brian's girlfriend (and Dom's sister, Mia, (Jordana Brewster)) helps in this caper. Fast Five opens with the bus rescue mission where Fast and Furious left off. The trio flee to Rio and are on track to complete their "last job" to make some good money and then disappear. The job goes sour when they discover a secret and realize they are up against a US federal agent (Dwayne Johnson) and his team and a Brazilian crime boss (Joaquim De Almeida).
The movie is a fast paced action flick that is a great start to the 2011 summer season. At times silly and unbelievable, its predecessors were strictly race stories. This one veers off into more of a heist tale with secrets and fast cars. Dom and Brian are wanted for stealing cars from a Brazilian train and killing government agents (which they did not do). Characters from previous Fast and Furious movies appear such as Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris) and Han (Sung Kang). The newest character with the most impact is Agent Hobbs (Johnson), sent to Brazil to bring back Brian and Dom to the United States. Between Dom and Hobbs, it is the battle of the bulk. These two make a perfect conflict of brawn versus brawn.
The Brazilian crime boss, Reyes (De Almeida), is out for Brian and Dom and an incredible chase scene ensues where Brian and Dom steal cars off a moving train. Is this realistic? Probably not. But who cares? It may not be realistic but it sure is entertaining to watch. This film is non-stop action. It's not only about cars, there are foot chases where Dom, Brian and Mia are attempting a getaway from Reyes and Hobbs. The buff Toretto and equally fit Hobbs duke it out in a classic fist fight and then of course there is the grand finale. Who would believe that a bank vault could be effectively ripped out of a wall and towed by two cars on a high speed chase through the streets of Brazil? This may sound silly, but somehow it works in this film. The action scenes are so intense and well set up, they are, for the most part believable.
Much of the movie is spent setting up the heist. The characters are developed during this time. Roman (Gibson) is revealed as a loudmouth. Han (Kang) is reserved but his love interest in Gisele (Gal Gadot) reveals a more open side. Tej (Ludacris)comes out as the brains of the operation, by deciphering ways to access and open a military-grade vault. The film is 130 minutes and there is some fluff in the middle of the film but the chase scenes by car and on foot make it worth the wait. Mia is pregnant and sometimes you wonder how she can accomplish all this in her state. Somehow though, this is easily overlooked by her gutsy physicality. Where comedy was intended, the director missed the mark. There were a few instances where Roman (Gibson) provided much needed comic relief, but overall, besides the action and romance, the movie was a bit dry.
This series of films has traditionally been geared towards young male viewers but with the new heist format, it becomes more attractive to female viewers as well. The physical build of Diesel and Johnson as well as the pregnancy and romance between Brian and Mia add an additional level that female viewers would enjoy. Even though the film is long and at times over the top, it delivers what fans of this genre are looking for.
This film is no classic and there is a rather shallow storyline to follow. The script for Fast Five has improved over previous Fast and Furious series movies, yet it still lacks certain qualities of previous Fast and Furious movies. However, it still comes together well and makes a dynamic and memorable motion picture.