The fastest and most furious ride yet.

Rating: 9/10 (21 April 2011)

Making a sequel to a film is never normally a good thing. They excite all the fans of the previous film(s) and then disappoint them with a production that is not better than the original. The same goes for a remake. Some films turn into a series where each film becomes worse  this has been the case with the Fast and Furious series. However this fifth film is one that outclasses its predecessors, read on to see why. Fast Five continues where Fast and Furious left off, with Dominic sentenced to 25 years in jail and the bus chase that was seen at the end involving Mia and Brian. The aftermath of their interception was that they managed to break Dom out of custody, dodged every authority, and have fled to Rio de Janeiro (where every Brazilian seems to be portrayed as a gun-toting thug). In order to break free, they attempt to pull off a 100 million dollar heist. It isn't long before they all become a few of the most wanted criminals. Their mission that rips through Brazil sees two on their tail  federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), who never lets anyone escape and corrupt drug lord Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) who wants them dead. That's not really a witty plot. And there aren't great performances guided by a witty script either so rule out suspenseful conversations and memorable dialogue. A merit goes to the Dwayne Johnson though  he was perfectly cast for his role and shows a lot more of his talky WWE side unlike his last film Faster where he was virtually on mute. But Fast and Furious has never been known for excelling in those aspects of filmmaking. It's known for the action scenes. And what spectacular action scenes there are in Fast Five. It takes it turn to be more of The Expendables instead of the previous films of the series by having a 'men on a mission' plot element and emphasising more on fighting than racing. There's more road rage in here than street racing, and for the record there's even an ex-wrestler versus action hero fight like there was when Stone Cold fist fought Sly Stallone. The first act of the film is fast and furious. It quickly takes the audience on a relentless train ride where we see a train robbery in process. This act quickly builds up a background for the story so the audience knows who, what, when, how and why the team are in Brazil. The second act revolves around the main plot element of the $100 million heist. The film decelerates slightly here when we see the crew plotting. Anyone who would have seen the details of the film beforehand would realise why  this lasts over 2 hours, longer than all of the previous films. The 10 minutes after a full two hours weren't really necessary but show us the aftermath of the third act, the hugely thrilling act. Any who feel frustrated at the pace of the second act  stay for the climactic scene in the third act. Think of Fast Five as the cinematic equivalent of a mindless muscular athlete. Can't talk a good game but can surely play a good game. We have all met that person, that guy who failed his exams but took the football pitch by storm at high school. Fast Five is as absent minded  plain characters and clunky dialogue. But the 'physical' side is where it amazes  the action scenes of course. It's like the men behind the camera decided to perfect the action scenes, the plot was secondary. Looking at this year's earlier films The Mechanic and The Green Hornet, it's safe to say that Fast Five has the best action sequences of the year yet, and is the best action film overall so far. Verdict: Forgive the simplicity of the script and get ready for the fastest and most furious ride yet.