By Far the Franchise's Best!

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2013)

The Fast and the Furious franchise is not the best franchise out there but the first four films were just fun, over-the-top movies that doesn't need a plot. I didn't know that there could be any masterpieces in this series, then Fast Five came along. What we got here is more fun, absurd action, impossible stunts, returning characters from past films, and yes, emotion.
Justin Lin's film takes place right after Fast & Furious ended, with Brian and Mia rescuing Dom Toretto from life imprisonment. After that, they travel to Rio de Janeiro where they plan to lay low. But they soon figure to do one last deal before they retire. They bring in old friends to help them do the cash grab of a lifetime. But, Luke Hobbs, a beefed-up cop on a mission is the one who plans on bringing the gang down.
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker have great chemistry in this film. Woking together for three films will do this to actors. I loved that many of the old faces such as Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Ludicrous, and Matt Schulze have returned. Jordana Brewster is still looking good after all these years.
Overall, this is one heck of a ride. What makes this film work is that instead of a racing cars film, we have a heist film. This follows in the footsteps of the Ocean's trilogy and it works. I loved all these stunts. They get better as each movie progresses. I don't know how they did this, but I really liked that preposterous scene where Vin and Paul jumped out of a car while it drives off a cliff. That was just incredible. This is definitely the best in the series and I'm excited for the sixth installment. I rate this film 10/10.