Nordling here.
The FAST/FURIOUS movies, unlike many franchises that go into a fifth film, have been consistent, I’ll give them that. If you walk into one of these films without knowing what you’re getting, you deserve everything you get. But I also have to give this franchise major credit in pretty much hitting every mark that it shoots for. Most films aim well outside their target zone, but these films know exactly what works and what doesn’t.
I will say this up front – Justin Lin’s FAST FIVE is the best of the series so far. It’s fun, action-packed, and it does something I wouldn’t have expected in a million years coming from this series – I actually gave a damn about all the characters. Sure, they’re all caricatures, but the actors add something to each performance and they all have genuine camaraderie together. If you’ve seen the previous films and enjoyed them, FAST FIVE is going to make you smile a lot. But if you want to see Newton’s Law in action better go drop an apple from your window because you won't see that being documented here.
FAST FIVE opens at the end of the last film, as Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) is being carted off to prison and Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) execute a daring escape. Now on the run in South America, Brian and Mia are running out of options and money, so when Vince (Matt Schulze) offers them a job heisting cars from a train, they jump at the opportunity. Soon joined by Dom, they manage to boost the cars in a physics-defying train robbery, but three DEA agents get killed in the crossfire by the goons of the man who owns the cars, Rio crime lord Reyes (Joaquim De Almeida). Dom, Mia, and Brian take the blame for their deaths. This gets the attention of Special Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson, who has his Tommy Lee Jones intensity turned up to fuck you here), who vows to bring Toretto and his crew down no matter the cost.
Tired of running, Dom proposes one last job – a $100 million heist of Reyes’ money stash, and to do that, Dom brings in many characters from the previous films to take part. We get everybody – Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) from 2 FAST, Han (Sung Kang), from FAST AND FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT and FAST AND FOURIOUS (no, that’s not a typo – all these titles are blending together at this point), and Gisele (Gal Gadot), also from FOURIOUS. Add Leo (Tego Calderon) and Santos (Don Omar), and Dom’s got himself a team. Can they succeed in getting to the money, and getting loose of Hobbs?
Justin Lin’s made a confident movie here, which was much of the surprise for me. He has no problem stopping the action for a few character beats, and none of the ensemble feels like they get shorted in screen time here. All the characters are so likable, in fact, that when the plot stops for them to have an impromptu street race just for the hell of it not only doesn’t the audience mind, they’re having just as much fun as the characters are. I was worried at the beginning of the film that it would be too somber and down a movie, especially for this series, but once the crew arrive the movie perks up and gets rolling.
Dwayne Johnson is having too much fun with his role. He’s a no-nonsense guy who has no problem shooting people dead without much of a second thought. It’s like his character saw THE FUGITIVE when he was a child while looped up on Jolt Cola and Cocoa Pebbles, and never looked back. When Diesel and Johnson go at it, it’s akin to King Kong vs. Godzilla, and all that seems missing is a kiddie wading pool full of Jell-O. Johnson takes no prisoners here, and although they aren’t that equivalent yet, their fight brought to mind what it might have been like if Stallone and Schwarzenegger went at it in their heyday. Paul Walker is an empty vessel as usual, but face it, you don’t really see these films for him anyway, and he does well enough with the material. Vin Diesel again brings his gravelly voice to Dom and at this point he could do these movies in his sleep, but he’s still very watchable here. What I really admired about the film was the multicultural cast and how it doesn’t really call too much attention to itself. I wonder what kind of social thesis could be written about the use of racial equality and acceptance in this franchise, but I’m probably over-thinking it.
Now, the story (written by Chris Morgan) more holes in it than a frat guy’s hazing paddle, make no mistake. I’ve always been curious in heist movies like this and the OCEANS films, where the crew seems to spend considerably more money than is feasible just to pull off the heist in the first place. There’s one particular moment when Dom sets fire to a huge stash of Reyes’ money that in retrospect makes no sense, as Reyes would have reacted the exact same way if they had just stolen it. I guess it’s to show how cool Dom is, but it doesn’t make much logical sense. A lot of the movie is like that. But there’s a difference in insulting the audience and just winking with them, and FAST FIVE’s a winker.
I never knew Rio de Janeiro was made of dry wall and spit, considering all the damage that this film inflicts on it (the film was actually made in Puerto Rico, standing in for Rio in many shots), and the final heist is so over-the-top you just have to sit back and smile at the ridiculousness of it all. FAST FIVE is the first of the summer movies out the gate, and it satisfies on that level. If you take it too seriously, you’re getting what you deserve, but if you have fun with it, your money will be well spent. I hate to use the term “turn off your brain” when watching a movie, but FAST FIVE probably asks you, at the very least, to take it out for ice cream.
Nordling, out.
