“Fast Five” is a hugely entertaining combination of absurd action, wacky humor, scorn for the laws of physics and an emphasis on family values. Director Justin Lin crafts stunts and crashes that zip along at such a frantic pace that you won’t care how utterly impossible they are. And screenwriter Chris Morgan devises a story that’s part heist, part car chase and part buddy story. And there is even a surprise or two. You’ll want to stay through a portion of the end credits to catch one of them, a tease for the franchise’s sixth installment. After Brian (Paul Walker) and his girlfriend, Mia (Jordana Brewster), break Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) out of police custody in a relatively easy prison-bus escape, they head to Rio de Janeiro. There the three join a daring car heist that puts them at odds with a local crime boss Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) and sets super agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) on their trail. Needing money to disappear, Dom decides to get the band back together to steal millions from Reyes. Returning as part of the team are Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon and Don Omar. Elsa Pataky joins the cast as possibly Brazil’s lone honest police officer, a woman tapped by Hobbs to help him chase down Toretto’s gang.
Of course, the characters in this franchise are larger than life and, needless to say, underdeveloped. This movie is about materialism, macho men and extreme violence, all of which are exaggerated to the point of caricature. At one point, our heroes drag a 25-ton safe behind them, demolishing the first floor of a bank, crashing into passing vehicles, and wiping out the whole Brazilian police force. Obviously, “Fast Five” exists in a fantasy world where ordinary mortality doesn’t apply and the audience knows it as well as the filmmakers. And the movie’s insistence that its motley crew of misfits is bound by a shared set of deeper values accounts for some incongruous sweetness. Yes, most of the movie’s running time is filled with adrenalin-pumping action, but these people know and love one another. Diesel’s Dom Toretto is a gruff but affectionate father to his loyal pack of renegades. Don’t think too much about the plot holes in “Fast Five.” Just enjoy the ride. 4/29/11
1 comment:
"Fast Five", A huge money maker so far is a cut above all previous "Fast" movies mainly because Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel go head to head in this. Very Macho and rugged, these two take the WWF and put it on screne. I liked it!!
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