Saturday 17 March 2012

Film Review: FAST FIVE (2011)

Fast Five - poster [A.K.A. FAST & FURIOUS 5]

Director: Justin Lin
Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson (characters)
Running Time: 124 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
UK Release Date: 21st April 2011

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 17th March 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I think I’ve probably seen the previous four ‘Fast & Furious’ films and so I thought it would be a shame to miss out on the latest instalment. I broke with tradition and checked a couple of sites before I decided to give it a look (didn’t want to waste my time on another turkey!). I was pleasantly surprised to see it scored quite well and so I thought I’d give it a shot. I must say it did exactly what it said on the tin and I can honestly say it’s a welcome return to form for the F&F franchise. I will tell you more after this very brief summary.

Fast Five - 1 Having sprung Mia’s brother and Brian O’Conner’s best friend, Dominic Toretto, from prison, the trio head for Brazil to lay low. Mia and Brian meet up with an old friend, Vince, who steers them in the direction of a job; a car heist. The job doesn’t quite go according to plan but they end up in possession of some very useful information about the operations of a drug cartel headed by one Hernan Reyes. Some American D.E.A. agents were killed during the heist and so tough lawman, Luke Hobbs, and his team are sent to Brazil to capture Toretto and his associates. Meanwhile, Toretto decides to use the information they have on Reyes to take all his money and retire. To do this they will have to assemble a team and one final, spectacular, heist is planned. I will not say any more or the Spoiler Police (Care Chases Division) will be suspending my license (again).

Fast Five - 6 Very well shot with some truly spectacular driving stunts and special effects; the driving in this film is really excellent; hats off to all those involved in the stunt work! As for performances, well everybody did a decent job; Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto and Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner, reprising roles from previous instalments were just as good as they were in the first film. Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto did a decent job, as did Dwayne Johnson as the no-nonsense cop, Luke Hobbs. Also worthy of note were; Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce, Ludacris as Tej Parker, Matt Schulze as Vince and Joaquim de Almeida as Hernen Reyes.

Fast Five - 2 You’d have thought a film about big men driving fast cars wouldn’t be all that appealing, but this one does have a bit of something about it. No, it’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it is entertaining in its own way and I can’t knock it for that. The stunt work is excellent and the plot isn’t all that bad as either. It does, however, require some knowledge of at least some of the previous films involving the main characters though. It works quite well as a caper/heist movie with a bit of an edge to it, although I did find a little too much time was spent with the ‘good guys’. The city of Rio features very prominently and, for me, was also a bit of a star of the show. Over all, although it’s not a great film, it’s an entertaining film and one I have no problem in deeming… Recommended.

My Score: 7.2/10

IMDb Score: 7.3/10 (based on 105,098 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1596343/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 78/100 (based on 180 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 83/100 (based on 104,318 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fast_five/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

Fast Five - 3 FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Hobbs: Hey Toretto, you're under arrest.
Dominic Toretto: I don't feel like I'm under arrest.
Dominic Toretto: [to Brian] How about you Brian?
Brian O'Conner: No, not a bit. Not even a little bit.
Hobbs: Oh just give it a minute, it will sink in.
Brian O'Conner: We didn't kill those feds. That was Reyes.
Hobbs: I don't give a shit. I'm just here to bring two assholes whose names hit my desk.
Brian O'Conner: Yeah, that sounds like a real hero.
Hobbs: That's funny. From a guy who took the oath of a cop, then went against everything it stood for, for some wannabe tough guy prick who beat a man half to death with a socket wrench. Yeah, real tough. You turn around and put your hands behind your back.
Dominic Toretto: I don't think so.
Hobbs: Your mistake is thinking you have a goddamn choice, boy!
Dominic Toretto: And your mistake? Thinking you're in America. You're a long way from home. This is Brazil!

Fast Five - 5 Brian O'Conner: You realize we're talking about going up against the most powerful guy in all of Rio?
Dominic Toretto: Yes, we are.
Brian O'Conner: Then we're gonna need a team.

Roman Pearce: [regarding going into a police station] Who's supposed to do all that?
[Everyone looks at Roman]
Roman Pearce: What do you mean? Why me?
Brian O'Conner: Cause you got the biggest mouth.
Tej: That is for damn sure.

Fast Five - 4 LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.fastfivemovie.com/
Trailer:

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