Film Review: FAST FIVE (2011)

[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: 21^st April 2011

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 17^th 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.

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).

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.

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

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!

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.

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

Film Review: PLANET 51 (2009)

Director: Jorge Blanco
Co-Directors: Javier Abad & Marcos Martínez
Running time: 91 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): U

UK release date: 4th December 2009

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 24th October 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

As you may or may not know, I’m a bit of a sucker for an animated feature and, having seen the trailer for Planet 51 a while back I was keen to see how it turned out. I must admit I was shocked how poorly it has been received. What I found was a funny, engaging film with a whole load of gags referring to just about every mainstream sci-fi/alien film. I admit it’s not perfect, but I think it deserves another chance. But more of that later, first, here’s a very brief summary (miss the next paragraph if you hate summaries).

Planet 51 is supposed to be lifeless, well, that’s what the data said anyway. Unfortunately for astronaut Captain Charles T. Baker, it isn’t. Alien life forms with green skin inhabit this little planet and they have advanced as far as the 1950’s, that’s USA 1950’s, just in case there’s any doubt. A teenager, Lem, befriends Baker and, with the help of his friends, Skiff and Eckle, hides him from the army and their leader, General Grawl and the crazy scientist, Professor Kipple. He is in love with Eckle’s sister, Neera, but struggles with getting the right words out. Back with the mission, help is at hand in the form of R.O.V.E.R., an advance scout robot who was sent ahead of the mission. Time is running out for Baker, his command craft, in orbit, leaves in 72 hours. Can Lem and his friends get him back to his Lander in time? Will Baker help Lem with Neera? Is there any end to these crazy questions? Guess you’ll have to wait and see.

As I said at the beginning, there are plenty of gags incorporated into the script and there’s also a lot of slapstick. My favourite character is the ‘Alien’ dog; you’ll know what I mean when/if you see it. The dialogue was adequately delivered, but then nobody was really stretched. Honourable mentions go to the voice talents of; Dwayne Johnson as Captain Charles T. Baker, Jessica Biel as Neera, Justin Long as Lem, Gary Oldman as General Grawl, Seann William Scott as Skiff and John Cleese as Professor Kipple.

Over all I found it a very entertaining movie with quite a few laughs. I guess it’s down to taste and I’m aware that we are all different, especially when it comes to comedy, but I urge you to give this one a chance. Although it’s not perfect, I’ve seen much, much worse… Recommended.

My score: 6.4/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0762125/
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/sonywonder/planet51/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi1592656409/

Film Review: RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (2009)

Director: Andy Fickman
Running time: 95 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): PG

UK Release Date: 10th April 2009

Watched on Sky+ Monday 3rd May 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I fancied something that would entertain me, but at the same time wouldn’t tax my little grey cells too much. What better than a Disney action adventure, I thought, and I was right, it does exactly what it says on the tin.

In the desert outside Las Vegas an alien spaceship crashes, the two occupants get away, but the Department of Defence lead by Henry Burke is on the case. Meanwhile, Jack Bruno is an ex-con who is now trying to go straight and is making a living as a Las Vegas cab driver. Ferrying people from the airport to a UFO convention is getting a bit tedious for him. One of his passengers, Dr. Alex Friedman, gives him a ticket to her lecture; Jack thinks nothing of it and puts it in his visor. When two teenagers, Sara and Seth get into his cab his world is turned upside down. They ask him to take them to a desert location, offering him a very large amount of money. On the way there they are followed by Henry Burke and his team but the kids, being the aliens they are looking for use their special abilities to get away. Arriving at their destination the kids find an alien assassin is waiting for them, but they retrieve what they are looking for and escape with Jack. They now need to get to their ship, which has now been moved by Burke’s team. Jack remembers Alex Friedman and they go to the convention to get her help, not knowing they’ve been followed by the assassin. Escaping the assassin, they are now in a race to the location of their spaceship, Witch Mountain.

It’s all pretty well done, decent effects, an easy to follow story, likeable characters (the good guys at least) and some reasonable performances. For me, the villain, Burke, was not as threatening as the assassin, but I guess it was made for kids and you can’t make them too scary. For the performances, honourable mentions go to Dwayne Johnson as Jack Bruno, AnnaSophia Robb as Sara, Alexander Ludwig as Seth, Carla Gugino as Dr. Alex Friedman and Ciarán Hinds as Henry Burke.

Over all, it’s not great, but at the same time it’s not rubbish. It’s family entertainment and, as I said at the beginning, it does just what it says on the tin. I should point out there’s not a lot for the adult viewer, but it’s all very well made. My little grey cells weren’t too taxed and it was entertaining. Recommended for those who just want to switch off the little grey cells for a while and just be entertained.

My score: 5.6/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1075417/
Official Site: http://disneydvd.disney.go.com/race-to-witch-mountain.html
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi1228473113/