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: RUNNING SCARED (2006)

Writer/Director: Wayne Kramer
Running time: 122 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Drama
UK Release date: 6^th January 2006

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 21^st August 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Now, a friend of mine, who has steered me wrong in the past, recommended this one. I am always wary of his recommendations, particularly when it’s a film I’ve never heard of before. It was only because he was most insistent that I put this one in the planner and, for the most part, it was just about ok. Don’t get me wrong, there are many many things wrong with it, but, as a piece of entertainment, it was ok (just). I’ll give you my reasons after this brief summary.

A drug deal is going down when some masked dirty cops interrupt it. A shoot-out ensues in which several of the cops are killed. Hoodlum, Joey Gazelle, is given the task of disposing of some of the guns used in the shooting. He decides, however, to stash them in his basement as ‘insurance’, or so he tells his wife, Teresa. Their son, Nicky, was playing with his friend Oleg, who lives next door, when they see where Joey hid the guns. Oleg’s step-father, Anzor, is an abusive Meth addict with a John Wayne fixation. When, later that evening, shots are heard from next door, Joey goes round to find Anzor shot and Oleg nowhere to be seen. Fearing the worst, he rushes back home to find one of the guns missing. It’s now a race against time, Joey has to find the boy and the gun before either his fellow gangsters, or the cops, do. If either of them beat him to it, he’s sunk. I’ll leave it here so as not to enrage the Spoiler Police… I’ve spent too much time in the cells recently.

Quite a well made film with very much a comic book/graphic novel feel to the storytelling. This is achieved with the use of some nice CGI work and some interesting camera angles. The performances were all pretty good, although a little too much ‘over the top’ at times. Paul Walker was OK as Joey Gazelle and Vera Farmiga also did a good job as Teresa, his wife. The young Cameron Bright was excellent as Oleg Yugorsky, as was Chazz Palminteri as the sleazy Detective Rydell.

As I said at the beginning, there are many things wrong with this film, first of all, its way too long. Secondly, the plot is far too complicated, I know we are supposed to suspend reality, but there are limits; it got so convoluted and brought in so many peripheral characters that I was beginning to think I was watching cheap rip off of ‘The Sopranos’. I couldn’t sympathise with any of the characters, we’re supposed to care about a hoodlum just because he has a wife and son… I don’t think so. There is, however a nice twist at the end which, they, again try to mess up by dragging it out way too long. There were one or two points I did like about it though, but these were few and far between. I would have definitely scored it higher if it wasn’t for the appalling ending.

My Score: 5.5/10.

IMDb Score: 7.5/10 (based on 45,106 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0404390/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 40/100 (based on 129 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10004288-running_scared/

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.newline.com/properties/runningscared.html
Trailer:

Film Review: TAKERS (2010)

Co-Writer/Director: John Luessenhop
Running time: 107 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
UK Release date: 1^st October 20110

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 7^th August 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I do like a good heist movie and was looking forward to this one when I noticed it in the TV listings. I knew little about it and so decided to watch it ‘blind’, as such, so I could see it unbiased by the opinions of others. It’s an interesting film that tries hard to keep the viewer’s attention with many plot twists and plenty of action. If anything, though, it ends up getting a little too complicated for its own good and there are a few too many plot twists to satisfy most. Not that it’s a bad film, it’s quite well made with some good performances… But more of my thoughts later, here’s a brief summary first.

We begin with a bank job. A gang of men very professionally rob a bank in broad daylight, taking out elevators to make sure they are not disturbed. They escape by hijacking a TV news helicopter. Detectives Jack Welles and Eddie Hatcher are assigned to the case, but soon find that the thieves have covered their tracks very well. The gang meet up to divide the loot, they are; Gordon Cozier, Jesse and Jake Attica, A.J. plus a couple of other guys whose names I didn’t catch. A short time later a guy called Ghost, recently released from prison turns up. He was caught when they had pulled a previous job but brings news of a deal he has made with a Russian gang. A deal that will bring in a cool $20 million. Despite the short time frame involved, the gang goes for it and preparations are made. Meanwhile, Detective Wells is hot on their trail, he has kept an eye on Ghost and now knows who he’s dealing with. Will he be able to get to them before the heist goes down though? Of course I can’t tell you here or them Spoiler Police will have me doin’ time on some trumped up charge.

As I’ve already said, it’s not a bad film, it just doesn’t seem to grab the imagination like it’s supposed to. Decent performances all round; Chris Brown did a good job as Jessie Attica, as did Hayden Christensen, who I found actually quite good, as A.J. It was nice to see Matt Dillon as the hard boiled Detective Jack Welles and Idris Elba as the tough Gordon Cozier. T.I. did a good job as Ghost and I’ll give honourable mentions to; Michael Ealy as Jake Attica, Steve Harris as Lt. Carver, Jay Hernandez as Eddie Hatcher, Paul Walker as John Rahway and Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Naomi Cozier.

Although it’s not the best heist film in the world, it is still quite watchable. The plot twists and diversions do tend to try and drag you away from the point, but it’s pretty well made nonetheless. A pretty good soundtrack by Paul Haslinger helps, but it does suffer though from being a little cliché, you can’t help feeling you’ve seen it all done better before. The fight scenes are all really well done, almost ‘Bourne-like’ in their execution, as are the chase scenes through the streets of L.A. It didn’t really push many of my buttons, but I’m sure there will be some out there that will enjoy it more… Recommended (just).

My Score: 5.4/10

IMDb Score: 5.0/10 (16,179 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1135084/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 27/100 (106 reviews counted when this review was written).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/takers/

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/takers/
Trailer:

Film Review: FAST & FURIOUS (2009)

Director: Justin Lin
Running time: 107 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 12

UK Release Date: 10th April 2009

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 4th April 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have seen all of the previous films in this series on TV, I’m not a huge fan and so I won’t go out of my way to watch them. I am, however, a bit of a fan of Vin Diesel, he seems to ooze that certain charisma a film star should have. He appeared in the first of these films, took a bit of a sabbatical for the second and came back for a brief cameo in the third. So it was with some anticipation that I watched the return of his character, Dominic Toretto in this, the fourth instalment.

Dom and his gang are in the Dominican Republic and up to no good; they are hijacking fuel trucks to sell the fuel for a profit. Included in the gang is Dom’s long time girlfriend Letty. Having just pulled a job they get word that the police are onto them and Dom decides it’s best for them to all go their separate ways for a while. They do this until the day Dom gets a call from his sister, Mia, telling him that Letty has been killed. Meanwhile, FBI agent Brian O’Conner, who was featured in the fist two of these films, is investigating notorious drugs dealer named Braga. It seems Braga is using drivers to smuggle drugs across the Mexican border and it was while working for him that Letty was killed. So both Dom and Brian have reason to get in with Braga, Dom, for revenge and Brian, for justice. They both try out as drivers and succeed by one means or another. It’s now a case of how do they get to the illusive Braga. I’ll leave my little summary there or I’ll give the whole plot away!

This is a pretty well made film with lots of car stunts and quite a lot of CGI work that is pretty well done, but does, at times, look a bit like a video game. You’ll know what I mean when you see the tunnel chase near the end of the film. As ever Vin Diesel was very good as Dominic Toretto, as was Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner. Honourable mentions go to Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto, Michelle Rodriguez as Letty and John Ortiz as Campos.

I’ll admit it’s not the best film I’ve ever seen and so it won’t be making any of my top tens at the end of the year. But it does what it says on the tin, it’s got lots of car chases and there’s plenty of testosterone flying about. The chases were exciting and well executed, when they didn’t use too much CGI. I can’t recommend it very highly, but it is entertaining and it won’t tax the grey cells too much.

My score: 5.4/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1013752/
Official Site: http://www.fastandfuriousmovie.net/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi2299986713/