Today’s quick review: Fast Five. When a job in Brazil goes wrong, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew find themselves on the run from the police and in possession of the key to a drug kingpin’s fortune. Together with his partner in crime Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), and friend Vince (Matt Schulze), Dom assembles a crew to take the drug lord for all he is worth. But their planned heist hits a snag when American agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) arrives in Brazil to track them down.
Fast Five is an action movie and the fifth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. Fast Five strays somewhat from the series’ street racing roots by injecting a hefty dose of action into the mix. The emphasis is still on fast cars and technical driving, but the car stunts are bigger and are joined by foot chases, gunfights, and hand-to-hand combat. The transition feels like a natural escalation of the universe and adds enough action to please any fan of the genre.
Fast Five’s other big changes are the addition of an ensemble cast, a heist plot, and Dwayne Johnson. Dom’s massive crew includes a bevy of familiar faces from previous movies, including Vince (Matt Schulze) from The Fast and the Furious, Roman Peirce (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacris) from 2 Fast 2 Furious, Han (Sung Kang) from Tokyo Drift, and Gisele (Gal Gadot) from Fast & Furious. The returning characters give Fast Five a strong sense of continuity with previous films, while their interactions provide the film with comedy and camaraderie.
The heist plot is a welcome variant of the crime movie formula that is typical of the franchise. The heist revolves around fast cars and improbable stunts, while the impressive cash sum provides stakes befitting the expanded cast. Agent Hobbs serves as the heist’s wildcard, a brutally efficient American agent on loan to the Brazilian government. The addition of Dwayne Johnson to the cast fits the tone of the series well and restores the crime/law enforcement balance upset by Brian’s defection to Dom’s gang.
Watch Fast Five if you are in the mood for a high-quality action film with fast cars, big stunts, and an ensemble cast. For all its connections to previous films, knowledge of them is not necessary to enjoy the film. Skip Fast Five if you dislike the action genre.
7.3 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for a heist plot, an enjoyable ensemble cast, and all-around action.