2011 | Dir. Justin Lin | 130 Minutes
"Money will come and go. We know that. The most important thing in life will always be the people in this room. Right here, right now."
On the run from American authorities in the aftermath of the previous film, Dom, Brian, and Mia flee to Rio de Jeniero where they run afoul of the local criminal kingpin. Pursued by both sides of the law, with nothing to lose, Dom and Brian hatch a plan to pull off one last job with the aid of a team comprised of their most trusted friends before driving off into the sunset.
The series comes to life in this film, tying together elements and characters from the four previous movies, and introducing a few new ones, to form a miraculously complete and highly entertaining experience. While adequately honoring the series' street racing roots, director Justin Lin's Fast Five is a heist movie through and through. Between stealing cars off a moving train, an intense chase on foot through the favelas, a street race involving four stolen police cruisers, every expertly crafted action scene is a steady consistent build to the elaborate climatic sequence that involves jacking an enormous safe from a police station and hauling through the streets of Rio in a high speed chase, the laws physics be damned.
The massive cast is lead by Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Jordana Brewster who return as Dom, Brian, and Mia, each showcasing their best work in the series so far in action scenes and nailing dramatic beats with aplomb. Returning from the second film are Tyrese Gibson, once again playing Roman Pearce whose function as comedy relief doesn't seem as out of place this time around, and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as technological genius Tej Parker, who manages to convert the jargon into accessible banter. From the third and fourth films, Sung Kang brings Han's nerves of steel to the table and finds himself involved in a cute romantic subplot with the lovely mercenary Gisele played by Gal Gadot reprising her role from the fourth film. Also returning from the fourth film are Tego Calderón and Don Omar as con artists Leo Tego and Rico Santos. Matt Schulze makes his first appearance since the first film as tough guy Vince, who has matured considerably but still has trust issues regarding Brian.
New to the cast is Dwayne Johnson who brings an abundance of personality to the role of Luke Hobbs, the gigantic DSS Agent tasked to bring in Dom and his gang. Another new addition to the cast, Spanish star Elsa Pataky portrays Elena Neves the incorruptible Rio police officer recruited by Hobbs who eventually becomes Dom's new love interest, playing fine against Vin Diesel. Portuguese actor Joaquim de Almeida does a fine job playing drug lord Hernan Reyes, though he is without a doubt overshadowed by everything else this movie has going for it.
The Fast and the Furious films have their ups and downs but the filmmakers behind the series gifted its most loyal fans with this gem that goes to great lengths to validate every moment before it, while also bringing in new and exciting energy, in one slick action-packed ride. For newcomers, while the first four films aren't strictly necessary viewing for one to enjoy this fifth entry (especially the second and third films), Fast Five certainly enriches the previous movies in unexpected ways. The returning cast members feel natural in their roles, consistently carrying forward and further developing character traits and quirks from their previous appearances, solidly reinforcing the running theme of family and loyalty among a group of honorable brigands that was at the heart of the first film. Not bad at all for a fifth film in a series of movies about street racers.
MID-CREDITS STINGER
Setting up the next film in the series, Agent Fuentes (Eva Mendes reprising her role from the second film) drops by Hobbs' office with a file relating to a military convoy hijacking that had just occurred in Berlin. One of the perpetrators is Letty Ortiz, who apparently survived the events if the previous film.
FRAGMENTS
- The series' tradition of assigning unconventional titles to its sequels continues, though it's rather charming and apt for this one to have the most succinct title yet (and it even includes a number!)
- In Japan, the title for this film is Wild Speed: Mega Max
- According to Vin Diesel, who has served as a producer on the series since the fourth film, the role of Hobbs was initially written for Tommy Lee Jones but he was inspired by his fans on Facebook to cast Dwayne Johnson in the part (Vin Diesel Source)
- Dwayne Johnson is lined up to play supervillain Black Adam in Shazam! in 2019
- During the climatic action sequence, there is a brief shot of a small child on a bus witnessing the mayhem occurring on the streets; a visual that recurs in the next film
SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF
- Podcast: How Did This Get Made? Episode #9: Fast Five
- Video: Onion News Network Interview with Fast Five Screenwriter Chris Morgan
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Vin Diesel (Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
