In Fast 5, after a botched car heist Dom (Vin Diesel) brings the whole gang back together to take down evil investor Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). Meanwhile, Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) is busy preparing for girlfriend (and Dom's sister) Mia's (Jordana Brewster) baby. As the newest heist slowly takes shape, Dom and crew must stay one step ahead of Luke Hobbs (The Rock) and his special forces team who have been dispatched to apprehend Dom and friends before they can strike again.
Fast 5 comes across as a Robin Hood story for the new generation. The heist this time around focuses on a vault owned by Hernan Reyes in which he stores all of his ill-gotten gains. As the film progresses we learn that this is not your normal heist job since the vault is located in a military police station and it would appear that Reyes has the whole of the police force in his back pocket. If course, this leads to quite the final showdown as numerous cop cars are completely destroyed during the final thrilling car chase.
Most, I imagine, go to a Fast and Furious film for action and this film delivers that in droves. Right from the opening scene Fast 5 throws down the gauntlet and lets us all know that we are in store for a lot of mindless, drool worthy action set pieces. Unfortunately, most of these parts occur in the beginning and end of the film, Fast 5's middle section is quite boring as we are treated to lots of exposition, character build up, and exploration into this group's family dynamic. When this film is good it's really good, but when it's boring....well, bring a pillow.
One of the best scenes in Fast 5 involve the stunningly exotic Gisele Harabo (Gal Gadot), who owns just about every scene she is in due to her fantastic body. Apparently she isn't above strutting her stuff for us, as she appears in one scene with nothing but a tight fitting bikini on and we are treated to lengthy trailing hots of her ass as the camera follows closely behind her. She really owns that bikini in this scene, and she isn't afraid to show off her goods. Even for a PG-13 film, it's still quite a show (the ass gods done good work on this one).
By far the best part of this film (and possibly the most enjoyable character in it as well) is The Rock as Bad-ass macho man Luke Hobbs. This film marks a return to form for The Rock, he easily breaks away from his watered down image that Disney created for him and steps back into a classic role that he is an expert at playing. His character is reminiscent of his characters in The Scorpion King, The Mummy 2, and Doom. It's great to see he still can play the hardened bad-ass, and makes for a refreshing breath of air. For an actor that has grown stale in the past couple of years, he really shines here and is easily unforgettable. A lot of the film's charm lies in his character (and his portrayal of said character here) and the film just wouldn't have the same oomph without The Rock in it.
So, in the end the good outweighs the bad in Fast 5. If you like high octane car chases and fiery fast paced action scenes then I'm sure you will get a kick out of Fast 5. Fast 5 reminded me of the films I grew up with and would watch when I was younger, so it holds an almost nostalgic quality for me. Either way, Fast 5 easily emerges as the best action film I have seen in 2011 thus far.
4/5 Stars
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