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Fast Five ***** Starring Paul Walker, Dwayne Johson, Vin Diesel, Ludacris. Directed by Justin Lin Former cop Brian O’Conner and ex-con Dominic Toretto are at it again, stealing cars and smashing speed limits but this time they’ve decided to head for Rio de Janeiro. Dom (Vin Diesel) might have been bailed out of custody, but that doesn’t mean he’s totally free. The law are still on his tail and together with his sister, they face the constant threat of the heat breathing down their necks. Not that this bothers them much, mind, since their favela in a poky corner of Rio is teeming with hired guns protecting their pad.The Torettos have a little one in their midst, so what better way to secure their future than by raiding Rio’s rich and famous, conveniently also targeting a slimy businessmen who wants them dead. Enter The Rock, who plays hardball fed Luke Hobbs and SWEATS in every scene he’s in. It must be 70 degree heat there but no other character in the film seems to SWEAT as much as the Rock. Cue tight teeshirts, sleeveless vests and a whole lot of testosterone as Hobbs follows hot on Toretto’s trail, as Dom and Brian assemble their tream of crack carjackers and fellow speedfreaks under Hobb’s watchful gaze. Then it’s a fight to the finish between Hobbs and the corrupt bankers in a race against time to see who can out-run whom and make off with the stash in what proves to be a surprisingly smart last minute twist. This movie’s proper title, “Fast and Furious 5: Rio Heist” pretty much tells you all you need to know, even if you’re new to this adrenaline fuelled, petrol headed franchise (gotta get those puns in!); expect little else besides pimped out cars, thumping basslines, and outrageous stunts. Without doubt this is the stupidest film of the year so far but actually, it’s alot of fun. A complete no brainer, we guarantee you can enjoy this movie even if you’re not a petrolhead; plent of the series well known features are in this latest entry. For the guys there’s the cars (tick), scantily clad women (tick) and mind bogglingly mental stunts (tick). For the girls (like this reviewer), there’s Paul Walker (tick)..Paul Walker in a tight teeshirt… Paul Walker topless.. sorry. There’s also an excellent chase scene across the favelas of downtown Rio, with the fast paced chopsy action reminiscent of 2008’s James Bond offering, Quantum of Solace. The action might be explosive and there’s a car chase at around every 30min interval, but when it comes to the pacing and the dialogue, whilsts peppered with some great comedic scenes, leaves alot to be desired. Vin Diesel practically channels Sly Stallone when speaking his lines, they’re so mangled and the script is littered with brainless one liners that make no sense, such as “are you hungry? ‘Cos you’re gonna be saying grace”, said in a menacing tone (for no reason) just as the gang sit down to eat. Having said that, you don’t go into a Fast and Furious movie for the art. Fast cars, blistering action scenes and a heavy dose of motoring machismo is what this series is all about and this lastest installment dutifully delivers; this is a fun way to kick off the summer movie season.

Fast Five *****

Starring Paul Walker, Dwayne Johson, Vin Diesel, Ludacris. Directed by Justin Lin

Former cop Brian O’Conner and ex-con Dominic Toretto are at it again, stealing cars and smashing speed limits but this time they’ve decided to head for Rio de Janeiro.

Dom (Vin Diesel) might have been bailed out of custody, but that doesn’t mean he’s totally free. The law are still on his tail and together with his sister, they face the constant threat of the heat breathing down their necks. Not that this bothers them much, mind, since their favela in a poky corner of Rio is teeming with hired guns protecting their pad.The Torettos have a little one in their midst, so what better way to secure their future than by raiding Rio’s rich and famous, conveniently also targeting a slimy businessmen who wants them dead.

Enter The Rock, who plays hardball fed Luke Hobbs and SWEATS in every scene he’s in. It must be 70 degree heat there but no other character in the film seems to SWEAT as much as the Rock. Cue tight teeshirts, sleeveless vests and a whole lot of testosterone as Hobbs follows hot on Toretto’s trail, as Dom and Brian assemble their tream of crack carjackers and fellow speedfreaks under Hobb’s watchful gaze. Then it’s a fight to the finish between Hobbs and the corrupt bankers in a race against time to see who can out-run whom and make off with the stash in what proves to be a surprisingly smart last minute twist.

This movie’s proper title, “Fast and Furious 5: Rio Heist” pretty much tells you all you need to know, even if you’re new to this adrenaline fuelled, petrol headed franchise (gotta get those puns in!); expect little else besides pimped out cars, thumping basslines, and outrageous stunts. Without doubt this is the stupidest film of the year so far but actually, it’s alot of fun. A complete no brainer, we guarantee you can enjoy this movie even if you’re not a petrolhead; plent of the series well known features are in this latest entry. For the guys there’s the cars (tick), scantily clad women (tick) and mind bogglingly mental stunts (tick). For the girls (like this reviewer), there’s Paul Walker (tick)..Paul Walker in a tight teeshirt… Paul Walker topless.. sorry. There’s also an excellent chase scene across the favelas of downtown Rio, with the fast paced chopsy action reminiscent of 2008’s James Bond offering, Quantum of Solace.

The action might be explosive and there’s a car chase at around every 30min interval, but when it comes to the pacing and the dialogue, whilsts peppered with some great comedic scenes, leaves alot to be desired. Vin Diesel practically channels Sly Stallone when speaking his lines, they’re so mangled and the script is littered with brainless one liners that make no sense, such as “are you hungry? ‘Cos you’re gonna be saying grace”, said in a menacing tone (for no reason) just as the gang sit down to eat.

Having said that, you don’t go into a Fast and Furious movie for the art. Fast cars, blistering action scenes and a heavy dose of motoring machismo is what this series is all about and this lastest installment dutifully delivers; this is a fun way to kick off the summer movie season.


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