"Fast Five" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

"Alright, listen up. The men we're after are professional runners. We find them; we take them as a team and we bring them back. And above all else, we never ever let them get into cars." - Hobbs

Release Date: April 29, 2011 (conventional theaters and IMAX)
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Elsa Pataky, Joaquim de Almeida, Dwayne Johnson

Plot Summary: Since Brian and Mia Toretto (Brewster) broke Dom out of custody, they've blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he's not the only one on their tail.

Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can't separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey... before someone else runs them down first.

Visit the official movie site here.

Comments?

[Kiddington]

Hmm... this is interesting. Critically, these movies have always been... well, mediocre, at best (before this, the highest rating was a 52% for the first film on Rotten Tomatoes). This is already sitting at 79%, though. Not often do you see a 5th movie in a series come out as more positively received than the first four. Wonder what sets this one apart from the rest.

[Mesousa]

Hmm... this is interesting. Critically, these movies have always been... well, mediocre, at best (before this, the highest rating was a 52% for the first film on Rotten Tomatoes). This is already sitting at 79%, though. Not often do you see a 5th movie in a series come out as more positively received than the first four. Wonder what sets this one apart from the rest.

Two words: different direction.

This one was more of a clever heist film, being similar to films such as the Ocean's Eleven series.

Well, that, and the fact that it had some over-the-top scenes.

[Knight]

I've seen every FF except Tokyo Drift and this was by far the most interesting and action packed movie in the series. The gathering of all the key characters from the previous movie gave it a great feel.

[Spaceman]

Bit of a weird film for me. It's 2/3 of an intense heist thriller (the beginning and ending) and 1/3 typical Fast & Furious shtick (the middle portions with dem asses, dem exploding toilets and dem forgettable side characters).

Overall though, I liked it. The beginning and ending portions are very good, the action setpieces are outrageously awesome, and The Rock finally delivers an asskicking performance worthy of his WWF days.

And the critical moment when The Rock's character is crumpled on the floor watching his teammates get slaughtered (before Vin and gang make the rescue)... that was a legitimately powerful piece of filmmaking. I'm actually glad about Justin Lin potentially helming Terminator 5 if he brings that kind of raw intensity (which was utterly lacking from McG's Salvation).

[Hanshotfirst113]

Hmm... this is interesting. Critically, these movies have always been... well, mediocre, at best (before this, the highest rating was a 52% for the first film on Rotten Tomatoes). This is already sitting at 79%, though. Not often do you see a 5th movie in a series come out as more positively received than the first four. Wonder what sets this one apart from the rest.

They're used to it now ?

More of same, but definitely better than the last two, though that's not hard. The safe-dragging scene was rollicking fun. Justin Lin still doesn't seem to have figured out how to stage and action scene with much coherence, but the loads of video-game destruction are fun all the same. Cool to see everyone back, and the heist movie Italian Job angle meant that it gave most everyone some chance to shine and it's nice to see The Rock (that is forever what you will be called Dwayne, sorry) back to action hero status. Generally pretty fun, though it could definitely have done with some trimming and there weren't quite as many cool cars this time out. Han has become something of a popular character, it's a shame they killed him in Tokyo Drift and muddled the chronology in such a fashion. But then, they're bringing Michelle Rodriguez back from the dead. A decently fun guys night out popcorn flick, and there's no denying it's a hell of a fun way to kick off the summer and reinvent a franchise. But stop smashing the 70 Charger and for the love of God, please don't drive 1962 Corvettes off of cliffs Vin!

And the fact that we have to put that GIANT disclaimer about "DON'T DO ANY OF THIS!" at the end of the movie is sort of sad.