AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

rdoyle29 The fifth movie in this series is where it really hits its stride. It brings together all the major characters from the first 4 movies into one plot line that largely abandons to street racing angle in favour of a really silly heist plot peppered with several outstanding action sequences. This is a vast improvement because the plot and characters have always been the weak point of this series, so de-emphasizing them in favour of action provides a winning formula. While the action sequences are not exactly realistic, they are grounded in practical stunt work and not a ton of CGI, so they feel more realistic than they have any right to do. This is really top quality junk, and I wish we got more big budget action films like it.

Evan Wessman (CinematicInceptions) Prior to seeing this installment, I had rather enjoyed the other movies I'd seen of this series. Despite the fact that they are very action driven, formulaic in plot, and over the top, they at least held my attention and were somewhat exciting. From what I had seen and heard, I was under the impression that this number five was supposed the best in the series. But actually it was the movie that alerted me to everything I don't like about this series.I want to highlight how destruction was handled in the climatic car chase scene. Cars are flipping and blowing up and smashing into other cars and buildings. The big safe is ripping through everything it touches and is sliding out of control. And yet the only fatalities are those of the corrupt cops chasing Brian and Dom. Now, I know why this is so. How can we like our protagonists if they kill innocent bystanders? It makes for unlikable heroes. But I think that is letting them off way too easy. In none of their planning do they make any mention of whether they are endangering the citizens of Rio. In reality, there would have been a lot of people killed, and I think it is wrong to not show any pedestrians dying in the destruction. It's expected that in movies reality is bent a little, particularly in big-scale entertainment movies like this. I get that. But I think it was done to an irresponsible degree in this case.Coupled with this is the likability of our protagonists. They are shown as sort of perfectly imperfect people. They're criminals with some character flaws, but then they've got these simple codes and beliefs that drive them. In the character's views, Dom in particular, whatever they do to keep their family together is acceptable. They're almost too easy to root for. In some other movies, Brian and Dom and the gang would be the villains, but since the opposition is morally worse than them, they become the good guys. I don't want to give the impression that I think all criminals are bad, they aren't. Breaking the law can be the right thing to do, and nowhere is that highlighted more than in some of my favorite movies. But in the case of this movie, I think that legal justice should have been conducted on the heroes. One would think that the action would be an upside for this movie, but this is only partially true. The grand-scale action kept me watching, and some of the one on one fights and foot chase scenes were engaging. But behind the spectacle and size is a disappointingly flat execution. There is very little drama behind the action scenes. There are lots of explosions and big gunfights, but these are not constructed or shot in a way that makes them really cool or exciting. For this reason, the lengthy car chases get somewhat monotonous. Also, by virtue of this being a summer entertainment flick, we as an audience know intuitively that all or at least most of our heroes will survive. That makes us feel smart in a way, but it reduces the suspense of the action sequences. There's only real drama if there is a genuine possibility that the protagonist will not survive it. That doesn't mean the drama is real if the odds are stacked absurdly against a character, as often happens. It means that the world that is created by the movie gives the audience the impression that this is the kind of story that is willing to kill its main characters or at least wound them beyond repair. This is not the case in the Fast and Furious movies, and it reduces the excitement of their many action scenes.I'm sorry if I ranted too much here. I just have some strong opinions on the choices that this movie made. It does have some redeeming qualities in its frequent funny moments and slightly emotional subplots. But for the most part it's just a testosterone-driven movie with an adequate story pasted onto it. Overall Rating: 6.1/10

Uriah43 This film takes up where its predecessor ("Fast & Furious") left off with "Dominic Toretto" (Vin Diesel) being hauled away in a bus on his way to prison. However, before Dominic can be transported to his destination his sister, "Mia Toretto" (Jordana Brewster) and the former undercover agent named "Brian O'Connor" (Paul Walker) intercept the bus and rescue him. Knowing that they cannot remain in the United States any longer the three of them head down to Rio de Janeiro and resume their usual operations there. Not long after arriving they team up with an extremely corrupt politician named "Reyes" (Joaquim de Almeida) who then attempts to double-cross them. Fortunately, Dominic is prepared for this and skillfully manages to turn the tables on Reyes by escaping in a special car which has a valuable computer chip that details Reyes' entire operation. Needless to say, Reyes wants that chip back at all costs and immediately sends his men to capture Dominic and his crew so that he can interrogate and subsequently kill them once he has it. What nobody realizes is that a special agent has been sent from the United States named "Luke Hobbs" (Dwayne Johnson) who also has orders to capture Dominic and Brian as well. To that end, neither Reyes nor Luke Hobbs are easily deterred. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that--while this was definitely an entertaining action film--it suffered from one major flaw in that it had too many high-speed stunts which were simply too ridiculous and improbable to be believed. It was just too much. Be that as it may, I liked the addition of Dwayne Johnson who definitely added something extra to the film. Likewise, having three attractive actresses like Gal Gadot (as "Gisele"), Elsa Pataky ("Elena") and the aforementioned Jordana Brewster certainly didn't hurt either. That being said, even though this movie would have been much better if the director (Justin Lin) hadn't gotten so carried away with everything, it was still an okay sequel and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Movie_Muse_Reviews The acceleration period of the "Fast & Furious" franchise is officially over. Now it's all pure speed. "Fast Five" pretty much blows the roof off of all previously held notions of what these movies are and could be. The action, the stunts, the cast — everything is bigger. With director Justin Lin and writer Chris Morgan returning from "Fast & Furious," the creative sensibilities are all the same, so clearly the $40 million in additional budget had a big role to play in the finished product.Audiences handsomely rewarded "Fast & Furious" at the box office; in "Fast Five," they reap the benefits. Never before have so many cars, trucks and trains been pulverized into scrap metal on the big screen. The stunts are simply huge. (I'd say grandiose, but this is the "Fast & Furious" franchises after all.) Morgan and Lin get the green light to do whatever they can imagine. Even if what they dream up doesn't make sense, it's fun to watch.Other than financial freedom, Morgan in particular has a lot more freedom of story. The unusual circumstances of the franchise's beginnings (i.e. Vin Diesel turning down the second film) created a recovery period of sorts. "Fast & Furious" had to bring Diesel's Dominic Toretto and Paul Walker's Brian O'Conner back together and reenergize fans of the 2001 original; "Fast Five" had a blank canvas. The usual tropes of these movies have been minimized and some passed over completely. It's a much looser and more fun movie.Surprisingly, the entire movie takes place in Rio de Janeiro. O'Conner and Mia (Jordana Brewster) have fled there after breaking Dom out of federal custody by flipping a bus of prisoners on a desert highway. That's the film's quick open. Dom is in Rio as well, and they all meet back up to pull off a job that will keep them on their feet. Only the job (boosting cars off a moving train) doesn't go quite as planned, and they have irked another powerful drug lord named Reyes, who "owns" Rio. They've also caught the attention of the FBI, who's sent its best man-hunter, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to bring them in. Morgan can't quite free these movies of the criminal good guys vs. law officer bad guys dynamic. On the plus side, at least it's no longer about whether or not O'Conner is going to do his job or throw it all away to help Toretto and co. He's firmly on their team now. On the other hand, you can imagine that the same war of conscience might befall Johnson's Hobbs and the woman he's picked as his sidekick, Elena (Elsa Pataky)."Fast Five" also brings back some old faces: "2 Fast 2 Furious" stars Tyrese as Roman Pierce and Ludicrous as Tej, as well as Matt Schulze, who played Vince in the original "The Fast and the Furious." Add Sung Kang as Han from "Tokyo Drift," and Gal Gadot, Tego Calderon and Don Omar from the last movie and you have a massive ensemble with which to play-act "Ocean's Eleven." That's essentially the model for this movie; all the characters have special talents and they're going to pull off a heist to take down the biggest boss-man in Rio. The characters also fit certain stereotyped roles, but that figures.Pretty much all criticisms of the plot and story mechanics become meaningless once Dom and O'Conner start speeding through the streets of Rio towing a gigantic safe in grand finale. The physics are questionable, but the movie stands out on the ingenuity of this action sequence alone, one that serves as an apt metaphor for this film series' reckless, bulldozing, couldn't-give-a-damn attitude. The "Fast and Furious" movies continue to ride comfortably in the seat of mediocrity, but they get to do it on the grandest stage yet in "Fast Five," and that ratcheted-up entertainment factor helps sway this movie into more favorable territory.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more