Review of Fast Five (2011) by Brandon S — 02 Dec 2012

The first genuinely fun movie of this kind since the original Fast and the Furious.

The fifth chapter in the Fast & Furious franchise. The casts of past installments collaborate for a high risk, multi-million dollar heist, exacting revenge against a vicious crime lord.

This film is the first action flick in a long time that can actually be taken seriously. The action sequences are big, the plot is fairly thick, and the locations are astounding. Justin Lin isn't a very good director but he does have potential. It's almost as if he doesn't know what direction he wants to take the film until he's already started making it. He isn't mediocre by any means, especially considering the lack of good action directors nowadays, but he just needs to embrace his potential and make the better of it. All negative things aside, he has honestly made a really good action movie that doesn't waste your time or insult your intelligence.

Vin Diesel brings out his inner action hero once again and, cliché as it may be, it is actually pretty good. Paul Walker has only acted well in one film, obviously being Running Scared, and this film doesn't break that cycle. Walker's dialogue makes sense knowing the character but doesn't flow with him very well. Matt Shulze is fairly unnatural which is to be expected. None impressed me more than Dwayne Johnson, he has this personality that gives us a look into the old school cowboy cops of the past. Jordana Brewster is a talented actress but she constantly disappoints me by taking jobs like these. I understand that action films just seem to be her element but she is so much better than the action genre, she has a lot of sadly unused potential to become a great actress in drama.

Overall, this is a fun time at the movies. The action is big and exciting, the acting isn't your stereotypical bullcrap, and the writing is actually very worth while.