Hot men, hot women, and hotter cars. It’s a winning formula, as the producers of “The Fast and the Furious” franchise have learned. The last installment, “Fast & Furious” — hey, it’s a slightly creative way to name a sequel — was made for $85 million and grossed more than $353 million worldwide.
Do we really need a fifth movie filled with car races, car chases and car crashes? Of course not. But then, we also don’t need the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren or the Autobahn. But they add an awfully lot of fun to our short, brutal lives.
| On screen |
| ‘Fast Five’ |
| 4 out of 5 stars |
| Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson |
| Director: Justin Lin |
| Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, sexual content and language |
| Running time: 130 minutes |
“Fast Five” picks up where “Fast & Furious” left off — its action takes place before “The Fast and the Furious: Toyko Drift.” FBI agent Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and his girlfriend Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) pull up alongside a bus carrying high-security prisoners and bust out Mia’s brother Dominic (Vin Diesel). Brian and Mia hightail it to Brazil, where old Toretto friend Vince (Matt Schulze) sets them up with a gig to earn the fugitives some much needed cash: steal a few cars off a quickly moving train.
It’d be a no-fuss job for these precision drivers. But Dominic arrives on the scene and realizes not all is as appears. What happens next puts them on the bad side of Brazil’s richest — and most corrupt — businessman, Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). Reyes all but owns the impoverished favelas of Rio de Janeiro. But Dominic has figured out how to get back at him — steal the $100 million or so that he’s laundering. He brings back some familiar faces — including the talented Ludacris and Sung Kang — to get the job done. But Reyes isn’t the only tough guy they must avoid. Federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) is also hot on their tail.
C’mon. You know you want to see Diesel and the Rock take each other on. And they don’t disappoint. Neither does “Fast Five.” Sure, almost everything that happens here is pretty implausible. And the jokey crew is a little too “Ocean’s Eleven.” But the jokes are good and the script is sharp. This is a movie that embraces pleasure and embraces life — though amidst the sort of destruction that seems out of control even for Rio. It’s a high-octane ride that never runs out of gas.
