MOVIE GUIDE: FAST 5

It’s been 10 years since we were blessed with the original The Fast and the Furious. I never knew much about cars until then. In the 10 years since, I’ve gained a heck of a lot more knowledge thanks to this franchise. “Fast” forward 10 years and it literally has been an unbelievable ride

I actually didn’t get to see the movie until a whole 2 weeks later because Anabelle wanted to watch it with me. Each and every day I’d see the trailer on TV or see someone post on facebook how good the movie was. It gutted me. There were times that I felt like a crack head where I wanted to go behind Anabelle’s back and watch it without her, then pay the consequences later. LOL. Finally, after 14 days which felt like an eternity, I finally got to see Fast 5.

There were so many things that I loved about this movie. From beginning to end, Fast 5 was entertaining. The opening scene picks up where Fast and Furious left off; Brian and the gang on their way to break out Dom from the prison bus. Personally, I thought the break out scene was going to be a bit more elaborate than it was but the quickness that it was done in made up for it. The scene gave me an “Okay, he’s out, now moving on” type of feeling. The entire movie moved relatively fast. With little hesitation after the bus scene, we’re then taken to the favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Fast 5 didn’t drag on like other movies tend do; it was literally boom, boom, boom. It moved at a really high speed (pun intended).

Without question, one of the best aspects of this movie was the return of the heavy hitters from past F & F movies; Rome, Tej, Han, Gisele, and the 2 Puerto Rican guys that always argue. However, my favorite returnee by far was Vince. He was a very pivotal player in the original F & F so it was nice to see him back, tatted up, and still wanting to throw blows with Brian. Then we come upon the inclusion of badass extraordinaire Lou Hobbs. This is the role that Dwayne Johnson was born to play. In the movie, Lou Hobbs was described by Brian as “Old Testament”, and that’s exactly what he is. He and his team of soldiers are a great counterpart to Toretto and his “family”. The drug lord/ villain in the movie is very fitting. His actions and persona give Dom and the crew good motive to steal from him.

The entire movie was tailor made for action junkies. There were car chases with unbelievable cars, explosions, brody fight scenes, scantily clad women, enough testosterone to keep the ladies happy and everything in between. The closing action sequence takes you for a loop that no other F & F movie has done yet. I read in a review that it’s like having Ocean’s 11 with cars and I totally agree. By adding the little tidbit that they did, Fast 5 became a heist movie. It was very unexpected from this franchise but a nice addition to the story. And it gave you that added “take” on what Toretto, Brian, and the crew can do.

And finally, as only director Justin Lin can do, he leaves you bouncing for more. In Tokyo Drift, he left you with Dominic Toretto making an appearance in the final scene. In Fast & Furious, he left you with Brian jumping from good to bad and by breaking Toretto out of the prison bus. And at the end of Fast 5, he left me bouncing more than ever. There is no way that I’d want to spoil the ending so I won’t mention it. Do you believe in ghosts?