Fast Five

Who would have guessed a franchise that was down the drain is back high on reels with the 5th instalment!

The same characters, writer & director are back on set for another ride, but everything seems to be different from what the series has been offering thus far! For one, there's proper storytelling, through visuals at that too! This can be witnessed from how Mia's (Jordana Brewster) pregnancy is hinted, likings between Gisele (Gal Gadot) & Han (Sung Kang) or connection between Dominic (Vin Diesel) & Elena (Elsa Pataky) are shown. Stephen F. Windon's pulsating cinematography is a must for this film! Just look at how stylish, steady and gorgeous the wide angle takes on city landscapes & actions are! Brian Tyler's music is so upliftingly good! It sets the tension bar! Film editing is slick & sharp!

Don't get started on the actions, as it is brutally engrossing to the T! Your eyes have to see to believe how quick, snappy & fast-paced the stunt sequences are! To top off the list is the escapade car's accidental launch into a river with Dom and Brian (Paul Walker) in it. Some real heart-stopping stuff! From this point onwards, you'd know the target the makers are aiming for. Gravity-defying, over-the-top actions that are beautifully crafted & shot! See, it's all about how one shoots it by walking symmetrically on that fine line, that's all. Hopping across Brazilian roofs, racing with police vehicles, and not to forget, the massive destruction causing road flee with a bank locker box chained to the back of 2 high speed cars are pure, pure entertainment!

More than anything, the flat-out reason why it all works is because of a great script as the backbone. Firstly, it is a wise decision to merge the aspects of heisting & speed-racing into one. Secondly, the writing gives you solid reasoning for dramatic need. Outlaws are gathered at Plot Point 1, to execute a plan that would save everyone's ass from the wanted list. And the goal or motivation is something that's commonly relatable which will get audiences rooting hard for - massive money! Thirdly, tension & conflicts. Of course, things aren't coming easy. There are 10 location tabs. Suspense is heightened when bucks are transferred to a police station. How does one get into a cops crib to rob? That's when the main mission fingers out into mini side ones - obtaining fingerprints, hijacking cars, testing car drifts and purchasing a safe-box model. All these might remind us of Ocean's Eleven and alike films.

Apart from these, we have the villains & DSS officer Hobbs, an equally caliber man as our protagonist, sniffing and gunning down our heroes at any time will. Speaking of Luke Hobbs, Dwayne Johnson is such an asset to this motion picture! The guy's dialogue delivery, body language and his very presence are charismatic! Equation between Dominic Toretto & Luke Hobbs is gold! Their logger-heading, confrontations, brawling and finally, befriending with each other are enjoyable. Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) really knows when to bring in humor! His interactions with Tej Parker (Chris Bridges) is a fun side dish to taste. Even the villain Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) is slightly more than your everyday, standard bad egg. There's effort to explain where he's coming from; his ideologies & purposes, even though through verbal explanations.

As aforementioned, the screenwriting has a lot of effort put into it. Yes, the Three-Act Structure is the pillar of support. Besides it, writer Chris Morgan shows you he has thought through every nook & corner of the storyline before you do. He leaves no story points dangling, like he did in the 2009 film. Dom & team decides to use the cause of them being hunted to hunt down the enemy. And since Brian is an ex-FBI agent, he knows the tricks up the sleeves in department. As the bank vault is a private arrondissement, chances of it having security camera is slim, therefore it shouldn't be a problem for the rotor robot to roam around snapping photos. Reyes eyes are all over Brazil for Dominic & crew, and it is acknowledged as promised earlier in the writing. Before a warrant is out for these guys to limit their movements, the data is withhold by the DSS team only, prior to being spread to the local police. Hobbs, a law abider making the call to follow Toretto with an acceptable motivation change is definitely an enough booster for the rest to drop in and carry out the simple & easy plan! Watch closely, and you'll see Hobbs and his people aren't shooting any police officers. They are just shooting around them to create distractions. This is what we call code of conduct. Whether it's a universe or a character, as long as you do not disobey its code of conduct, the logic & believability stays. Detailed writing, right?

Of course, he did take advantage of cinematic liberties for some of the parts, but it's done in a way you wouldn't question it. The same goes to the stunt works too. It's always about how, not what. You know a death is needed at a certain point of the Third Act, and it is given via a character from past, which is a pleasant nod to the feature that started it all. Information regarding how they were able to finance the equipment & technology utilized is unnecessary, thus you don't see it in the runtime. With these being said, there are few flaws that could have been addressed with extra ounce of attention. Although there is an ulterior motive behind the initial job, why should Dom & group be bothered by it anyways? Even the current smuggling they are doing is illegal. The cause for the dramatic need seemed force-fed. Maybe because their lives were in line, especially Mia, that's why. All of them can speak the common languages of Portuguese & English in the train cart, so how can each of the duos would not have heard the other? Grinding a wall in a toilet can be loud till the sound reaches outside, right? Mia was pregnant when she jumps from hoods to hoods, guys! Reyes' crew arriving at the same time as Hobb's to attack the trio is abrupt.

Sprinkles of treatment is also unexpected! While there is a homage paid to the street racing affair, the way a potential race is skipped is fantastic! And when it is compensated by the 4 police vehicles on ride rampage, it is also fantastic! Notice in the latter, it was just about bringing 4 cars from the police station back to their workstation. But in between, an engaging race as a tribute to nostalgia is inserted from Point A to Point B. That's the power of intuition & knowledge knowing when and where to sprinkle a little treatment that can make the end product better! Such can be picked out for character moments as well. There's scope of acting for Vin Diesel, when he rages on Hobbs, coming close to killing him. The buildup to the main personae in the starting is also noteworthy. Also take note, the action is so good, they show Brian, a character in the movie, reacting to the fact, just like us the audiences. Great direction!

Last but not least, the makers have really invested care & emotions into the human relationships in the script. The family cushion is constantly bolstering from the background and most of the times when the card is thrown in, it works. Troughs of pacing are well utilized to install, focus and savor these moments. Now we know why family is an important element in this franchise, aside from the aim to bring family audiences to the theaters. The twist at the end is fun and when the locker door finally opens, you know the ultimate dramatic need has been achieved, and a juice of contentment fills up your heart chambers. While the resolution could have been shortened a little, Fast Five is a satisfying 2 hours of non-stop thrill ride & the best entry in the series thus far!