When “The Fast and the Furious” was approaching release on video in 2002, a steady stream of customers tried to get the video store at which I was working to fudge on the launch date.
Having not seen the movie, I didn’t understand the fuss, but I soon found out: cars, attitude, and scantily clad women.
However, as excited as people were about seeing the movie, the only scene I can remember was the daring street race at the end of the film between Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, a criminal, and Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner, the undercover FBI agent assigned to gather evidence on him.
I remember even less about the sequel, “2 Fast 2 Furious,” and have equally fuzzy memories of “Fast & Furious,” which put Toretto in the driver’s seat again following his absence from parts two and three. Since, as my wife claims, I remember most movies shot for shot, and can quote them line for line, this is significant.
For of all of their vehicular brawn, male swagger and defiant objectification of women, the “Fast & Furious” movies are cinematic confections; they taste great when they hit the tongue, but disappear before you can sink your teeth into them.
Fortunately, director Justin Lin, who also helmed parts three and four, seems determined to buck this trend with the fourth sequel, “Fast Five,” which follows Toretto and O’Conner to Rio de Janeiro, where they plan to steal one hundred million U.S. dollars from a corrupt businessman. Not only has Lin become a better director of action with each installment, but in “Fast Five,” he’s not afraid of hitting the brakes to give his characters time to grow.
There’s a lot in “Fast Five” to like. For starters, Vin Diesel and Walker have developed credible on-camera chemistry. I believe these guys had a rough start, but somewhere along the line, they became friends.
In this fourth sequel, they’re actually on the verge of becoming brothers, as Toretto’s sister is pregnant with O’Conner’s child.
The family vibe is an important part of the new film, as Dominic summons every major player from the first four “Fast & Furious” films to help with the heist. Lin doesn’t try to create any false tension among the team members; rather, he has Dominic give a brief and surprisingly warm speech about how he considers all of them family, and then lets them get down to the business of stealing the hundred mil. If anything, the crew has too much fun, given the stakes.
I also liked how Dwayne Johnson, the actor formerly known as The Rock, seemed determined to make everyone forget about all of the cutesy family movies in which he’s starred. He’s ridiculously beefed up for his role as a Diplomatic Security Service agent out to snag Toretto and O’Conner, and he’s seems to have had his ubiquitous smile surgically removed. You know you’re reaching for compliments when you praise an actor for not showing off his pearly whites, but I actually found his lack of humor comforting. The Rock is back.
The unseen star of “Fast Five” is Lin, who does good work behind the camera. Despite having a large cast, he creates a nearly perfect balance of character moments and action. He also keeps the movie moving as the team spends about an hour of screen time setting up the heist. And he directs two outstanding set pieces.
“Fast Five” begins with the train robbery, which builds toward a breathtaking shot of Toretto and O’Conner driving a convertible off a tall cliff and into a river. Unlike many of his contemporaries, who shake their cameras to mask the fact that they can’t direct action, I could see Lin storyboarding each shot of this sequence, tearing the pages off his sketch pad as ideas came to him fast and furious.
I loved the way he built suspense while pulling off several terrific-looking stunts.
For the finale, Toretto and Dominic drag a huge safe through the streets of Rio with chains attached to two cars. I’m fairly certain such a thing would be impossible, but I didn’t care.
“Fast Five” is far from perfect. For example, things happen too easily for Toretto and O’Conner. When O’Conner springs Toretto out of the prison bus, there’s just the bus driver between him and Toretto’s freedom.
Surely a bus full of hardened criminals would have warranted a police escort. And Toretto, O’Conner and two others are able to hop a fence surrounding a police station, steal four cop cars, and then race through the streets of Rio at night without attracting any unwanted attention.
But these are small quibbles. “Fast Five” is entertaining, fun and even memorable. The summer movie season is off to a good start.
Rated PG-13 for scenes of intense violence and action, sexual content and language.
Three stars out of four. Next week: “Thor.”
Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.