Fast Five
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson
Director: Justin Lin
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Fast and The Furious franchise returns with Paul Walker's ex cop Brian O'Connor freeing Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto from a bus taking him to jail.
This puts Dom, Brian and Jordana Brewster's Mia top of the wanted list so they head to Rio to lay low for a while.
However, one last job pulls them back in - and when the trio's set up and betrayed by corrupt businessman Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), the hunt's on to clear their names.
But Reyes isn't the only one hunting the trio - fresh on their trail is federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) who's determined to bring them in for their part in the death of three agents.
So, the game is set.
Fast Five is like a greatest hits of the franchise; a bevy of familiar faces return with characters from all the films making an appearance in some form or other - along with new ones like Hobbs and a new love interest for Diesel's Toretto.
But as ever, the star of this show are the cars and the stunts. A particularly audacious final set piece is destruction to the maximum - and one scene sees a car go off a cliff with amazing effect.
The plot's as lacking as ever to be honest - and when characters utter lines like "It's easy money", you know exactly what's coming. Coupled with plenty of shots of Diesel and Johnson leering at each other, this predictably over long piece isn't exactly breaking the mould.
And yet, despite all that, it remains watchable fare (thanks to a superbly original take on using subtitles).
With the promise of a final film to wrap everything up and with the fact old characters have been brought back, it's clear those involved in this series actually care about the creations they've given life to.
In a world where movies often trot out tired sequels and phone
it in, Fast Five shows there's still some heart and soul in the car
racing franchise - and that's a rare thing.
