FAST FIVE
(PG-13)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
While I’ve never been a die-hard fan of the “Fast and Furious” movies, I can admit the action is pretty good. The best, at least until this fifth one was released, was the original. The series took a slump with parts two and three (both substandard to what was established by the first film). A little bit of excitement came back for the fourth film, and we get another boost with this fifth movie.
Skipping much of the street racing motif that propelled the first couple films, “Fast Five” dives right into a heist film. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker return to team up for another heist, this time in Rio de Janeiro. Facing off against a U.S. strike force, led by an alarmingly oily Dwayne Johnson, they try to hit a drug kingpin right in the pocketbook.
The reason to see “Fast Five” isn’t for the plot (though someone should have told that to director Justin Lin who spends way too much time with weak-ass character development). Instead, this movie was made for the action buff. It’s got some great car chases. Ignore the property damage and likely death of dozens of bystanders. “Fast Five” is fun to watch. Just don’t try to think too much or your brain will break.
The Blu-ray is loaded with some neat features, including Universal’s “Second Screen,” which works with pocketBlu. The DVD features of deleted scenes, a gag reel, “Dom’s Journey,” “Brian O’Conner: From Fed to Con,” “Enter Federal Agent Hobbs” and the feature commentary are also included on the Blu-ray. Exclusive Blu-ray features include the features “The Big Train Heist,’ “Reuniting the Team,” “A New Set of Wheels,” “Dom vs. Hobbs,” “Tyrese TV,” “Inside the Vault Chase” and “On Set with Director Justin Lin.”