Fast Five

Cruelty, gore, and thrills just the way we like it! Definitely the best installment and cast. I absolutely squealed with joy several times at how amazing it was. But what got me most of all was the atmosphere and music during the opening of the safe. The last time I was this fired up was with Armageddon. (25/05/2011)

Hands down, the best episode of the series. Unfortunately, the overwrought pivotal action scene at the end, with a half demolished Rio and a massive vault behind two bulldozers, was too far beyond the edge of acceptability for my taste. And when they open their mouths in the non-action passages and the characters spout life's truths and wisdoms, even Mrs. Cliché and Stupidity run to hide behind the camera in terror, it was really hard to listen to. Thanks at least for Dwayne's character of Agent Hobbs, because you can never have enough of The Rock and his fist fight with Diesel, when the surrounding walls were collapsing like styrofoam backdrops, brought me out of my lethargy. (08/05/2011)

It seems that Justin Lin is getting the hang of his craft. After a tragic third installment and a slightly better fourth (mainly thanks to the cast), we now have a decent fifth part that works quite well on its own. Fortunately, there is a hefty dose of action, which was mostly lacking in the previous films, and instead of submachine guns and shotguns, we are treated to supposedly souped-up wrecking cars and spinning backgrounds. Values are flipped and Lin finally realised that times are changing and audiences have different demands. The setting of Rio is very attractive, the director plays with filters and music and turns an average project into a action-packed film that is narratively very simple, but ticks away pleasantly. Thanks to the stable cast and the masterful move in the form of The Rock, the film is very enjoyable to watch. The final over the top action set-piece didn't impress me that much, while the enraged fight between Diesel and Johnson was mind-blowing. (22/05/2011)

The first film of the franchise that I watch, attracted by the very good reviews. What I got was precisely what I expected: very well made silliness. Some of the one-liners are funny, some are ridiculous. The action is pretty brutal, you can really feel the style and the energy, even if (especially by the end) it felt a little physically fairytale-like. It’s a watchable film and one of the best in the “summer action nonsense” category. (25/08/2011)

Anyone who admired the old-fashioned approach two years ago of combining action movies with relentless car chases will praise Justin Lin even more this time around. The reason is that the exact same thing happened to me. Although the fourth installment was a very pleasant spectacle, it simply pales in comparison to the fifth in every respect. Here we've shifted into a much higher gear in terms of of speed and the result is a real action gem where you don't have to question whether you truly like it or if you're just kowtowing to the familiar faces. Because here, you won't even have time to catch your breath properly. This is especially true for the infernal final half-hour, which is so dazzling and deafening (in a good way) that it has rightfully elevated the franchise from being a familiar favorite to a massively visited series of blockbusters. And the biggest asset? Dwayne Johnson's beast of a character is his now iconic role. (27/05/2011)