Fast Five / Fast & Furious 5
2011
**
Director: Justin Lin
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Elsa Pataky, Joaquim de Almeida
By the fifth episode in this unfathomably popular street racing action series, the antagonists of the original film, ex-FBI agent Brian O'Conner and career criminal Dominic Toretto, have become best buddies. Their latest caper in Brazil angers the local drug overlord and the American DSS agents, but it won't stop them from attempting an audacious robbery in Rio. Things kick off with two exciting action scenes, a prison bus escape and a car theft on a moving train, which are good dumb fun. The remaining two hours are just dumb. The heist plot is predictable, implausible, over-elaborate and dull. The men in the film are pumped up and brave, the women are incredibly hot and preferably quiet. This sexist and xenophobic celebration of machismo follows in the tradition of the abominable Bad Boys 2.
