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. (05/25/2011)

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. (08/25/2011)

Who admired two years ago the old-fashioned approach combining action movies with relentless car chases will praise Justin Lin even more this time. Exactly the same thing happened to me. Although the fourth installment was a very pleasant spectacle, it simply pales in comparison to the fifth in every aspect. Another gear of speed is here and a real action gem comes, where you don't have to question yourself if you really like it or if you are making some small favor to well-known 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 (in a good sense) deafening 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 beastly character and his already iconic role. 85% (05/27/2011)

If it weren't for the fight scene and the fact that more films are still being made, this would have been a great finale to the series. The stories of the familiar characters come full circle during a big action ride that's not just about cars, but also gets into contact fights, shootouts... Justin Lin's predatory direction, Dwayne Johnson's super charismatic bad guy, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker clearly having a blast, plus Brian Tyler's stomping score that finally gets a proper airing... And that giant vault finale, which really took my breath away (and which was rather stupidly robbed by the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean, but I won't get into that here). I've been waiting for a movie this good since the first film in the series, The Fast and the Furious. (05/13/2020)

The series is transforming from a tuning exhibition for teenagers to full-blooded action blockbusters, where the roar of engines is drowned out by fusillades from machine guns and shotguns. Fast Five offers a well-coordinated team of partners in crime, the wild jungle of Rio de Janeiro and a surprisingly elaborate and ambitious script that overshadowed Bay’s Bad Boys II (which is thematically similar in many ways and met with mixed reviews). The movie’s creators hit the bull’s-eye by casting The Rock, who boosted the film to the testosterone maximum. In a single 130-minute film, there are no fewer than three bands of tough guys equipped with great cars and big guns fighting one another. What more can we wish for in this genre? (05/05/2011)