At the Movies with Fatwayne

Wow, this is an action packed, in your face, screeching tires, screaming engines and hot chicks movie! Having said that, it is also somewhat unbelievable in too many ways. If you can enjoy it for what it is and not pay attention to scenarios and predicaments that force you to suspend your disbelief, you will probably enjoy your time and consider it an hour and a half well spent.

This fifth installment of the Fast and Furious series packs a wallop just as its predecessors did. This one offers us an added surprise in the form of a pumped up Dwayne Johnson as federal agent Luke Hobbs who is hot on the trail of Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and their gang. To make matters all the more interesting the gang intends to take down Rio’s (as in de Janeiro, Brazil) penultimate crime lord Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). He has $100 million in laundered cash just waiting to be heisted.

I have never before seen so many vehicles crashed, burned and falling off cliffs as I did in this film. What is even more remarkable is the fact that not one person seems to get killed in all of the mayhem or for that matter injured. Equally astounding is the fact that Dom Toretto is rescued from a prison bus that flips at least four times - again, with no injuries!

While we are on the subject of miraculous survival we will need to discuss the big brawl between Dom and Luke. Either one of these brutes could hit me one time and the next thing I would know is I’d be talking to St. Peter at the pearly gates of Heaven (hopefully!). Their five plus minute set to ends with no serious injuries to either one ala professional wrestling. Sorry, it’s just not believable. Nor is the fact that practically everyone, with the exception of the baddies, is seemingly bullet proof despite hundreds of these projectiles whizzing by.

There are enough interesting plot twists to keep us guessing where this will all end up. Here is a tip from me to you. Stay seated throughout the credits to see a special scene between Dwayne Johnson and Eva Mendes that is a sure fire clue that another sequel is in the works. I, for one, will be there to see it.

Rated – PG13 -

Fatwayne’s Rating

 -  -