FAST FIVE

Just to show how far I am from the target audience for this film, this was my first exposure to either Vin Diesel or Dwayne Johnson.

Nor am I turned on by fast cars, so for example the ludicrous and unnecessary sequence where four characters steal police cars and then race them through the streets of Rio didn't do anything for me.  

I watched this film because this is supposed to be the best of the franchise, and I was in the mood for an action film where I didn’t need to engage brain.

Unfortunately when I did engage brain it would ask awkward questions.  Why did those guys remove part of the wall in a police station toilet, or why was a lot of time spent showing us the team practising driving so as to evade security cameras, when both turned out to be irrelevant to the final heist.

Admittedly that heist and the ensuing chase are cool and fun, and the opening set piece is OK, but pretty much everything in between left me bored.

I like action in films where I am emotionally invested, and where there is dramatic tension, neither of which applied here.  There is a skill in directing action sequences which James Cameron, say, or Christopher Nolan has, but which the director here, Jason Lin, doesn't.

But at the risk of sounding patronising (when has that ever stopped me before?) it's all good, silly fun if that's what you are looking for.

RATING: x Curb Your Enthusiasm