MOVIE REVUE: Zoom, Zoom

This review originally appeared on Reel Film News (www.reelfilmnews.com)

Good summer movies keep you watching the screen while just blowing your mind with the sweeping special effects that make you ask yourself…how did they do that?  They’re usually called “popcorn” flicks because you just keep sitting there shoveling popcorn into your mouth while never looking down.  And considering most summer movie blockbusters are sequels, it takes a lot to bring back the same audience, as well as increase the audience’s attendance to the franchise.  And the best way to do that is to take what’s successful and work on that and reinvent yourself to appeal to a broader audience.  Fast Five does just that.

MOVIE REVUE: Fast Five Goes To Eleven

(Yes.  That’s a Spinal Tap reference in the title.)

In 2003, the remake of The Italian Job was released to big box office and good critical notices; as is the case when something like this happens, the studio starts bandying about possible ideas for a sequel.  What came of it was something known as The Brazilian Job, which was to have brought the entire cast back for another heist.  As fans of The Italian Job know, The Brazilian Job never came to fruition.  However, Fast Five is good enough to have been that sequel.  Set in Rio De Janeiro, Fast Five is an exhilarating and hilarious thrill ride, and most likely the best of the whole Fast and Furious series.

TRAILERS: Fast Five

 

That’s right! Vin Diesel and Paul Walker return in this fifth installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise. Fast Five picks up where the previous film left off. Dom, his sis Mia, and Brian are all on the run from the authorities; particularly, from Dwayne Johnson’s Federal Agent Luke Hobbs.  The only hope they have of gaining their freedom is to pull one final job; thankfully though they are not alone as familiar faces enter the fray to help out.