Fast Five - Coming April 29, 2011

Director - Justin Lin
Lead Actors
Brian O'Conner - Paul Walker
Dominic Toretto - Vin Diesel
Hobbs - Dwayne Johnson
Mia Toretto - Jordana Brewster
Roman Pearce - Tyrese Gibson
Tej - Ludacris
Han - Sung Kang

Today I'm going to tackle Fast Five! If there's one thing my boyfriend is into as much as comic book movies, its car movies, especially the Fast franchise.

So I gotta ask, am I the only one that spends an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out where in the story line each new Fast movie fits in with the others? If I am, this next part will be just for my own peace of mind, if not, you're welcome!

Release Order                                                                         
The Fast and the Furious                                                          
2 Fast 2 Furious                                                                       
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift                                     
Fast and Furious                                                                      
Fast Five                                                                                   


Storyline Order
The Fast and the Furious
2 Fast 2 Furious
Fast and Furious
Fast Five 
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift 


There, now that we've got that out of the way......

The Fast franchise is a movie franchise that I know I will be seeing in theaters, no matter what, opening night if my boyfriend has anything to say about it, and I gotta be honest, every time I hear that there's a new sequel/prequel in the offing, my eyes involuntarily roll back in my head. I mean really, how many times can they try and make a story with almost no room for creativity fresh?

Dom does bad things, but he's not really a bad guy. Brian's a good guy, but he does bad things to get the bad guys, but maybe he's really a bad guy pretending to be a good guy. Hot chicks, fast cars. Okay so its pretty obvious why these movies appeal to the men that they're so blatantly marketed to. I will admit however, that Fast Five does have an unexpected draw for me in the form of my absolute, hands down favorite specimen of male perfection in Hollywood. (In my opinion) Dwayne Johnson? Yes please!

When I heard there was another Fast movie coming out, I considered telling my boyfriend I would see something else the day he goes to see Fast Five, but its no big secret among people that know me that if Dwayne Johnson is in it, that's really all I need to know, I'm in! Notably in the trailers, there's a big hand to hand fight scene between Dwayne Johnson's character Hobbs and Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel). Now ladies, let's be honest, the way that guys get all worked up to see two girls going at it, it works the other way too, and this will undoubtedly be one of those scenes.

What's more, Fast Five is the first movie that will unite cast members from all of the previous four movies. With the exception of Letty played by Michelle Rodriguez in the first and fourth movies, by release date, the whole gang's shown up for this one. Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej, (Ludacris), Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster)  and my favourite character in the series, Han played by Sung Kang. Could it be that reuniting all key players from previous movies for the first time will be the last hurrah for this franchise?

Personally I doubt it. As far as I can tell, as long as a movie makes money, there's possibility for a sequel, or in the case of the Fast franchise, a prequel/sequel. My suspicion is that as long as the key actors (Paul Walker and Vin Diesel) are willing to continue to make these movies, there will always be a writer, director and studio willing to back it.

One thing I do have to say strongly in favour of this series, the ladies of the Fast franchise have never been push overs, and I love that. I love seeing Mia get behind the wheel of a sexy, fast car and drive it every bit as well as her brother.

Fast Five  will be the first movie in the franchise to be released in IMAX. Hmmmmm 72 towering feet of Dwayne Johnson physique? Nothin' bad about that! IMAX does however have another draw for me with this movie. Do you know that feeling you get deep in your gut when an expensive car drives past you on the street? That rumble from the engine that's enough to make you follow the car with your eyes as long as you can. Well, in IMAX, the sound of the cars, which to me is every bit as sexy as the look, will undoubtedly be felt right through you. Sweet!

All in all, I don't doubt that this movie will be another hit for the franchise. It has such a hard core fan base, and with almost all the main characters back, there's just that much more possibility for mayhem. I wouldn't say I'm super excited to see this movie, and one viewing for these movies has always been more than enough for me, but I don't think I'll be disappointed either.