Let’s not beat around the bush, “Fast Five” is a silly, fast paced, brainless and loud movie filled with over the top action, implausible stunts and a weak screenplay. But who really cares?  A movie like this isn’t supposed to be taken seriously; you are supposed to forget all logic and just accept what the movie has to say. That’s what “Fast Five” succeeds at doing. On paper it may seem to be a mindless action picture, and it is one of those films, but compared to other mindless action films this one is pretty exciting to watch.  To me, films that fall into the mindless action picture genre are when they do not have a good story, and the action sequences are boring. But “Fast Five’s action is fun and stylish, and that’s what makes it entertaining.

There isn’t really much of a story. After being man-hunted by the police, fugitive Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) is tired of out running the law. So he decides to go out for one more job; because in all heist films the characters always have to do one more job. He recruits a cop turned fugitive named Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker). Dominic tells him he is putting together a team to rob a corrupt businessman named Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). Reyes seems to be the richest man in the city of Rio de Janero, Brazil (that’s why Dominic wants to rob him.) The team he recruits, other than Brian, include Han Lue (Sung Kang), Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), Gisele Harabo (Gal Gadot), Tego Leo (Tego Calderón) and Rico Santos (Don Omar). In the meantime they are being hunted down by a tough police commissioner named Lucas Hobbs; he is played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

I know there doesn’t seem to be much, but it actually is the more interesting film in the entire series. The other films just included a bunch of street racing and car chases with good-looking cars and hot women. However, “Fast Five” features only car chases with good-looking cars and hot women. Huh you might ask? There isn’t one street race in this movie and when there is, we never see it. To me, car “races” are a bore, compared to car “chases”, because car chases are exciting to watch (If it works in movie). You actually care what happens to the characters in a GOOD car chase, but in a street race? Who cares. Sometimes depending on the movie, car chases can be a dull, but “Fast Five” makes it work, that’s why it’s exciting. Like I said before, the action is implausible and over the top but it’s exciting and stylish. Not like in other pictures where the action would just be boring, the action in “Fast Five” is fun.

That’s what is supposed to be, fun. This isn’t going to be the next ground breaking heist film but you just have to except what the film is trying to be. What it is trying to be is an over-the-top action film with unrealistic and exciting action and it succeeds at this. Even the fact that this film doesn’t have much of a plot, it is ok, because the action, such as the car chases, shootouts and fight sequences, are exciting enough to watch for you to excuse this. Most mindless action pictures don’t have exciting action for you to excuse its weak plot, so those films have no redeeming qualities.

“Fast Five” action is also the weak point. There are too many implausible scenes for it s own good and grow tiresome, especially in the third act. I won’t give too much away but let’s just say that there are one too many car crashes and you kind of get bored when the 40^th car crash happens. It’s also too long by ten minutes and there are too many bad puns involving, you guess it, cars.

However that dosnt take away the fun of what the movie has to offer. Director Justin Lin creates stylish and slick car chases that make you interested and excited. I’m sure a lot of people will find it fun with the action and the cast, because in a film like this you don’t pay attention to story. So I will say that “Fast Five” is fun with its self because of its preposterous action and stunts; which also makes it watchable.  This is, and I’m sure the target audience will agree, that it’s the best out of all the “Fast and Furious” series.

***| PG-13| 130 Minutes