110, Fast Five

Very rarely (with the exception of Crocodile Dundee II) does a sequel outshine its original.  By the time your to installment 5, those movies that have made the distance have normally lost all the original cast, defied all plot logic and are purely expecting attendance based on previous glories (Just watch Police Academy: Assignment Miami to see what I mean).

Luckily, this is about to buck the trend!

Not only did they call back all of the original cast members from all 4 of the previous movies (that who survived at least) but also managed to add some extra big names to the already impressive list to deliver in my eyes what is an awesome movie.

There is no denying that since The Fast and the Furious came out back in 2001 I have had a thing for these movies.  I love the cars, the action, the sheer greatness of the stunts and Messrs Mark Sinclair Vincent & Paul William Walker just seem to get better with age. 

Fair enough, I genuinely feel they only truly shine is these movies, Sadly I don't rate Walker in much else and Vin's showing in the Pacifier was easily forgettable, luckily though he is set to come back in XXX the Return of Xander Cage later this year so look out for that one!

First off then let look at our likely rabble of hoodlums.  We have Dom & Brian along with sister Mia & Vince from movie 1 who make an appearance, then Roman & Tej rock up from the 2nd outing, Tokyo Drift star Han is a pleasing addition and there are some new additions in the form of some comedic Brazilians and a hottie biker chic.  Sadly its missing the lovely Michelle Rodriguez (due to an untimely death in No.4) however she is referenced throughout.  As a crew they seem unstoppable and all play absolute blinders.

Then the backdrop - Rio is awesome.  Fans of C.O.D will instantly recognise the Favellas as our unlikely Heroes bounce of rooftops and rip up back alleys to deliver a mind blowing, jaw dropping action flick that does not let up from start to finish.

Now the Cops / FBI.  Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson looks bigger and tougher than ever as Hobbs, the agent tasked with bringing down Dom & Brian and surprisingly enough, only David from "Numbers" was the other recognisable face.

The action is better than you can expect with chase after fight after chase taking place and the way the director draws you into the action and car chases is breathtaking.

I know movies like this never get the recognition from the Academy or Awards ceremonies but this one should.  Its an all out action entertainment fest - the 2hrs flash past as quickly as the cars in it and the explosions and guns fire off more rounds, both for and against our heroes from end to end.

The comedy element is strong throughout with Roman and Tej bouncing off each other like a modern day Two Ronnie's and the subtitled Brazilians get more laughs than everyone else put together.

I could go on and on about this one but I think this is enough - For me, its got everything I love in a great movie.  Normally by now I would say enough is enough but please please please, make a 6, 7 & 8 - I will keep paying!

See this if...........................................any of the previous films made you smile, this one will blow your socks off!