Working Title Presents: Good, Actually: Fast 5
Let's talk about family
I am of the opinion that there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure. You like what you like. There shouldn’t be any shame involved unless you’re watching, like, a snuff film. Then maybe do a little self-check-in, king/queen. Your taste is your taste. Don’t hide it behind Letterboxd snobbery.
That’s easier said than done. Even I fall victim to playing up my more arthouse tastes. We all have movies that we like that maybe we don’t mention in polite company. Movies that perhaps get the ~eyebrow raise~ when brought up amongst close friends. Well, no more. This is the series that celebrates those movies without hesitation. These are movies that I think are good. Not “good for a superhero movie” or good for *enter x qualifier here.* Just straight-up good.
If this newsletter has one purpose, it’s to get people to care about movies — to be excited to watch them and celebrate them and engage in a dialogue about them. This series is that desire in its purest form.
Welcome to Good, Actually.
The Movie: FAST 5
Where To Watch: Stream on Peacock or rent wherever you rent movies (it’s like $4)
Why It’s Good, Actually: How can we not talk about family when family’s all that we got?
I’m starting this series with a bit of a layup if we’re being honest. If you’re logged on™️ to certain pockets of Twitter or you listen to a particular type of movie podcast, you might know that this film is widely considered one of, if not THE best, in the whole run of the soon-to-be 11(!) film Fast & Furious franchise.
However, maybe you’re not logged on to those parts of Twitter. Maybe you don’t listen to those podcasts. Maybe your brain isn’t so broken that when Vin Diesel says “family” you feel the need to grab a Corona and drink it exclusively by the neck. Maybe you’re having the absolutely normal reaction of “wait, there are more than four Fast & Furious movies?” You are right to ask that question and I am here to answer it for you.
Before we get into the good stuff, I should say I will be discussing the plot of this movie (that came out in 2011) in some detail so light spoiler warning, I guess? I promise not to reveal anything crazy because I do want people to actually go watch this thing, but if you don’t want to know ANYTHING about FAST 5, then stop reading here and come back once you’ve watched it.
FAST 5, as you might have inferred from the title, is the 5th installment in the Fast and Furious franchise. There are 4 other films in the run-up to this one, but I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I mean this with my whole heart: you do not need to have seen any of them to enjoy FAST 5. Don’t get me wrong, they would undoubtedly be helpful insofar as you would know who people are and their names, but if you have 2 working brain cells I promise you that this movie gives you all the pieces to the puzzle. It literally begins with the ending of the previous film so you know exactly what the stakes are from the jump. Don’t know who a character is? Don’t worry, the movie will literally tell you through flashbacks or a sick-ass Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) speech. And, for what it’s worth, some of the characters are essentially rewritten in this film anyway! For example, Tej Parker (played by Chris Bridges AKA LUDACRIS) is a character who first appeared in the 2003 film 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS. In that movie, Tej is a guy who manages an auto garage, organizes street races, and is obsessed with ass. In FAST 5, Tej Parker is not just some dude who runs a garage. He is a computer and mechanical engineering genius who can fix anything, hack anything, and might be in the top 20 smartest people on the planet. He’s into some CIA/NSA-level shit. He is also still obsessed with ass, which… honestly respect.
Up until this point, the Fast & Furious films had lived up to their name, using illegal street racing and cool cars as their central narrative device, with the occasional heist elements thrown in. My favorite example of this is in 2001’s THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, in which our heroes attend an event literally called Race Wars (not the best branding) and rob a trailer truck containing $250,000 worth of PORTABLE DVD PLAYERS AND CAMCORDERS. (LOL and if I might add, LMAO). As much fun as illegal street racing is (and there are some truly spectacular racing sequences in the first four films) it can only take you so far. While the first 2 movies in the franchise were decently well received, the latter 2 (the standalone sequel TOKYO DRIFT and the direct sequel FAST & FURIOUS) were not. It was clear the franchise needed a shot in the arm. And boy howdy, it got one.
The reason this movie is good is that it is a capital H Heist movie. It has the hallmarks of all the great ones. An incredible “getting the crew together” montage? Check. A secret hideout? Double check. Smaller heists that kick off the movie and are necessary for the bigger heists? Checkaroonie. An impossible-to-crack safe kept in the most secure location in the city of Rio De Janeiro? A scene where it seems like this heist really is impossible? Outsmarting cops? Using sex to distract a dumb, cocky guy? An absolutely incredible reveal at the end that shows that you’ve been one step behind the whole time? I’ll give you one guess! It’s all there. It also has an X factor that the previous four films did not have and it completely changes the movie. That X factor (I’m not kidding about this) is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
You might not find anybody more in the bag for Dwayne Johnson than yours truly. From his movies to his press tours to his absolutely bonkers Instagram posts, I am on board. I would like to say that I know that all of his movies blend together into a soup of explosions and collapsing buildings and natural disasters and huge animals fighting, but he is truly on his A-Game in this movie. He plays Luke Hobbes, the Diplomatic Security Service agent who is tasked with bringing our team to justice and he takes that shit SERIOUSLY. To me, Johnson is always at his best when he’s playing an uptight authority figure who thinks, neé KNOWS, he’s better than everyone in the room. That is Luke Hobbes to a T. His back and forth with Dominic Toretto and Brian O’ Conner (Paul Walker, RIP) is genuinely electric and very funny. He is also HUGE in this movie — absolutely jacked out of his gourd. I know that’s kind of The Rock’s MO but it wasn’t always and his physical presence is striking every time I watch this movie.
FAST 5 is where longtime director Justin Lin finally strikes the right balance of the first movie’s street racing elements and the heist/action-adventure aspects that he had tried to work into the previous installment, FAST & FURIOUS. The set pieces in this film are some of my favorite ever put to screen. There is a roughly 10-minute sequence in which Diesel and Walker use stolen cop cars to drag a 2-3 ton safe through the entire Rio De Janeiro metropolitan area, causing what I assume to be MILLIONS of dollars worth of damage. The opening heist involves stealing expensive cars off an extremely fast-moving train before hitting a bridge. They both rock the hardest ass they could possibly rock.
This is also the point in the franchise where the members of the crew start surviving shit that is normally reserved for people that have superpowers. Gunshot wounds, insane car crashes, and falls from tremendous heights are all treated with minor annoyance. Marvel wants what the Toretto family and associates have. These sorts of insane set pieces and bonkers survival rates would come to be hallmarks of this franchise, but FAST 5 is the genesis point of those moments and, while this might sound silly to say, the most grounded of them all. Some of the moments in future installments push credibility so much that you have to just laugh. For example, in the most recent movie, two members of the crew GO TO SPACE IN A PONTIAC FIERO. FAST 5 has its moments, but it all feels within the realm of possibility. (With the exception of Gal Gadot acting cool enough to fool several trained security guards. I can only suspend disbelief so much). Couple that with the fact that the majority of the stuntwork and effects are done practically and the fact that the film is shot on location, you have a movie that FEELS real.
It’s easy to look at what The Fast and Furious franchise is today and dismiss it outright. It has almost become a parody of itself, a real snake eating its own tail situation. A lot of people thought it needed to end after FAST 7 and I totally understand that argument. But FAST 5 holds up. It’s a fun, fast-paced, and genuinely well-directed movie with good performances and a great ending. Throw it on this weekend. Learn the most important lesson of all: you don’t got friends, you got family.
FAST 5. It’s good, actually.
I’m super stoked to kick off the Good, Actually, series and have several more films that I’m excited to highlight in the coming weeks. As previously mentioned, I’m looking to expand this series into a podcast where I bring a guest on and they go to to the mat for a movie they love and feel is worth defending. It’s more of an idea than an actual project at the moment, but it’s one that I can’t stop kicking around in my head and I hope to have an update on it sooner rather than later.
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Can't wait to read more on this series!