Fast & Furious 5 (2011)

What's it about? Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Connor find themselves in Brazil with the rest of their ace driving crew, on the run from federal agents (headed up by the relentless Luke Hobbs) but determined to get their hands on the millions of dollars stashed at the local police station by drug kingpin Hernan Reyes.

*****

What's it like? This is going to be very much a matter of taste. There's a lot of macho posturing, some pretty exhilarating stunts, fight scenes and car chases and certainly nothing here is going to be troubling the voters for the Oscars come next Spring. But that very much misses the point. This is silly stuff, but has no pretensions to be otherwise; it's not trying to be terribly innovative or thought-provoking and instead settles into an admirably entertaining groove. The pacing is restless and energetic and the script while hardly classic, iconic stuff, moves the plot along and gives the main players plenty to get their teeth into. The characters don't need to be too well fleshed out as we already know most of them well from the previous instalments and for what it is worth I've not seen parts 3 or 4 and had no trouble getting quickly back up to speed. At one point Vin Diesel (as Toretto) and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (as Hobbs) have a minutes-long brawl and given the strength and physicality of the two actors it should be no surprise to hear that as a set-piece it has you grinning broadly. This is easily consumable, relatively easy-going, light-hearted entertainment and although I would never recommend checking your brain in at the door, you certainly won't need to concentrate too much to have a good time.

*****

Should I go see it? For many, this is the key question. Should I see it, as a Christian? What, if any, are the more problematic elements? What about my children? Should I be wary of them seeing it? Good questions all. There is a certain amount of coarse language, though the film is rated 12A, so there is only one use of the f-word and nothing else as string as that occurs elsewhere. The violence is restricted to lots of punch-ups and a few shootings, which though clearly fatal to those shot, are not as bloody or visceral as you might find in something like Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down or Braveheart. Tonally, it is not particularly gratuitous, it does not contain any real sexual content or nudity and is to be particularly welcomed for not objectifying the female characters involved. As with most films, I would encourage parents to see it with their children if possible and plan to make time to discuss it with them afterwards over a milkshake. Although you can take children of any age to a 12A, I would tend to keep children of primary school age away from it, because of the various elements described above.