TOTALLY STUPID & TOTALLY ENTERTAINING

Fast Five is EASILY the best of the series when it comes to Michael Bay-style action without actually being directed by the maestro.  It's basically a PG-13 remake of Bad Boys 2 where director Justin Lin gets to announce his coming out as a serious action guy (each and every one of his previous efforts, except for Better Luck Tomorrow, have left me unimpressed). The final chase with the dragging of the bank vault through the crowded streets of Rio was nothing short of sensational, on any number of levels, not the least of which being the pure mayhem and physical destruction that was depicted.  Major sensory overload. And the best part of the whole thing is that almost EVERYTHING looked REAL, which is what I want most when it comes to these summer movie destructathons. The stunt work during the entire film is COMPLETELY INSANE, and the cinematography was tremendous (there are a few shots that really baffle me in terms of how they were accomplished...). The story, acting, and dialogue are exactly what you'd expect and nothing more.  The filmmakers have wisely shifted the series away from the illegal street racing scene into Ocean's 11 heist territory, and Chris Morgan's adequate script throws in a few good one-liners and some imaginative (if physically impossible and totally implausible) action sequences.  The Rock and Vin Diesel get a good five minutes of kicking each other's asses in a wall-destroying, head-bashing brawl that matched anything in last summer's The Expendables.   Just like the rest of the entries in this mega-profitable franchise, Fast Five is as unpretentious of a movie as you're likely to get, as it has only one thing on its wild, crazy, and action-filled mind:  check-your-brain-at-the-door entertainment.

PS -- the new Transformers 3-D trailer is UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE.