Fast Five: 6 Thoughts I Had While Watching The 2011 Movie For The First Time

I’ve determined that all the things the Fast and Furious movies are best known for stem from Fast Five. I’m talking about global adventures, family monologues, out-of-this-world stunts and an incredibly famous ensemble cast. I finally feel like I’ve hit the point in the series where things really start to ramp up, and the saga becomes what we know it for today. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint, I get why this movie is ranked No. 1 in our ranking of the Fast and Furious movies. So, with that said, let’s get into all the thoughts I had while watching the fan fave that is Fast Five. 

This Is A Heist Movie, And That’s Why I Loved It So Much

While the first four movies are about racing, Fast Five is first and foremost a heist movie, and cars are used as a means to pull off said heist. It’s worth noting that my favorite genre of film is heists. Ocean’s Eleven is one of my favorite movies, and seeing an epic ensemble assemble to pull off a clever, action-packed and mind-bending plan brings me immense joy. 

Seeing a crew that included Mia, Vince and Dom from The Fast and the Furious, Roman and Tej from 2 Fast 2 Furious, Han from Tokyo Drift (because our F&F timeline is still ultra convoluted) and Gisele from Fast and Furious 4 was epic. By putting them together we got an ensemble that was perfect for a heist movie where they worked to pull off an impossible plan that involved safe stealing, train heisting, car chases, roof chases, and some great banter.

Can We Take A Minute To Talk About That Wild Train Heist?

As mentioned above I love a heist, and if you’ve read my thoughts on The Fast and the Furious as well as my opinions on 2 Fast 2 Furious, you’ll know that I love a big campy stunt. The train heist was both those things, and I was living for it! Not only was it an epic sequence that featured the crew stealing cars off a train via a truck that looked like it should have been in Mad Max, but it also had epic fights and a grand finale that included Brian and Dom jumping their car off a cliff, talk about epic. 

On top of that, a crucial part of the scene was apparently done by accident, which makes this even better. It turns out, the car wasn’t supposed to crash into the train in the movie, as Brian Volk-Weiss, the director of Icons Unearthed: Fast & Furious told ScreenRant. However, rather than spending more money to fix it, they moved the fight inside the train and made the car part of the sequence. Considering these movies are all about cars doing wild things, I love that this snafu added an even cooler element to an already rad action sequence. 

The Rock Has Entered The Chat And He Has The Best One-Liners

We can’t talk about a movie that Dwayne Johnson is in, and not bring him up. This was The Rock’s introduction to the Fast franchise, and he came into the Fast Five cast swinging as Hobbs, the agent who was determined to catch our favorite crew, and he was armed with guns and one-liners. 

When we meet Hobbs he’s walking off a plane telling his crew to get ready. However, he doesn't just say, “let’s go” or “are you ready,” oh no, he says: 

He also has another legendary one-liner where instead of simply asking for the information he says: 

Considering The Rock is your ultimate cool guy, hearing him say lines like this was quite funny, and one of my favorite elements of Fast Five. With that said, I really hope Hobbs keeps up the fun dialogue in the movies to come. 

Mia Announced She Was Pregnant At Maybe The Worst Possible Time 

We learn early on in Fast Five that Mia is pregnant, Brian is the father. Then she decided to break the news to her beau and her brother right after they all almost died during a roof chase. My first thought was not about how happy I was, it was more like: MIA THIS IS LITERALLY THE WORST TIME TO BREAK THIS LIFE ALTERING NEWS!*

She was standing with Brian and Dom in a sewer-type thing and her brother insisted they split up. Mia did not want to do that, so her solution was to break the news that she was pregnant. If I were Brian or Dom and I learned that news then I think I would have freaked out. Luckily, the boys were thrilled about the news, and while I didn’t like this moment, it was the reason we got Vin Diesel saying:

So, I can’t hate on this scene too much, because it’s what got Dom on this family kick that is quite endearing. 

*Also, I’d like to clarify that I’m thrilled for Brian and Mia, I just think she should have waited a bit to share the news. 

However, It’s What Led Us To The Epic Family Speech From Vin Diesel 

We’ve seen the classic family barbeque with the Coronas, and we’ve heard the talk about the importance of your crew, but we haven’t gotten a full-blown family monologue from Vin Diesel until Fast Five, and it was glorious. After Vince asks Dom if he can come back, and the crew makes it back from a dangerous mission, Vin rallies and troops and says this: 

Is it all that poetic, no, but is it hella heartfelt and said with love, yes, and that’s all that matters. Hopefully, this means there are more family monologues to come, and they all also involve the whole crew, a cold Corona or two, and Vin Diesel explaining the importance of family. 

How Did Nobody Get Injured In This Movie?

Tell me, how on Earth did none of the characters break an arm, get a concussion or, you know, die? Injury-inducing moments in this movie, include but are not limited to: Dom and Brian driving a car off a cliff, Brian falling through a roof, and Dom stopping, dropping and rolling out of his car moving at a high speed while a safe whips around the highway. It just feels impossible that they all made it out of this unscathed, yet somehow they were all in tip-top shape by the end of the movie. 

I know these movies aren't supposed to follow the laws of physics or be grounded in reality. However, there were one too many injury-prone moments in this action-packed film that I couldn't help but think that at least one person should have been wearing a sling at bare minimum. 

Other Thoughts 

• Gal Gadot and Han is not a pairing I expected. 
• Give Ludacris more screen time! 
• After those end credits, is Letty a super soldier type of person now? I gotta say, I was just as surprised as Michelle Rodriguez was to see Letty alive. 
• Getting the safe by putting it in the garage truck was genius. 
• Dom letting Brian win a race was so cute. 

I feel like we’ve reached a major milestone in this journey. I’ve been told Fast Five is one of the best in the franchise, and where the game changes, and I totally see why. 

As we race closer to Fast X’s release on the 2023 movie schedule, I can’t wait to see how the saga evolves, and how the events of Fast Five play into the big bad’s story in the tenth installment. However, we’ll have to wait until May to find that out, so in the meantime stay tuned to CinemaBlend for my next installment in this wild Fast and Furious series. 

You can rent/buy Fast Five on Amazon.