Fast & Furious 5 Review

By rights, the Fast & Furious should have driven off a cliff years ago, but there's enough fuel in the tank for at least one more outing - a sort of Greatest Hits collection featuring Vin Diesel, Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson alongside newcoming heavy Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

"Repeatedly going toe-to-toe with Diesel, as if they're auditioning for The Expendables 2, The Rock slots into this universe of dick-swinging machismo with ease - though a late-breaking character development will likely summon as many jeers as cheers," notes Total Film's reviewer.

Expect stunts of unprecedented silliness. "Getting bigger is what this car-crunching franchise is all about - and on that score FF5 doesn't disappoint. Forget FF4's opening gas-tanker heist. Here, we've barely taken our seats before Mia (Jordana Brewster) and ex-cop boyfriend Brian (Paul Walker) have busted Dom out of the prison bus we last left him on.

Say what you like about director Justin Lin's lack of subtlety (or understanding of the laws of physics), but he knows how to kick-start an action movie."

All of which adds up to another one of those 'unabashed' action flicks Hollywood can knock out with both eyes closed. "Converts may be scarce, but fans will lap up its major-league mayhem."

It's a sparky three star Friday evening's romp. Excerpts care of Total Film.