Fast Five (2011, USA)

Far-flung sequels don’t get much more on-point than Fast Five. Where Fast & Furious failed by jamming in everything under the sun (and still managing to be entirely boring – I fell asleep in the final 15 minutes), Five succeeds by paring things down to the basics. It’s more like F. Gary Gray’s The Italian Job than any of the prior films in the franchise, much to its benefit. Despite visits from most of the major characters from all four earlier movies – and finding room to shoehorn The Rock AND a brand-new big bad – it doesn’t feel like there’s much flab on Five - don’t know who Han is? Or that Israeli babe? No matter – just sit back, shut up, and watch them drive cars toward, away, under, between, and through pretty much every major structure in Rio. It’s very loud, very dumb, and if Justin Lin and company can keep it up, I’ll be back for Fast Six.