Expertly staged stunt sequences make ‘Fast Five’ a fun ride

Screeching, smoking tires. Flying fenders. Flying bullets -- and flying glass. To say nothing of flying wisecracks.

In other words, welcome to summer. Or, more precisely, summer movies.

The calendar may still read April -- at least for one more day.

But, as "Fast Five" demonstrates, 'tis the season for rock-'em, sock-'em cinema, in a sequel that rounds up the usual suspects from previous franchise adventures. And reminds us all over again what made the original "The Fast and the Furious" such big, dumb, in-your-face fun. (I mean the 2001 "F&F," not Roger Corman's 1955 innocent-fugitive-on-the-run actioner.)

Indeed, this fifth installment plays like a best-of highlight reel, reuniting cast members from all four previous chapters. ("Fast Five" does assume you've seen at least some of those previous chapters; otherwise, you're going to need a scorecard -- or keep reading for a who's-who cheat sheet.)

Even more importantly, "Fast Five" returns Justin Lin (who made a striking 2002 feature debut with "Better Luck Tomorrow") to the director's chair for the third time in the "Fast & Furious" universe. By now, he's certainly got the hang of things, delivering a movie that blasts through every obvious (and credibility-stretching) plot contrivance with gleeful, pedal-to-the-metal drive.

And while there are more than enough of those oh-come-on twists to fuel several sequels, most audiences will probably be too busy enjoying the ride to care.

"Fast Five" begins with a reunion of the franchise's essential characters, as ex-cop Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and his hard-driving, equally decorative sweetie, Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) engineer a precision prison bus crash -- so they can spring Mia's brother Dominic (Vin Diesel) from custody before he has to spend 25-to-life behind bars.

Naturally, an intensive manhunt ensues. Just as naturally, our trio eludes pursuing law enforcement types and winds up in Rio de Janeiro. (It's a far grittier Rio than we see in the animated hit of the same name.)

There, Dom's pal Vince (a soulful, low-key Matt Schulze , back for the first time since the original) brings them in on his next job: stealing some high-end rides from a cross-country train.

Except that these particular cars happen to be owned by Rio's No. 1 drug lord, Hernan Reyes (that old smoothie Joaquim de Almeida , who's been playing these types since the "Miami Vice" era). And the cars happen to have been confiscated by American drug agents.

Oops.

In one fell swoop, Dom and his partners manage to enrage not only a powerful crime boss but the U.S. government -- which promptly dispatches uber-agent Hobbs (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) to Brazil to track down the miscreants who've messed up their mission.

But never mind. Dom & Co. certainly don't. They have other concerns -- especially figuring out how to separate Reyes from the avalanche of cash he's got stashed around town.

To pull off this $100 million job, Dom will need more help. So along come bickering Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) from "2 Fast 2 Furious," crafty Han ("Better Luck Tomorrow's" Sung Kang) from "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" and "Fast & Furious," and even more "Fast & Furious" alumni (slinky Gal Gadot and quippy Tego Calderon) to assist in planning and executing the heist.

Of course Hobbs has backup, too, notably a Brazilian cop ("Snakes on a Plane's" Elsa Pataky ) who's hoping for her own kind of payback -- against Reyes.

Screenwriter Chris Morgan (who wrote both "Tokyo Drift" and "Fast & Furious") provides an action-ready blueprint, putting Toretto and his gang right in the middle of the crossfire coming from both the ruthless drug lord (are there any other kind?) and the relentless federal agent. (Again, are there any other kind?)

And while Morgan's dialogue is way too on-the-nose to qualify as genuinely witty, at least the back-and-forth banter gives "Fast Five" a breezy vibe that helps remind us that, no matter how high the stakes seem, the movie's hardly serious.

When it's time to get serious and crank up the action, however, director Lin revs the pace and shifts the camera into overdrive to capture all those flying fenders and flying bullets, showcased in expertly staged stunt sequences that definitely qualify as high-octane.

Yet there's also a welcome human element in "Fast Five" that's missing from all too many soulless special-effects workouts these days.

That quality is best exemplified by the rivalry -- and grudging admiration -- between Toretto and Hobbs, two sides of the same tough-guy coin.

Teeth bared, biceps bulging, fists hammering, these bullet-headed sides of beef just can't stop trying to prove who's got maximum macho. (Good thing Johnson's got a beard in this movie; otherwise, it might be tough to tell the two apart during their inevitable smackdown.)

Fortunately, both action-packed actors know how to sell this sort of stuff; watching the too-cool Diesel and the hot-headed Johnson tangle is almost as much fun as witnessing "Fast Five's" slavish devotion to cars going crash-boom-bang -- and screech-swerve-zoom.

Almost, but not quite.

Contact movie critic Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.