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Fast Five

16 May

Fast Five (alternatively known as Fast & Furious 5 or Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist) is a 2011 action film written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin. The film stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Dwayne Johnson and was first released in Australia on April 20, 2011 followed by a United States release on April 29, 2011 as the fifth film in the The Fast and the Furious franchise. Fast Five follows Brian O’Conner (Walker), Dom Toretto (Diesel) and Mia Toretto (Brewster) as they plan a heist to steal $100 million from corrupt businessman Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) while being pursued for arrest by U.S. DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson).

For development of Fast Five, a conscious effort was made by Universal Studios to shift away from the street racing theme prevalent in previous films in the series. Emphasis was instead placed on transforming the franchise into a heist action series in an attempt to attract wider audiences that may otherwise be turned off by the series’ focus on cars and car culture. Fast Five is considered the transitional film in the series, featuring only one car race with more attention given to action set-pieces such as gun fights, brawls and the heist of $100 million.

Following its release, Fast Five garnered critical praise, becoming the highest rated entry in the franchise, and financial gain, breaking box office records to become the highest grossing opening weekend in an April and the second highest opening weekend in Spring, earning $168 million. As of May 15, 2011, Fast Five has grossed over $440 million.

 
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Posted by on May 16, 2011 in Film

 

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