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Fast Five (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

11K views 31 replies 24 participants last post by  Dave Vaughn 
#1 ·


The Review at a Glance: ( max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )

94






Studio and Year: Universal Studios- 2011
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Feature running time: 131 minutes (Theatrical Cut), 132 minutes (Extended Cut)
Genre: Action,Crime


Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 2.35:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish, French DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot
Directed by: Justin Lin
Music by: Brian Tyler
Written by: Chris Morgan
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: October 4, 2011







"We find 'em we take 'em as a team and we bring 'em back. And above all else we don't ever, ever let them get into cars."



Film Synopsis:


Get ready for "five times the action, excitement and fun" (Shawn Edwards, FOX-TV) as Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a reunion of all-stars from every chapter of the explosive franchise built on speed. Fugitive Dom Toretto (Diesel) partners with former cop Brian O'Conner (Walker) on the opposite side of the law in exotic Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There they are hunted by a high-powered U.S. strike force led by its toughest Fed (Dwayne Johnson) and an army of corrupt cops working for a ruthless drug kingpin. To gain their freedom and win this ultimate high-stakes race, they must pull off one last job - an insane heist worth $100 million.




My Take:

After hearing "Fast Five" was the best in The Fast and the Furious series, I was intrigued to give it a spin. I didn't like the original too much and I have only seen one of it's sequels, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. The original The Fast and The Furious was about under cover agent Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) infiltrating an L.A. gang of street racers while on assignment looking for a hijacking ring. After befriending them he begins to question where his loyalties lie. The fifth in the series, "Fast Five" re-teams the now ex-agent Brian O'Conner and his racing/criminal friends, Dominic Toretto (Vin Deisel), Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster), Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibbons) Tej Parker (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges), Vince (Matt Schulze), Han Lue (Sung Kang) and Gisele Harabo (Gal Gadot), as they plan a final heist that will leave them all rich enough to retire from crime for life.



After a car heist goes wrong in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dom and O'Conner find a microchip in a car which has a list of Drug Lord Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) safe houses, with stashes of over $10 million in each. That same botched heist leads an elite US strike force, led by Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), to Rio, pitting Dominic and O'Conner not only against the Feds, but Reyes and his command of a corrupt police force. If that wasn't enough, they recruit a team of familiar faces from the previous Fast and Furious films as Dominic and O'Conner plan to steal all $100 million of Reyes drug money.


I remember thinking about similarities the original Fast and the Furious had to "Point Break", and the 3rd in the series, Tokyo Drift did to "The Karate Kid 2". "Fast Five" is the "Oceans 11" of the series. I enjoyed the fact the film was less about the underground race scene, focusing on the crew and their planning of the heist. It had less car action then expected, but don't get me wrong, it has its share of over-the-top action sequences (especially the "safe chase"), but its success is in its different approach with the focus of plot on characters and the heist. In the 007 tradition, we are treated to a before credit action piece that was just awesome, really setting the stage for this, the best installment (I have seen) in the series. The addition of Dwayne Johnson and his grudge match against Dom was great (I am a fan of Dwayne). When "Fast Five" is firing on all cylinders it has great action, a cool plot, as well as deepening the character development from prior installments. However, I do suggest checking your realism detector at the door and enjoy this loud, fun and thoroughly entertaining flick!







Parental Guide:


Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, sexual content and language.




AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**


(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

Audio: 96


  • Dynamics:

  • Low frequency extension:

  • Surround Sound presentation:

  • Clarity/Detail:

  • Dialogue Reproduction:




Video: 92


  • Resolution/Clarity:

  • Black level/Shadow detail:

  • Color reproduction:

  • Fleshtones:

  • Compression:
"Fast Five" races to Blu-ray Disc from Universal Studios Home Entertainment featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 20.2 mbps and DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround Sound that has an average bitrate of 2.6 mbps.

Get the popcorn, crank it up, and get ready for a reference quality Blu-ray release from Universal Home Entertainment. "Fast Five" is a looker and fine details are impeccable here. We get every pore, every detail in foregrounds as well as close-ups. Blacks are of the highest order, and the evening scenes never disappoint. Flesh-tones are the only slightly weak link, looking a bit on the warm-side, though that can be attributed to the sun-soaked environment. I noticed no artifacting from the encode and only a slight bit of grain, indicating no DNR or other detrimental tinkering.


Loud, aggressive and precise sum up this awesome DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio experience. Dynamics are impressive, sound-stage pin-point accurate and all dialogue was intelligible, even when things got loud. This DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround channels showcased every bullet, whizzing cars and atmospheric elements perfectly. The LFE was tangible, rattling my chest when asked to, and backing up my main speakers with a nice articulation. This is absolute reference material. Enjoy!



Bonus Features:



  • Feature Commentary with Director Justin Lin (Extended Version Only)

  • (HD) On Set with Director Justin Lin

  • (HD) Inside the Vault Chase

  • (HD) Tyrese TV

  • (HD) Featurettes: Reuniting the Team, A New Set of Wheels, Dom's Journey, Brian O'Conner: From Fed to Con, Enter Federal Agent Hobbs, Dom vs. Hobbs, The Big Train Heist

  • (HD) Second Screen

  • (HD) Deleted Scenes

  • (HD) Gag Reel

  • DVD Copy

  • BD Live enabled

  • My Scenes

  • pocket BLU Ap

  • D-BOX

  • Digital Copy of Fast Five - Extended Version (expires on 03/13/2012)





Final Thoughts:


Check you realism detector at the door and enjoy this loud, fun and thoroughly entertaining flick! I really dug "Fast Five" and will definitely throw this reference quality release by Universal back on screen soon. Jam-packed with extra features, a directors commentary, a DVD copy as well as an Extended Cut (well it's only extended a whopping 73 seconds longer), "Fast Five" comes recommended for fans of action flicks, the Fast and the Furious series, and those interested in giving their system a workout. PS- watch into he credits for a surprise scene.













Lee Weber
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews




Reference Review System:



JVC DLA-X3 3D 1080p 3D High Definition Front Projector

Screen Innovations Solar HD 1.3 120" 2.40:1 CinemaScope Screen

Denon AVR 4311 Pre/Pro

Sunfire Theater Grand 7201 Amplifier

Sony PS3 Slim Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)

Sunfire Cinema Ribbon Trio On-Wall (5.1)

2 Sunfire True Subwoofer EQ Solitaire 10"
 
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17
#2 ·
Thanks for the review! Seriously thinking about doing a blind-buy on this tomorrow. The BB exclusive steelbook is really tempting!
 
#6 ·
94?! Say what?!



Been a fan since the first one and must say that out of all the series this has got to be the best one. Story ties in very well and the action were scenes were fantastic. Although certain car chase scenes where like
Is that even possible? lol


Btw there's already FF 6 in the making.


Collect!
 
#7 ·
While the picture does look good, I found it a bit too inconsistent in quality throughout. I expected a bit better for a day and date release. But we had a lot of fun with the movie!!
 
#9 ·
This is yet another good Fast & Furious movie. I have yet to be disappointing by any of the 5 films. All of them have been entertaining, including the third film which I thought would be a dud, but was pleasantly surprised. It even looks like there will be a sixth by watching the scene after the first round of credits.
 
#12 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stylz25 /forum/post/21039735


Anyone have an issue with their copy of Fast Five on Blu Ray???? I am watching it and as soon as Toretto, Brian and Mia walk out of the sewage pipe or whatever around 35 mins..........go forward a bit when Toretto says "I Promise" at around 36 mins and 10 seconds.....right after that it skips right to 36 mins and like 35 seconds!!!!


Anyone else have this issue?? Im thinking its the copy of the movie since my PS3 has never skipped on a blu ray like that before and the Disc is brand new and not one scratch or smear is on the disc! Pisses me off! lol Thx for any info.

No issues for me, watched in on my sony player last night. Only problem i had was with fast moving subtitles when they were speaking in Portuguese/Spanish.
 
#18 ·
Ok had to come on here to ask does anyone know the differences between the packaging on the different formats of the movie that were released?


What i've been able to make of it is at least from they got from walmart (which is where I got my copy) is there is a standard dvd release, with both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film- no brainer here.


Now is the blu rays which I noticed they had 3 different types for. The first is in a blu ray slim case with a slipcover that has a light blue bar at the top that says (blu ray + dvd + digital copy) this is the copy I bought of the film.


Next is another type that is packaged in a DVD type case and instead has a dark blue bar at the top and says (DVD + Bluray + Digital Copy). I looked ont he back and the features and whatnot were the same but the order of the description and formatting on the packaging was different. Whats up with this? the only significant difference is that it seemed like it focused on having the DVD copy first and a different case instead of the blu ray even though seem almost exactly the same as the first copy I mentioned.


Last is a "Limited edition double pack" which doesn't even clearly say what is in it other than it seemed to have no real content differences from the other 2 types. Does anyone know what is in this pack that makes it any different from the first blu ray? I didn't see this one when I picked up my copy or I probably would of got it but is there anything im missing out on when the other packaging styles are so similar?


Thanks in advance.
 
#19 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralph Potts /forum/post/21033728


Greetings,


Thanks Lee.



I may pick this one up as well..



Regards,

Mr. Potts,

You really should! It's a great, fun movie. Dwayne Johnson is in top form and makes Vin Diesel look like a runt! There are some parts that are totally unbelievable (mainly, the ending sequence) but it was very well done. I must say we had a great time in the theater and I bought this as a day 1 release.
 
#20 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lange92 /forum/post/21050745


Ok had to come on here to ask does anyone know the differences between the packaging on the different formats of the movie that were released?


What i've been able to make of it is at least from they got from walmart (which is where I got my copy) is there is a standard dvd release, with both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film- no brainer here.


Now is the blu rays which I noticed they had 3 different types for. The first is in a blu ray slim case with a slipcover that has a light blue bar at the top that says (blu ray + dvd + digital copy) this is the copy I bought of the film.


Next is another type that is packaged in a DVD type case and instead has a dark blue bar at the top and says (DVD + Bluray + Digital Copy). I looked ont he back and the features and whatnot were the same but the order of the description and formatting on the packaging was different. Whats up with this? the only significant difference is that it seemed like it focused on having the DVD copy first and a different case instead of the blu ray even though seem almost exactly the same as the first copy I mentioned.


Last is a "Limited edition double pack" which doesn't even clearly say what is in it other than it seemed to have no real content differences from the other 2 types. Does anyone know what is in this pack that makes it any different from the first blu ray? I didn't see this one when I picked up my copy or I probably would of got it but is there anything im missing out on when the other packaging styles are so similar?


Thanks in advance.

I don't know how much this will help you but:

I was at Best Buy on Tuesday and they had several different options.

1) Blu + DVD + digicopy in Blu-sized case w/ slipcover

2) Blu + DVD + digicopy in DVD-sized steel case (which I got, limited quantities)

3) DVD + digicopy in DVD sized case for non-blu-ray adopters


You can also go to www.blu-ray.com and look up information to see what versions they have cataloged. Hope this helps.
 
#24 ·
Thought it was a fun movie, although that opening sequence almost turned me off to the whole thing when
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) Spoiler  
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) the car caused the bus to flip.
The Ocean's 11 vibe was strong, but needed to keep this franchise going.
 
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