DEREK LAWRENCE:The day has finally come, Darren!
And it was such a moment that I can vividly remember my opening day viewing experience.
Salud mi familia, Nathan’s parents."
Vin Diesel and The Rock in ‘Fast Five’.Jaimie Trueblood/Universal Pictures
Darren, where does your mind go first when thinking back onFast Five?
I sawFast Fiveopening weekend at the AMC on 34th street in Manhattan, and the audience was ready.
My theater justerupted: Applause, laughter, the kind of shocked gasps you read about in comic books.
That opening scene promises a pure blast of entertainment, joyous and destructive in equal measure.
The movie delivers and delivers.
The high-speed train heist, with one car exploding and another one driving straight off a cliff.
The bank vault crashing through Rio and the moment when Dom starts wielding that bank vault as a weapon.
Director Justin Lin had used his previous twoFasts as on-the-fly education in action cinema.
Here, a bigger budget meant a bigger sandbox.
But you’ve got the option to feel him having fun with other forms of action, too.
The film’s success is more than technical feat.
I had seenTokyo Driftand loved watching Han (Sung Kang) continue his secret prequel journey.
Derek, can you talk about what sets this movie apart, for you?
I could go full-Letterman and count down my top 10 and still have some leftover.
No lie, I actually just put on “Danza Kuduro” as I wrap this up.
DARREN:We required the DJ at our wedding to play “Danza Kuduro.”
Thank you, Don Omar and Lucenzo, for bestowing humanity with the precise sound of pure unfettered happiness.
There are no gigantic car-people to dominate the frame, so thehumansget to be the gigantic car people.
Fast Fivearrived 10 years afterThe Fast and the Furious.
In a different Hollywood era, their return toFastwould’ve seemed like an embarrassing step backwards.
But the paradigm was shifting.
Today, the global audience expects they’ll live with certain movie characters for a lifetime.
As Dom, Diesel looks bigger and more mournfully amused than ever.
And it’s important to remember that Johnson was on his own comeback ride after aTooth Fairy-ish detour.
There’s some kind of crazy magic when Hobbs comes face-to-face with Toretto.
They became more complete as movie stars working together.
It could just be a literal balance, two gigantic presences on either side of a scale.
I miss when Hobbs was a bad guy, honestly.
I want to talk a little bit more about the reunion quality ofFast Five, Derek.
And you made a great point about missing Hobbs as a “bad guy.”
We were all ready for that chase to continue.
Oh yeah, Michelle Rodriguez too, obviously.
Now do Gisele next!!
DARREN:Doesn’t Monica Fuentes work with Hobbs?
Can Eva Mendes show up to de-bro-ifyHobbs & Shaw 2?
I feel the need to clarify that Ididfinally see2 Fast 2 Furious several times!
And I’ve come around to thinking that candy-ridiculous sequel was a crucial piece of whatFastbecame.
The film’s silliness has a weird sincerity.
Even when it’s very funny, it’s never quite a comedy.
The influence of Marvel is way more prominent, even on the recentFastfilms.
“It’s because we’refree,” Brian says.
That’s the liberationFast Fiveconjures for me, every time I watch it.
And then, of course, they drive.
The first episode, with Vin Diesel, debuts on Friday.
