Film Project Research: Fast and Furious 5 (Fast Five)

The Fast and the Furious is an American action series. It revolves around illegal street racing as well as heists. The first film of the franchise was released in 2001. In total, the series is composed of 8 movies as well as two short films. The ninth sequel is in construction currently and is planned to be released in 2020. The movie from this series my group chose to research was Fast Five. This film opens with clips of street racing. Three cars are involved as well as a prison bus. The three drivers of the cars are speeding in an attempt to catch up with the prisoners on the bus. The road is very long and winding and seems to stretch on for miles. The cars are maneuvering the bus as an attempt to make it crash. The bus driver must swerve to avoid the cars, causing it to flip over. This film creates an effective opening by establishing a clear conflict and series of events that can be built on.  The street racers evidently have a negative involvement with the law and are attempting to set free prisoners. Without any dialogue present, the focus of the scene is still clear and the audience is able to formulate the basis of the movie's plot. The movie incorporated various filming techniques and camera shots to emphasize mood, setting, and atmosphere. For example, the movie begins with several shots of the area in which the opening scene is taking place. The scene was shot on location which appeared to be a vast, desert. The setting is rather rustic and shows the span of the long road on which the street racing will take place. The scene goes on to provide shots of the characters involved in the opening scene. This includes the car drivers as well as the prisoners and prison bus driver. This provides the audience with a more personal representation of the movie's cast. The main focus of the scene is on the cars' movements. To capture this element in the most invigorating way possible, the director had the filming crew use camera shots in front of as well as behind the vehicles. The sounds of the cars are amplified and combined with intense, incidental music to create a fast, exciting pace similar to the emotions the drivers themselves are going through as adrenaline pumps through their bodies. The film was highly successful upon release in the box office. The film made a gross profit of 626.1 million dollars and also won a Teen Choice Award for best action/adventure film.