How I Spent My Summer Vacation review

How I Spent My Summer Vacation (15, 96 mins)
Director: Adrian Grunberg
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Ever more shunned by Hollywood, Mel Gibson’s latest didn’t even get a cinema release in the States. That’s a slap in the face for what’s actually a fairly decent action comedy that starts with Gibson’s unnamed thief on the run from the police and forced to jump the border wall into Mexico where he ends up in a bizarre prison cum village. The early stages take a while to manoeuvre, setting up the villains who run the prison and the gangsters and corrupt cops who’re after Gibson and the money he stole, but the action heats up in a second half that also gets a bit bogged down in plot convolutions and too many side players. Gibson’s character is well suited to his style, a tough and colourful wise-ass anti-hero who knows how to play the angles to his advantage. So it’s a shame he’s in, or possibly beyond, the last chance saloon because on form like this, it’s clear why he used to be a star.

Fast Five review

Fast Five (12A/PG-13, 130 mins)
Director: Justin Lin
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 

At the end of Fast and Furious (which happened to be part four of the increasingly ridiculously titled fast car franchise), thief Dominic (Vin Diesel) was heading to jail for his crimes. This kinetic fifth entry opens with his partner, and former cop, Brian (Paul Walker) busting him out before they hotfoot it to Rio where they get involved in a bungled train heist that ends with them falsely accused of killing some DEA officers. They're now wanted by the FBI (led by newcomer to the series, Dwayne Johnson) and a Brazilian crimelord, whose money they intend to steal by putting together a crack team. This moves the series farther than ever from its street-racing roots, not necessarily a bad thing, and gives it more of an Ocean’s vibe. Though instead of George Clooney and Brad Pitt we get characters who flitted in and out of previous instalments who you’ll be hard pushed to remember, even if you have seen them. It constantly walks a very fine line between nifty and ludicrous, but there’s no suppressing the verve with which the action is executed. A foot chase over the roofs of the Rio favelas is terrific, while the colossal budget allows for unhinged carnage on the roads and watching Diesel and Johnson face off in monolithic combat is a sight to behold. It’s a bit too padded with unnecessary talk, but if you can look past the risible dialogue, tree-stump acting and frequent forays into the unintentionally hilarious, it will keep you smiling throughout, if not always for the reasons intended.