Although Fast Five is set in Rio de Janeiro, parts of it
were shot in Puerto Rico and Atlanta. When we arrived, there was two weeks left
of filming.
The set was located at an
old Pullman train yard, dressed up to look like an abandoned auto plant. The
set was dark, dusty, and dreary, which from what we were told, matches the tone
of the film. Gone are the "eye candy" cars. Instead, Fast Five will feature
"old battered classics." However, Dom's Charger is resurrected, making it the
only car in the franchise back in action.
The machine that has me most excited is Hobbs's Gurkha,
which is a giant, tank-like military vehicle. Picture that thing rolling
through Rio's favelas. How do you say sweet in Portuguese?
The shoot we attended was spoiler-heavy so we didn't
actually get to see it in progress, but based on the screams of agony I heard
coming from the set, and from the production still that Vin Diesel showed us,
it seemed to be the film's climatic battle. After the shoot was over we walked
on to the set and watched a scene from earlier in the movie. The scene was
littered with explosions, machine guns, tanks, and even some rocket launcher
action. For a second, it seemed like I was watching Call of Duty: The Movie until
Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson came into frame. As someone who was never a big
"car guy," this type of action scene suited me just fine.
However, for the car aficionados out there, we did talk to Dennis McCarthy, the
series' resident car expert. He told us, "We've got a Classic 1971 Pantera, we
have a GT40, the original one," he continued, "We have a 1965 Corvette Grand
Sport." As far as character-specific cars, he stated, "We've got the '70
Charger back. Basically when you first see the guys down in South America, Vin
[Diesel]'s in his Charger. It's not quiet the same. It's not as flashy. It
doesn't have the motor. He's trying to make it a little more inconspicuous."
Brian O' Connor will be driving around in a '72 Skyline
which McCarthy says is, "Not as high end looking, even though it's a really
expensive car. It looks like something that blends in due to the location and
circumstances. They are down to their last penny."
Han (Sung Kang) from Tokyo Drift: "[Drives] a Ford
Maverick, which seems like another odd choice," McCarthy goes on, "But if you
look at the cars of South Polo, and Rio, the car culture there, Maverick is one
of the top muscle cars."
The Ghurka, Dennis McCarthy told us, "Fits The Rock perfect. [It] is based on a
F550 Chassis so it's a civilian truck and they basically just put an
armor-plated body on it. There's a lot of suspension upgrades."
We also learned that the centerpiece of the movie is a big
heist, in which folks from the all-star cast will participate, although it
wasn't made clear exactly who. I know what you're thinking, "Oh, so the 'Fast
Five' are the fast dudes who are involved with the heist." Nope. Director
Justin Lin assured us that Fast Five is just the title.
