Film Opening Analysis: Fast Five

Fast Five is part of the Fast and Furious fanchase and I think this film has one of the best openings of all 7 films. The budget was $125,000,000, it was directed by Justin Lin and produced by One Race Films and Original Film.

Title: Fast Five
Director: Justin Lin
Production Company: Original film and One Race Films
Distributed by: Universal
Budget: $125,000,000
Box Office: $626.1 million
Date Released: 29th April 2011
Genre: Action, Adventure

Firstly we get our recognisable idents from Universal and Original Film.

Then at the start of the opening scene it shows a black screen that fades into a close up shot of Dom (main character) standing in orange prison clothing. The first 5 shots of the opening help the audience remember what happened in the 4th film ending through flashback scenes, as it looks like Dom is looking back at the recent past events as he goes to prison of the bus by having a shot zooming onto Dom

 In the background you can hear the words "you are here by sentenced to serve 20 years to life". This is an voice over of the judge speaking, so the audience get the feel that this first part of the flashback is placed in court and has been convicted of something the happened in the 4th film. The camera then fades to close up shot of what appears to be his friends/family is actually his sister Mia and his best friend/brother Brian (other main characters).This close up shot of the two of them shows their emotions clearly, so the audience can understand their personalities more.

This then fades to a medium long shot of Dom and other prisoners being guided onto a bus that take them to the prison. This shot is kind of ironic has it’s a low shot show it shows that they have power but they have been sentenced to prison so they are now less powerful.

 The last shot is an establishing shot of the bus being driven through the country side/desert. Throughout the whole journey there is a soft music being played to create sympathetic atmosphere. This sets the mood, as heart beats are being played every time the scene cuts implying something is going to happen and builds up the tension to a climax. 

The scene then cuts to an establishing shot to show the bus driving away. The suddenly you can hear the sounds of engines and can see a mid-shot of 3 black cars entering the scene. Before the cars enter the focus was on the bus but when the sound and image of the cars were present the focus quickly snapped to them. 

The scene then cuts to another establishing shot of the side of bus with the cars behind it. The fast paced editing is used to represent the genre which is action as it builds up tension and adrenaline. A close up shot of Dom’s face sitting on the bus with a serious face of him wearing his uniform is shown. His facial expression doesn’t resemble the expectation someone who’s brutal and strong.

Zoomed shot onto Dom's face, suggesting that he's rethinking his recent past events,
plus his facial expression doesn't show a strong man anymore

It then cuts to a long shot of the cars approaching the bus which then cuts sequentially to close ups of Mia and Brian's faces showing them smiling, this suggests they are up to something and creates narrative enigma as to their intentions behind following the prison bus.

 Then you can hear the sound of engines and screeching tires leading to a fast tempo music which creates tension and emphasises the atmosphere on what’s about to happen. This also foreshadows the breakout of Dom through the reckless driving and fast paced music.

 It then cuts to a low angle shot of Mia in her car showing her pull the handbrake which then cuts to another low angle shot on the outside showing her car spin around in a U-turn creating a graphic match, this creates tension and is slowly building up to a climax.

 Then there are constant cuts between the Mia’s car driving towards the bus and the bus itself. This still builds up the tension because the audience are worried as to what is going to happen next and anxious to find out. Then it cuts to a close up of the Brian’s foot inside his car stamping on the brake hard.

 As he does this it cuts to a close up to the front of his car and tire screech sounds can be heard, this then cuts to a medium shot from the Brain’s back window as the bus comes crashing into, it which then cuts to a long shot of the bus crashing and tipping over the car.

 As this happens slow motions is in progress and long shots from different camera angles are shown to emphasis the impact of the crash and the built tension, to reveal the climax. Also there is a couple of aerial shots, which was probably filmed via a helicopter to show the space within the scene and the  impact of the crash as well. 

Then it cuts to a black screen showing the movie title ‘Fast Five’. As the black screen appears you can hear a car engine to once again to emphasise the crash of the bus whilst also highlight the action genre. The title then disappears as if it is a computer malfunction but this helps lead the audience into the film because the next scene is a shot of the audience looking through a blurry CCTV camera. The transition of the title text is done in the editing process as computer malfunction is an technology aspect then physically making and filming. The title text emphasises the action genre and the fast pace of the film by the text angle is on a slight diagonal, which does add a 3D element to the text, adding a boldness to the title.   

Throughout the opening the audience gets a lot of Narrative Enigma such as we never know what Dom is being convicted for (only if they haven’t since the 4th film) who is the 3rd character in the 3rd  black car, if everyone in the bus crash is alive including Dom and if Brian and Mia get away with the crash/crime. 

Here is my video were I talked in more detail about the opening scene.