FAST FIVE (Rated PG-13)

After some mediocre sequels, “The Fast and the Furious” franchise has been resuscitated and infused with new energy in director Justin Lin’s “Fast Five.”

Just in time, the director has found his rhythm so that even the most implausible, preposterous action in a multitude of car stunts is grand fun even if it lacks the barest shred of credibility.

In fact, the more over-the-top are the car chases and stunts that defy the laws of gravity the more entertaining “Fast Five” inevitably becomes. This is sheer mindless fun at its best.

The action is kick-started only minutes after master auto racer and car thief Dom (Vin Diesel) is sentenced to prison. Dom’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and old pal Brian (Paul Walker), a former federal agent, engineer a stunning breakout from a prison bus.

Hardly skipping a beat, the action quickly shifts to Brazil where the trio hides out in the squalid favelas of Rio de Janeiro. It looks like being on the lam won’t be glamorous fun, especially when funds run low.

Being outlaws, soon to be sought by bad-ass federal agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), Dom, Mia and Brian get drawn into a wild scheme to steal very expensive sports cars from a moving train.

Putting a bold plan into action, the trio turns “Fast Five” into a heist movie, one that grows in reach and scope beyond the initial outlandish and death-defying maneuvers.

The highlight involves one of the cars driving off a cliff and plunging into water deep into a canyon. If you fail to lean forward in your seat and gasp in awe at the pure absurdity of this daredevil stunt, then “Fast Five” is not for you.

Things get dicey when it turns out that the gang has robbed truly villainous drug kingpin lord Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). He doesn’t take kindly to criminal upstarts horning in on his turf.

As if to put the trio on the side of virtue, the inevitable clash with Reyes, a man so powerful he has most of Rio’s cops in his back pocket, causes street racing to take a back seat, if only momentarily.

While being pursued by Hobbs and gun-toting federal agents, Dom and his crew figure out that they will have to take down Reyes in such a big way that he’ll fold like a cheap suit in summer heat.

Thus is concocted a wild scheme to hit every drop house where Reyes keeps a cumulative total of more than $100 million. To make this happen, Dom calls in old friends from around the globe.

Dom’s dream team includes Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Hang and Gal Gadot, an authentic multicultural ensemble company of specialists and misfits. Planning of the big heist is not so meticulous as to sap the film of constant action stunts.

If you watched the film’s trailer, you’ve seen many of the highlights and, as a result, pretty much know the entire story. There’s no topping the amazing sight of a huge steel vault being towed by hot rods through the downtown streets, wiping out everything in its path.

Did I fail to mention that beyond all the car crashes there are the obligatory hot chicks attracted to street racing? The franchise never forgets the eye candy for the intended male audience.

The action climax of countless cars being wiped out will be hard to exceed in any film, unless it’s a sequel. By the way, be sure to stay for the end credits, for the one scene that almost surely is a tip-off for the next installment.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

We don’t often have the opportunity to screen French films, much less hype them. “Farewell” (otherwise known as “L’Affaire Farewell”), which garnered critical acclaim when it debuted in limited release last July, now gets the DVD treatment.

“Farewell” is the riveting true story of a KGB colonel who, disenchanted with what the Communist ideal had become under Leonid Brezhev, gives top-secret documents to a French businessman working in Russia, helping to hasten the end of the Cold War.

Not motivated by any monetary concerns, the Soviet military man was inspired to seek a new dawn for his fellow Russians.

“Farewell” boasts an international ensemble cast, including familiar names like Willem Dafoe, David Soul and Diane Kruger. Fred Ward plays the role of President Ronald Reagan, the central figure in the ultimate downfall of the Soviet empire.

“Farewell,” based on the book “Bonjour Farewell,” is a terrific spy movie.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.