In the month or so leading up to the release of Fast Five, I made fun of my wife’s increasing excitement. She has a soft spot for big dumb action movies, and an even softer one for big dumb Vin Diesel.

From my ivory cinephile’s tower, both she and the film felt like easy targets. And when The Onion serves up a gem like ‘Today Now! Interviews the 5-year-old Screenwriter of Fast Five‘, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

But in the aftermath of my smug superiority, it is with great humility that I report that Fast Five turns out to be one of the best times I’ve had at the movies in ages. It’s big and dumb, yes, but it’s also fun, funny and exciting — exactly what the summer ordered.

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