10 Most Amazing Practical Movie Effects Of The 2010s
5. Cars Pulling A Bank Vault (Fast Five)
The Fast and The Furious series is famous for delivering exciting action and magnificent stunt work, but arguably, the franchise has never topped the climactic chase from Fast Five, which sees Dom and Brian towing an enormous bank vault through the streets (and buildings) of downtown Rio de Janeiro.
The desire to shoot this sequence practically - despite how difficult it would be to pull off - stemmed from director Justin Lin's wish to give the audience something real. According to stunt coordinator Jack Gill (via EW) Lin had this to say:
"I’ve done a couple of other Fast & Furiouses. The kids have all gotten very savvy to what is digital and what is real. I lose my audience the second they see something that they know in their mind is not real. What I want you guys to strive to do is to give me as much real as you can give me."
And strive they did. The crew started by contacting relevant companies in order to determine the size of the vault, before building several different types of vault to give them multiple options during filming: one vault was light, one was heavy, one was driveable, and one contained hydraulic rams, so it could be tipped and rolled with ease.
The crew also worked closely with Dodge in order to acquire cars capable of completing this stunt - the vehicles used to pull the safe were 2010 Chargers with a 6.1-litre engine, capable of delivering 425 horsepower. Not too shabby.
Ultimately, it's no surprise that this sequence is still cited as one of the best in the series. Its hard-hitting realism makes it impossible to forget.