When it comes to ridiculously silly, fast-paced action movies, I guess you could do worse than “Fast Five.”

You could also do a lot better.

The latest entry in the “Fast and Furious” franchise is an overstuffed smorgasbord of crazy stunts, high-energy chase sequences and jaw-droppingly horrible dialogue – pretty much what you got from the first four films in the series. And while I’ll concede that this will probably be right in the wheelhouse for action fans, this is a film just too bloated, convoluted and silly for my taste.

Many of the faces from the franchise return – including former cop Brian O’ Conner (Paul Walker) and ex-con Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel). As the story opens, the duo are in Rio de Janeiro, wanted by the law and ready to pull off one final job that can help them leave a life of crime behind for good.

They assemble an elite team (which includes Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Jordana Brewster) intent on stealing $100 million from a corrupt local businessman.

Things get complicated when a federal agent (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) shows up in Rio with the sole purpose of bringing O’Conner and Toretto to justice.

And that pretty much sums up “Fast Five.” The film is nothing more than a series of chases and fights among the principal players. Director Justin Lin, now behind the camera for the third time in this series, tries to keep the film moving along – a difficult task considering the film’s 130-minute running time.

To his credit, some moments are fun, but most are unintentionally funny. It starts with a car theft on a train, ending with the two leads jumping out of a car as it flies off a canyon, and only gets sillier as the film goes along.

You get a wild chase sequence across the rooftops in Rio, where no one seems to get a scratch, and the film ends with a safe the size of an apartment being whisked through the streets attached to a couple of cars (don’t even get me started on how ridiculous that is). I realize these films are supposed to have a level of implausibility that you expect, but “Fast Five” not only crosses that line – it crashes through it and leaves it in pieces.

The cast generates just as many unintentional laughs as the stunts. Walker continues to display the emotional range of a cardboard box, while Diesel just mumbles and looks tough (to his credit, he does do it well at least).

Johnson probably fares the best, even though his character feels like it just walked in from a completely different movie.

I realize this film made a lot of money last weekend (the biggest April opening ever) and this is a franchise that will definitely continue (stay for the credits to get a hint at Part 6). Still, I just couldn’t find enough to appreciate it as much as it seems to have pleased its fan base.

Maybe it’s just me, but I want a little meat with my action films, something a little more than the bare-bones absurdity of “Fast Five.”

If that makes me an action film elitist, so be it.

DVD dandy of the week

This week’s dandy is “Blue Valentine” (A-), a powerful little film that takes an unconventional subject matter, a couple falling out of love, and tackles it with impressive passion and depth.

Written and directed by Derek Cianfrance, “Blue Valentine” tells the story of a young, working-class married couple named Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams).

Dean is a high school dropout working as a painter, while Cindy is a nurse in a medical clinic who is not satisfied with her current life. About the only thing they have in common is their love for their young daughter.

From the opening scenes, it is obvious this marriage is in its final stages. As the audience watches the relationship crumble, Cianfrance uses flashbacks to show how the couple met.

Gosling and Williams are both outstanding here, with a perfect chemistry that works in both the flashbacks and the present-day scenes.

Their powerful performances are accentuated by a film that doesn’t take sides, showing a pair of likable – yet flawed – characters.

I really appreciated the writing as well, which is honest and believable. It is, at times, difficult to watch because it feels so real, but Cianfrance inserts just enough humor to make the material more palpable.

The shifting narrative also creates a perfect balance that captures the entire spectrum of the relationship, allowing the audience to see the signs of a marriage that was doomed from the beginning.

“Blue Valentine” isn’t an easy film to watch, heartbreaking yet beautiful. This is a film that doesn’t have the answers, but that approach makes it all the more compelling.

— To get sportswriter/movie reviewer Micheal Compton’s up-to-the minute thoughts on all things movies, visit his blog at mcompton.wordpress.com or his Twitter page at twitter.com/mcompton428. You can also email him at mcompton@bgdailynews.com.