At first, I was afraid that the dry sound of the movie and the early set up of the almost identical Breaking Bad RV meth lab would make the movie draggy and predictable. I could not have been more wrong. The payoff was unlike anything I have seen in the past almost ten years: since The Secret Window in 2004. I started talking aloud to myself in the theater, trying to solve the mystery as it went. Needless to say, that is my definition of a great movie.

The only thing that left me wanting was the detail put into Jake Gyllenhaal’s cop character, Detective Loki. I spent an embarrassingly amount of time trying to analyze the significance of his name and was thrown off even further when obvious shots of his Greek alphabet tattoos and Mason ring were included on multiple occasions. Lots of questions and no answers. Although fantastic character traits, I would have actually liked to have them explained. But like the film itself, there is much to be wanting with the insane and it addictively made my brain scream for more. Ladies and gentlemen, five out five for Denis Villeneuve. Take it and rule the pre-Oscar 2013 season. By the way, do you know how many inches is a movie theater screen? If you want more insight about this, read this article for more.

In honesty, they stole the words straight from my mouth. Although I had a hard time restraining my laughter thinking about my respectively elderly friends when Vin Diesel took off his shirt to reveal his gloriously manufactured abs, I had to completely agree that the series’ success was mostly based on the tight character development that drives the somewhat repetitive plot line. It reminds you of the stunts you wish you could do and initiates you straight into the badass family code. What a gorgeous family to be a part of, right? But the familial ties go much deeper than sharing a street number. The writers have made it very clear that while the jobs have become increasingly illegal and now involving the blurred lines of the FBI, honor comes before money and protecting your own is more than just being good or evil.

And the hairpin turns are not just for the cars. I always seem to find myself on the edge of my seat wondering if someone will die, resurface, or even both. As for what should have been the mantra of the entire series, “Some things you just have to take on faith.” While this movie is a guilty pleasure as the day is long, there is no denying that it deserves a four out of five stars. As a hardly relatable white girl, there is still no doubt that I will shell out time and money to jam uncoordinatedly to the “get rich or die tryin’” rap theme song and see just who will leave an impressive car track in my mind.