Taiwan-born director Justin Lin reunites Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster in Fast Five, the fifth installment of the The Fast and the Furious series, which will hit theaters in China on May 12, two weeks after its US premiere.

The film marks Lin's third involvement in the action series after The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in 2006 and Fast and Furious 4 in 2009.

In the new chapter, former policeman Brian (Walker), ex-convict Dominic (Diesel) and Brian's lover Mia (Brewster) make their way further south to Brazil, hiding out in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. They have to fulfill their biggest task yet, to earn their freedom, even as federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) assembles his team of top cops, whose sole mission is to capture the trio.

The action in Fast Five is bigger than in the previous two combined. There are about six action sequences in this movie, including not only car chases, but foot chases and a heist as well.

When the filming wrapped up in October 2010, the crew had more than 200 mangled cars on their hands.

Lin understands that everything has to be bigger to win an audience hungry for action, but action sequences alone cannot carry a film, unless they are accompanied by a great story. The director, a fan of the franchise since he was in college, says he does not know how to design an action movie without a theme.

"When people think of Fast and Furious they think of fast cars, pretty girls and good-looking guys," he says in a telephone interview.

"But to me, at the heart of the franchise it's about family, in a very untraditional way. So when they asked me if I had any idea for the fifth one, I really wanted to explore the idea of freedom through family."

Lin, who moved to the United States with his family when he was 8, believes his Asian background plays a part in his directorial works.

"I am an Asian-American, it's a very big part of my point of view. No matter whether I am making a small independent film or a big studio film, being a director means you have to have a point of view," says Lin, a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.

"A lot of who I am comes from my parents, the fact that I love to work, I love family, all these things and values are very much part of my Asian heritage."

Asian cinema also inspired Lin in his film-school days.

"When I saw the big Hollywood movies, they were so distant. You didn't even know anything about that world, but there is something about Asian cinema that thrills."

He remembers how Chungking Express, a light auteur tale by Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, inspired him.

"I felt, wow, if you have a story you really want to tell, you don't need a big budget, you can go with the camera, a great cast, and just shoot."