I think it’s safe to say that when the original Fast and the Furious came out in 2001, not many people figured that it would eventually lead into one of the biggest film franchises in recent years. And yet, here we are now at the eighth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise. Seriously, it’s crazy to see how far this series has come since its early days. Who would’ve thought that by the time that its fifth installment came about in 2011, the franchise that had always attracted a mixed-to-negative response from critics would manage to turn things around and start to do just as well with critics as it’s always done with audiences? Whether it’s due to the shift from street racing to action heist plots or the addition of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as fan-favorite Luke Hobbs, the series has seen a major increase in both critical and commercial success thanks to its most recent outings. Case in point, the most recent entry, 2015’s Furious 7, became the first film in the series to gross over $1 billion worldwide. Of course, part of the reason for this was that the film was impacted by the death of franchise star Paul Walker halfway through shooting. Thus, the film ended up becoming a poignant send-off to one of the series’ original stars, while still being another enjoyably over-the-top entry in the series. But the story isn’t over yet for Dominic Toretto and his crew. Now under the direction of F. Gary Gray, fresh off 2015’s smash hit Straight Outta Compton, the crew finds themselves up against their most intimidating adversary yet, one of their own, in The Fate of the Furious. Yes, you may snicker at that title, but if you’re a fan of Fast and the Furious, you’ll be pleased to know that this film features more of the same great over-the-top action that this series is known for.
Things have been going quite well for Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew ever since the events of Furious 7. No longer having to worry about dealing with anyone that’s trying to hunt them down, they’ve been spending most of their time living in peace, with Dom enjoying his honeymoon with his wife, Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), in Cuba after she regained her memories of their marriage in the previous film. However, when the team is called in to steal an EMP device from a military complex in Berlin, they are surprised when Dom shockingly betrays them by taking the device and getting their ally, Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), arrested by the local government. As they soon come to find out, Dom is in cahoots with the most elusive cyberterrorist on the planet, Cipher (Charlize Theron), who unbeknownst to them has managed to coerce Dom into working for her thanks to a crucial ace in the hole. Thus, Letty, Hobbs, and the rest of the crew; fast-talker Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), tech expert Tej Parker (Ludacris), and hacker Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), find themselves in a difficult situation as they’re now forced to combat their longtime friend. With the aid of their old ally, government agent ‘Mr. Nobody’ (Kurt Russell), the team embarks on their latest mission; to take down Cipher before she instigates nuclear war and to, hopefully, get Dom back on their side. They even gain an unexpected ally in their old nemesis, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), who they had imprisoned at the end of Furious 7.
Well, seeing how this is the eighth entry in the franchise, I’m well-aware that I’m just repeating myself at this point when it comes to talking about these films. Let’s be honest, folks, eight films in, you know exactly what to expect from this series. You’re not going to get anything Oscar-worthy out of this film’s straightforward ‘stop the bad guy from doing something terrible’ plot. But, of course, that’s not what you’re here for. You’re here for the ridiculous and yet still all-around awesome action sequences that defy all logic and physics with characters who are basically superheroes at this point. And, of course, this film has plenty of that to go around, including an epic chase through New York City involving an army of cars remotely controlled by Cipher. Seriously, though, if you’re one of those who scoffs at the sight of Dwayne Johnson pushing away a torpedo (that has been fired by a submarine) with his bare hands or Vin Diesel managing to finish a street race all while his car is almost entirely on fire, then this film isn’t for you. But, for those who are fans of the series, this doesn’t disappoint when it comes to delivering exactly what this franchise is known for. But, at the same time, it’s all handled with solid execution from a directing standpoint. F. Gary Gray, who’s no stranger to action films having directed the 2003 remake of The Italian Job (which, fittingly enough, starred Charlize Theron and Jason Statham), handles the action well and the film’s overall tone is probably the most consistent that it’s ever been at with this series since Fast Five. In other words, it’s a well-balanced mix of fun, over-the-top action and light-hearted banter with just enough dramatic heft in there that never overshadows the previous two aspects. Because at this point, the franchise is very much self-aware when it comes to not trying to be something that it isn’t.
And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Fast and Furious film without arguably the most definitive aspect of the franchise (yes, even more so than the action), family. Yes, despite the scandalous feud between stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson that clearly isn’t ‘just a publicity stunt’ and this film’s big plot-line of Dom going against his family, the camaraderie amongst the cast is as strong as it’s ever been. And the big reveal surrounding Dom’s actions, without giving anything away, are, surprisingly, well-handled. It isn’t anything too outlandish like I know some were assuming when the first trailer came out. Instead, it manages to tie in with the whole ‘family’ aspect quite well. Of course, the rest of Dom’s crew is just as solid as they’ve ever been, from Tyrese getting a lot of the best humorous moments as Roman to Dwayne Johnson being his usual badass self as Hobbs. Hobbs also gets quite a lot of memorable scenes with Deckard Shaw, as Jason Statham thankfully gets a much more substantial role this time around. Sure, the idea of him becoming an ally to Dom’s crew may seem like a major stretch considering that, in the last film, he killed their crewmate Han but I’ll admit that I’m interested in seeing how they handle this going forward. Plus, it does lead to one super entertaining action sequence that he’s directly involved in. And then, there’s the main villain Cipher, who most certainly ends up being one of the series’ best villains. Charlize Theron plays the part excellently and while she does spend most of the film monitoring the action instead of being out in the field (which may come as a disappointment to some given Theron’s clear skill in terms of fight sequences as evident from Mad Max: Fury Road and the upcoming action thriller Atomic Blonde), her ability to coerce Dom into working for her makes her an entertainingly cold villainess.
I won’t lie, folks… this may have just become my new favorite entry in the Fast and Furious franchise. I’m kind of reeling at the surreal nature of that statement; I just said that about the eighth (eighth!) installment of the franchise. The only other instance in film history where that was even remotely possible was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 back in 2011… and that’s not even my favorite entry in that series, so this is a first for me. But, as a fan of this franchise (at least since the fourth film), this delivered on everything that you’ve come to expect in a Fast and Furious film. Yes, it’s just as simply plotted as its predecessors. And yes, the action is insane… and yet it’s still so damn awesome. Somehow, someway, the filmmakers are continuing to raise the bar in terms of the crazy stunts that this series is known for. And despite what I just said about the film being just as silly and over-the-top as its predecessors, its handling of the whole ‘Dom going rogue’ storyline is surprisingly well-handled. Yeah, it easily could’ve gone a lot worse but the way that they handle it does make sense once you realize the specific reason why Dom is forced to go against his team. Pair all that with the same great over-the-top action and the strong camaraderie of its cast and you have another super entertaining action thrill ride. And with a record-breaking weekend at the global box-office in the books (over $532 million to be precise), this series clearly isn’t slowing down. And you can bet that I’ll be looking forward to the next two installments of this apparent new ‘trilogy’ that the filmmakers are implicating is being set up by this film.
Rating: 4.5/5
(P.S. As it turns out, my next post on here will be the 500th post that I’ve published on Rhode Island Movie Corner. With that in mind, stay tuned for an extra special post to celebrate this momentous occasion.)
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