Eight movies in, the Fast and the Furious series has given new meaning to the term “blockbuster.” The last three, in particular, have been enormous hits – with each building upon the success of the previous. It all adds up to the latest, The Fate of the Furious, which in fact is the first of a trilogy that will conclude with films nine and ten.
Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) are on their honeymoon in Cuba (the first American film production to shoot there since the embargo was lifted by President Obama). It is a fantastic way to commence the film on many levels, not the least of which is a street car race that has us recalling how this entire film franchise humbly began. A mystery woman appears (Charlize Theron) and somehow seduces Dom to not only leave his honeymoon, but to turn his back on his family, join the dark side of this world as he puts his cohorts in mortal (and legal) danger. Also, he has seemingly brought the world to the brink of utter destruction.
Culling the gang together once again is Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). He grabs Letty, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Ludacris) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) with Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) returning from the last film to head up the mission, joined by Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) — a “rookie” federal agent who shares our Fast family’s penchant for speedy autos. They will traverse the globe from Berlin to New York City to Russia trying to capture Theron’s evil doer and discover what exactly it is she has hanging over Dom to make him go along with something so villainous.
Handling the reins this time out is Straight Outta Compton helmer F. Gary Gray. The man knows a thing or two about choreographing sick car chases while pushing character development racing further forward. Who could forget his work with the Mini Cooper action sequences from The Italian Job? As Fast and the Furious movies are known to do, Gray ups the ante with this eighth film with two action sequences that are explosive to say the least. One is mind-blowing, the other is a bit shark-jumping, but is still a pure joy to witness in its craziness. After all, one doesn’t go to a Fast and Furious movie expecting to see heavy handed doses of reality.
The first sequence that truly impressed takes place on the gridlocked streets of New York City. Let’s just put it this way… we will never look at self-driving cars the same way again! And when someone says, “let’s make it rain,” you probably didn’t imagine dozens of cars falling from the sky, did you?
The second sequence that blows doors off the envelope involves the gang manically driving over the ice-covered waters of a bay in Russia as they are chased by a cold war era submarine. Sure, some may see this particular moment in The Fate of the Furious as a bit of “jumping the shark” as they supposedly head into the “they’ve gone too far territory.” Yet, again, that’s not why audiences adore Fast and Furious movies. If there was a world that requires a constant repeated mantra of suspension of disbelief, it is Fast and the Furious. The sub scene firmly falls into that arena and if one can accept the fact that a half-dozen supped up cars can actually outrun a Russian sub, than you are exactly the type of audience member who can have a blast with this one.
The cast also firmly knows it isn’t in the running for acting accolades in these films. But, someone didn’t tell Theron that. Her villain is bat shit nuts and the Oscar winner even rolls out her crazy eyes on several occasions that made this reviewer laugh-out-loud, but in the best of ways. See, this is a fun time. What else has always worked about this series is it is clear that all those up on that big screen are having a blast. If the ensemble is having fun, then the audience will as well.
An addition to the family from the last film, Jason Statham, has a huge role in this one and practically steals the entire movie. Much as he did in Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy, he combines action and humor in such a way that it is an utter delight watching him in every single frame he inhabits. It’s no secret, given what we’ve seen in The Fate of the Furious trailer, is he is working alongside our heroes (thanks to the work Mr. Nobody and one heck of a nifty prison break sequence featuring Deckard and Hobbs).
That’s the other thing about the Fast and the Furious movies. The family keeps growing and it is to the benefit of the series and all those involved. These additions are just that, additions. They are not detractions, something so many other series suffer from.
Although not the best of the last four films, we still thoroughly enjoyed the ride and look forward to strapping on that seatbelt and racing into edition nine and ten.
Grade: B